| Entrepreneurship education programs have expanded across post-secondary education in the past thirty years, leading to an increased need to further understand the impact entrepreneurship education has along the construct of entrepreneurship development. Three related studies comprise this research and were conducted to investigate the effect entrepreneurship education has on entrepreneurship development. Students, existing entrepreneurs, and alumni were surveyed in these three studies to compare differences between participants and non-participants in educational experiences. The present research builds upon the existing body of knowledge and seeks to provide research and psychometric contributions to the field by studying specific educational interventions and modifying a survey instrument designed to measure the constructs of Entrepreneurial Intent, Entrepreneurship Self-Efficacy, Entrepreneurship Outcome Expectations, and Goal Directed Activity. In reviewing the literature, the researcher identified areas in which additional exploration was needed to further explore how an individual develops in the area of entrepreneurship. To address gaps in the literature, the present research refines scales used to measure entrepreneurship development, investigates changes individuals experience through entrepreneurship education, utilizes robust statistical methods and draws from a diverse sample of current students existing entrepreneurs and alumni of an entrepreneurship education program. |
