What is the impact of education on entrepreneurship?

Responsible researcher: Viviane Pires Ribeiro

Article title : THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: A STUDY OF IRANIAN STUDENTS'
ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS AND OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION

Article authors : Saeid Karimi, Harm JA Biemans, Thomas Lans, Mohammad Chizari, and Martin Mulder

Location of intervention: Iran

Sample size: 205 participants

Sector: Education

Type of Intervention: Assessment of the impacts of education
on entrepreneurship

Variable of main interest:
Entrepreneurial Education

Assessment method: Others - Theory of Planned Behavior

Assessment Context

Most empirical studies indicate that entrepreneurship, or at least some of its aspects, can be taught and that education can be considered one of the main instruments for fostering entrepreneurial attitudes, intentions and skills. This vision has led to a significant increase in the number of Entrepreneurial Education Programs (PEE) at colleges and universities, thus increasing the number of investments in these programs.

Many developing countries, including Iran, are facing economic problems, in particular the excessive number of university graduates who are unable to find job opportunities in the public or private sector. In recent years, Iran has expressed increasing interest in various fields of entrepreneurship (in higher education and policy-making settings) as a fundamental solution to the problem of unemployment and improving the economy.

To promote and stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation, the Iranian government established in 2000 a comprehensive entrepreneurship development program in universities, called KARAD, as part of the Third Economic and Social Development Program. KARAD's main objectives were to promote entrepreneurial spirit and culture in academic communities; and familiarize students with entrepreneurship, aiming to encourage and prepare them for preparing a business plan. To achieve this goal, several programs and strategies were considered, including the establishment of entrepreneurship centers and the introduction of entrepreneurship courses as “entrepreneurship foundations” in degree programs.

Intervention Details

Given the lack of studies on the impacts of Entrepreneurship Education Programs in Iranian universities, Karimi et al. (2016) seek to reduce theoretical and methodological gaps and make four contributions to the existing literature. First, the authors use an intention model to evaluate the impact of PEE. Second, they study the effects of mandatory and optional entrepreneurship courses at different universities. The third contribution is the use of a pretest and posttest design to study these effects. And the fourth contribution is to evaluate the effect of entrepreneurship education on non-entrepreneurial university students in a developing country, Iran.

Based on the theory of planned behavior, an ex-ante and ex-post survey was used to evaluate the impacts of optional and mandatory PEE on students' entrepreneurial intention and identification of opportunities. Data were collected by questionnaires over a period of approximately four months (2010-2011 academic year), totaling a sample of 205 participants in “fundamentals of entrepreneurship” courses at 6 Iranian universities.

The “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship” course, mandatory or optional, was taught to students in their last two years of graduation at various faculties. The aim of the course was to increase university graduates' knowledge of entrepreneurship, influencing their entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, as well as encouraging them to be job creators rather than job seekers.

Methodology Details

Karimi et al. (2016) used a quantitative method, including a questionnaire that was distributed at the beginning of the first session of the courses (t1) and at the end of the last session (t2). Undergraduate students who enrolled in entrepreneurship courses at six Iranian public universities served as the sample for the study (n = 320). In the first survey (t1), 275 students participated (response rate of 86%) and in the second survey (t2), 240 students (response rate of 75%). It was possible to combine the two questionnaires (t1 and t2) for 205 students, representing 64% of total enrollment in entrepreneurship courses at the selected universities. The sample consisted of 86 male students (42%) and 119 female students (58%), with ages ranging from 19 to 31, with an average of 22.08 years.

There was a higher proportion of women in the sample because more women than men enrolled in the courses in which data were collected. Only students participating in the courses responded to both questionnaires. In general terms, the distribution of the sample according to the higher education course was as follows: Agricultural Sciences (49.8%), Engineering Sciences (21.5%), Human Sciences (21.5%) and Basic Sciences (7 .2%).

All items (apart from demographic characteristics) were measured using a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Several control variables were used in the study: age, gender (coded as 1 = male and 0 = female), university rating (coded as 3 = high rating, 2 = intermediate rating and 1 = low rating), university (categorical variable for the six selected universities) and academic specialization (categorical variable for the four academic degrees).

As a first step, the authors carried out an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) of the items. The remaining items after this filtering exercise were selected to construct each of the constructs used in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in the second stage. This modeling was used to define the relationship between Entrepreneurial Intentions and their antecedents and to test the relationships between Perceived Behavioral Control (PCB), Attitude Towards Entrepreneurship, Opportunity Identification by Perception and Entrepreneurial Intentions. Furthermore, paired samples t-test was used to test the impact of the programs on students' entrepreneurial attitudes, perceptual opportunity identification, and entrepreneurial intentions. Finally, the t-test for independent samples was used to compare the effects of optional and mandatory courses.

Results

The results obtained indicate that Entrepreneurial Education Programs significantly influence subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, but that these programs did not have significant impacts on students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship and their perceptions of identifying opportunities. The study also showed that optional programs significantly increased students' entrepreneurial intentions, but that this increase was not significant for mandatory PEEs.

In particular, the results suggest that universities can develop students' entrepreneurial intentions through optional rather than mandatory PEE. That is, educators must differentiate between mandatory courses offered to all students and optional courses offered to students interested in entrepreneurship. In the first case, after completing the PEE, some students will realize that they are suitable for entrepreneurship and will be strengthened in their decision to become entrepreneurs, while others will realize that they are not. In elective courses, on the other hand, self-selection will lead to a higher level of entrepreneurial intentions and increase the likelihood of participants becoming entrepreneurs.

Public Policy Lessons

The study carried out by Karimi et al. (2016) provides important information for those who formulate, deliver, and evaluate educational programs aimed at increasing students' entrepreneurial intentions. The results indicate that Perceived Behavioral Control is the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial intentions and CCP can be promoted through PEE. Therefore, educators should focus on using appropriate teaching methods in order to enhance students' Perceived Behavioral Control more effectively. The analysis suggests that participation in optional and mandatory PEE can positively influence students' CCP or self-efficacy, confirming that universities can shape and promote entrepreneurial self-efficacy through these programs.

Educational activities that provide “real world” experiences or “virtual reality” classroom experiences, including the use of roleplaying, case studies, and business simulations, facilitate the development of decision-making skills and strengthen business self-confidence through mastery experiences or repeated performance achievements. Vicarious learning (learning derived from indirect sources such as observation) can be increased through educational activities, with successful entrepreneurs as guest speakers, case studies, internships, and participation in business plan competitions. Encouraging comments, positive feedback and praise, persuasive discussions with teachers and professionals in educational programs can increase self-efficacy through social persuasion.

Policymakers and university faculties must recognize the differential effects of various types of PEE and that the effects will not be the same across programs. Although it is not possible to recommend a specific type of program, policymakers and trainers who want to produce more and better entrepreneurs, while subject to cost constraints, should keep in mind that elective programs can produce better results than mandatory programs. Policymakers and educators should also be aware that cultural context and values ​​play an important role in PEE. Therefore, policymakers and educators must develop PEE that accommodates these different cultural values.

Reference

KARIMI, Saeid et al. The impact of entrepreneurship education: A study of Iranian students' entrepreneurial intentions and opportunity identification. Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 54, no. 1, p. 187-209, 2016.