Entrepreneurial intention, Entrepreneurship education, Secondary students,

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to test a model of entrepreneurial intentions among secondary students based on their psychological characteristics. Furthermore, this seeks to determine whether teenage students (14-15 years old) possess entrepreneurial characteristics and whether these characteristics correspond to entrepreneurial intentions. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of secondary students was chosen ranging from 14 to 15 years old. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analysed by univarite statistics and structural equations modelling (PLS) to measure the relationship between the psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions. Findings -The results demonstrate there is a relationship between (some) psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions. The propensity to risk negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions, meanwhile self-confidence and the need for achievement positively influence the construct. The relationship between tolerance and ambiguity, locus of control and innovativeness with entrepreneurial intentions reported no statistical significance.Research limitations/implications -The results reinforce the idea that psychological characteristics (trait approach) influence entrepreneurial intentions. However, the model needs further development through the incorporation of behavioural characteristics. This would allow for the understanding of whether behaviour and trait theories oppose or complement each other. Originality/value -The paper provides important evidence for improving entrepreneurship education for young students. First, it is important to incite and develop some psychological characteristics in order to promote entrepreneurial intentions. Second, entrepreneurship curricula should jointly develop both entrepreneurial characteristics and the awareness among students about the viability of an entrepreneurial career. This may be achieved not only by presenting entrepreneurs as role models, promoting an entrepreneurial culture but also by developing entrepreneurial skills that improve self-confidence.

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PurposeThe field of entrepreneurship is dotted across different paradigms. Measuring entrepreneurial intention automatically needs to incorporate insights from the psychological approach and behavioural approach. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a comprehensive structural equation model which combines both psychological and behavioural perspectives aiming to identify what variables have influence on entrepreneurial intention of secondary students.Design/methodology/approachThis research was developed involving a sample of secondary students. The method of data collection was a survey by self‐administered questionnaire, to two secondary student classes, with several groups of questions related to demographic characteristics, behavioural and psychological constructs and entrepreneurial intention. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).FindingsThe results show that need for achievement, self‐confidence, and personal attitude positively affect entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, subjective norms and personal attitude affect perceived behavioural control. These findings could have a significant impact on knowledge of the contributions of behavioural and psychological theories to the entrepreneurial intention.Research limitations/implicationsUnderstanding of the ways in which several psychological and behavioural characteristics influence the entrepreneurial intention could help to advance our knowledge of the entrepreneurial process. Educational systems need to be oriented to emphasize and value entrepreneurship in order to promote an enterprise culture. Methods to teach entrepreneurship should also be explored further.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to provide evidences of the entrepreneurial intention explained by several constructs related to psychological and behavioural characteristics in a 14‐15‐year‐old student population. Additionally, most studies of the entrepreneurial intention associated to these approaches have been mostly conceptual, and the few empirical studies have not used structural equation modelling. The use of these statistical tests helps to overcome the limitations evident in conceptual studies and provide evidence of the relationships between behavioural and psychological traits simultaneously.

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PurposeBased on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the purpose of this paper is to approach entrepreneurial intention (EI) and the factors preceding the founding of EI among secondary students, both studying general academic and specific professional programs, and thereby establish causal relationships between psychological, demographic and behavioural factors.Design/methodology/approachA sample of secondary students, both studying general academic and specific professional programs, was chosen. Data were collected through questionnaires and analysed with resource to structural equation models (SEM) to measure the causal relationships among different constructs.FindingsThe results show that the EI of secondary school students is influenced by such demographic, psychological and behavioural factors. However, the hypothesis of becoming entrepreneurs in the future remains independent of the fact of whether or not students had already experienced engagement with entrepreneurship‐related themes having no impact on EI. These results raise a series of pertinent questions and deserve being subject to a more profound reflection and not only among the scientific and academic community but also among political and government entities.Originality/valueThe paper provides important evidence to expand entrepreneurship education specifically in the field of secondary school education. These students are already about to face choices over their professional careers. This remains valid whether or not students intend to proceed with higher education studies or to join the workforce. Therefore this research contributes towards meeting a better understanding of EI and the factors preceding the formation of this intention among secondary school students.

The significant importance of entrepreneurship for the economic development, job creation and innovation have increased the concerns of researchers and decision makers at different levels for the understanding and investigation of the factors that could have an impact on the level of entrepreneurial activity. In fact, differences in entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurship are substantial, persistent and distinct from their background in different nations and / or regions, especially in Europe. Theoretical studies and empirical studies confirm that the entrepreneurial activities of individuals are the main drivers of the development of entrepreneurship, namely in terms of economic growth, mainly through the contribution to the creation of new jobs, the development of competitiveness and innovations at the enterprise.For this purpose, we used two Global Databases Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) of the year 2015, which were duly adapted and thus created the database for the analysis of this study, having as justification performed literature review considered the variables necessary for this purpose.Results reveal that the key determinants of the entrepreneurial intention in the European countries are: "perceived capacity" by the individual; the "entrepreneurial intention" itself which will, in fact, influence the "rate of nascent entrepreneurship"; the "governmental and political factors" in relation to the respective "financing for the entrepreneur", and the "basic education and training" in entrepreneurship which influence "research & development".