The Impacts of an Entrepreneurial Course on High School Students' Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Intentions

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Designing Meaningful Learning Experiences (San Diego)

Abstract

Entrepreneurship in secondary education is essential because it promotes the entrepreneurial mindset before students choose a college pathway. However, entrepreneurship is rarely incorporated in secondary schools. This study examined the impact of an online entrepreneurship course on secondary students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. Students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy (searching, planning, marshaling) and entrepreneurial intentions (professional attraction, entrepreneurial capacity, and entrepreneurial intention) were measured before and after the course. The artifacts students created in three of the ten lessons were analyzed by using rubrics. Paired sample t-tests show that professional attraction and entrepreneurial capacity significantly improved, but entrepreneurial self-efficacy did not.
Preliminary analysis of the artifacts suggests that students were able to do entrepreneurial tasks and learned from the course.

Authors

• Toi Hershman

• Jiangmei Yuan, West Virginia University