A New Approach to Testing the Effects of Entrepreneurship Education Among Secondary School Pupils

Abstract

This papers aims to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of entrepreneurship education among secondary school pupils. Using a combination of retrospective pretest-posttest and selfperceived change measures, we assessed changes in entrepreneurial intent, creativity and attitudes towards entrepreneurs as a result of a variation of 21 entrepreneurship education programs among 3130 pupils in Flanders, Belgium. Furthermore, we grounded entrepreneurial intent in Shapero's Entrepreneurial Event model and tested the impacts of the entrepreneurship perceived feasibility, perceived desirability and propensity to act. We find that the higher the intensity and experientiality of the entrepreneurship programs, the stronger their impact on some of the variables investigated. Furthermore, we found that the subjective evaluation of the program by the pupils had an even stronger effect on all investigated changes. As such, our findings highlight the importance of both objectively measurable program characteristics, as well as their subjective evaluation by the pupils in order to increase their effectiveness.

Entrepreneurship Education and Academic Performance

“…Former studies in upper-secondary school have explored: (1) whether EE promotes creativity, ability to work in a team, and problem solving (e.g., Johansen et al, 2008;Lepoutre, van den Berghe, Tilleuil, & Crijns, 2010;Riese, 2011), (2) whether EE increases perceived desirability, feasibility, and intention for entrepreneurship (e.g., do Paço, Ferreira, Raposo, Rodrigues, & Dinis, 2011;Peterman & Kennedy, 2003;Oosterbeek, van Praag, & Ijsselstein, 2010;), and (3) long-term studies investigating actual start-up frequencies among former participants in EE (e.g. Johansen, 2010;Wennberg, 2010).…”

The impact and effectiveness of entrepreneurship policy

“…Studies of the impact of entrepreneurial education adopt various proxies for entrepreneurship including intentions to become an entrepreneur, the feasibility of entrepreneurial ventures, and competencies associated with entrepreneurship (Lepoutre et al, 2010). However the results of such studies are mixed.…”

Promoting entrepreneurial potential in adolescents: A pilot study based on intergenerational contact

“…Another interesting finding from the study of Lepoutre et al (2010) refers to the fact that participants' assessment of the entrepreneurial education program turned out to be the most significant indicator of change produced in interesting variables. This highlights the importance of adapting these programs so that students find them enjoyable and relevant.…”

“…In recent years, a study (Lepoutre, Van den Berghe, Tilleuil & Crijns, 2010) investigated, using a sample of adolescents, whether entrepreneurship education programs have a positive effect on entrepreneurial intentions, the creativity and the attitude towards business owners. It also studied whether this effect manifested itself in different ways depending on the chance to experience being an entrepreneur from close up.…”

“…However, bearing in mind that the research design did not include a control group, it could be argued that these significant retrospective differences between the pre-and post-test stages could be due to natural progress made by students during their school years (Hill & Betz, 2005). The analysis made by Lepoutre et al (2010) on the differences between entrepreneurship programs, indicated that those that took longer and were more experiential were the most effective in increasing perceived desirability, perceived feasibility and creativity. Nonetheless, these programs were not as important when it came to entrepreneurial intentions and the propensity to act.…”