From entrepreneurial desirability to entrepreneurial self-efficacy: the need for entrepreneurship education—a survey of university students in eight countries

Abstract

This paper attempts to contribute to the growing theoretical and empirical literature on entrepreneurial intent among university students. It is argued that entrepreneurial desirability precedes entrepreneurial self-efficacy and measuring it and the relevant factors that may influence it would be valuable, if not a necessity, prior to planning entrepreneurial education in a specific context. The paper used the survey method. Over six thousand students from eight country-branches of a regional university responded. The paper seeks first to assess whether entrepreneurship as an activity is desirable and then find out whether the students support the idea of introducing entrepreneurship education and how they want it to be organised. The level of entrepreneurial desirability and of the call for introducing entrepreneurial education was very high in all countries and all colleges and among both genders. Some factors that may affect entrepreneurial desirability, and which may influence how entrepreneurial education is to be planned, have been identified and tested statistically. These factors are internal; associated with the individual, e.g., educational status and work experience, and external; pertinent to the wider societal context, e.g., gender and employment situation in the country. Entrepreneurial education in universities where the students had no prior exposure to it, it is suggested, is to focus mainly on developing entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Effectiveness of an interactive start-up simulation to foster entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate university students: a quasi-experimental study

“…Successful entrepreneurs must possess entrepreneurial skills (Hayes et al, 2020), such as teamwork skills (Hameed & Irfan, 2019;Sun et al, 2020) and entrepreneurial knowledge (Abdelkarim, 2021;Alnemer, 2021;Liñán et al, 2011). Herman and Stefanescu (2017) confirm that entrepreneurial competence (EC), i.e., one's entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, is enhanced with EE.…”

“…Various studies propose the need to introduce experiential learning in contrast to the traditional teaching methods to promote entrepreneurship as it directly influences EI development (Abdelkarim, 2021;Alnemer, 2021;Farouk et al, 2014;Hameed & Irfan, 2019;Sher et al, 2017). Other studies find evidence that factors may mediate between entrepreneurial education (EE) and EI development (Yin & Liang, 2018).…”

The Impact of Entrepreneurship Competitions on Entrepreneurial Competence of Chinese College Students

“…Only with strong education can a country be strong. Entrepreneurship education is crucial for understanding entrepreneurial spirit and cultivating entrepreneurial ability ( Abdelkarim, 2021 ). Entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities has become a major measure to strengthen education reform.…”

Influence of Entrepreneurship Education on Employment Quality and Employment Willingness

“…Entrepreneurship education not only trains students' entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, but also builds their ideological and political thinking and values [5]. At present, the main teaching methods of entrepreneurship education of college students are theoretical teaching, practical teaching, and experiential teaching [6,7].…”