Who Intends to Enroll in Entrepreneurship Education? Entrepreneurial Self-Identity as a Precursor

Abstract

Entrepreneurial self-identity is attracting increasing attention as a potentially relevant variable in explaining the entrepreneurial process. So far, most research treats entrepreneurial self-identity as a consequence of, or, at the most, as being developed through the start-up process. In this article, in contrast, we analyze its role as a previous element that helps determine the entrepreneurial intention of individuals, the perceived usefulness of entrepreneurship education, and, indirectly, their interest in participating in entrepreneurship education courses. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of Italian university students and graduates ( N = 88) with no previous participation in entrepreneurship education or self-employment experience. The results clearly support the proposed model. The implications of these results, if further confirmed, are highly relevant. They indicate that there is a strong risk of self-selection bias in most entrepreneurship education evaluation studies. This is due to an element of reversed causation in which participants who already exhibit a higher entrepreneurial self-identity are more interested in entrepreneurship. At the same time, these results also suggest that professionals and public decision-makers involved in fostering entrepreneurship should pay attention to the development of this entrepreneurial self-identity in childhood and adolescence.

Toward a Learning Philosophy Based on Experience in Entrepreneurship Education

“…Therefore, as has been continuously argued in research on entrepreneurship education, we need to build our pedagogical interventions through an experience-based pedagogy (e.g., Liñán, Ceresia, & Bernal, 2018; Nabi et al., 2017), where the learner forms her or his own learning in the subject domain. This remains a challenge due to the structures upon which education rests and the boundary conditions of education set by governmental institutions in different countries, but of importance when looking back to earlier thoughts in entrepreneurial learning research, especially if one goes back to how the research discussions have developed in the field.…”

Construction and validation of the Basic Scale of Entrepreneurial Competencies for the Secondary Education level. A study conducted in Spain

“…It is also true that education and training policies should reflect a greater theoretical and practical solidity, showing in the best way possible the nature and the development of business skills and offering a more consistent training panorama to the whole educational system [24]. This is particularly so in the compulsory education levels as a basic shaping of the entrepreneurial identity that entrepreneurs will later need [25,26]. This necessary political orientation especially includes the professionals of entrepreneurship education [27].…”

Basic business knowledge scale for secondary education students. Development and validation with Spanish teenagers

“…In spite of having minimized the value of cultural contents from functionalist approaches, in many predominant cases learning without disciplinary knowledge is fading. Not all knowledge is dispensable or substitutable by any other, given that it is not a question of solely developing certain aptitudes or mental capacities, attitudes or skills, geared to the generation of innovation and initiative [ 29 ], but rather confirming a solid cultural formation around the subject upon which to build a specific business identity [ 30 ]. Ken Robinson [ 31 ], one of the most influential current authors about the essential educational value of creativity, proposes, to overcome the outdated educational system inherited from the Industrial Revolution, a personalized approach of education with the aim of harnessing the potential of available technological and professional resources and of fostering the participation of students for them to lose fear of making mistakes and develop their passion for learning and for establishing their creativity.…”