Entrepreneurship Education And Entrepreneurship Intention:Mediating Effect Of Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy

Entrepreneurship education has gained attention in academic institutions and other training interventions following empirical evidence linking it to entrepreneurship practice.In Malawi,entrepreneurship education is offered formally in universities and vocational colleges;and informally in Community Skills Development Centers(CSDC).This study was aimed at assessing the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention of CSDC students and the mediation effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy.The study used mixed methods approach that was predominantly quantitative and sequential,where a questionnaire was administered to 205 CSDC students to collect quantitative data,and interviews were conducted with seven students to collect qualitative data.To identify participants,stratified random sampling and convenience sampling techniques were used.A paired t-test was conducted to measure the difference in entrepreneurial intention of students before and after the entrepreneurship education program,which helped to explain the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention.Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to establish the extent to which entrepreneurship education affected entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy,as well as,the extent to which entrepreneurial self-efficacy affected entrepreneurial intention.PROCESS macro in SPSS was conducted to establish the mediation effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy.The study established that entrepreneurship education positively and significantly affected entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of students;entrepreneurial selfefficacy positively and significantly affected entrepreneurial intention;and that entrepreneurial self-efficacy partially mediated between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention.The study also established that knowledgeability of the teachers,integration of theory and practice,motivational talk by accomplished business people,economic landscape,and occupation-oriented examples can strengthen or weaken the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention.Based on the aforementioned findings,the study makes some recommendations which stakeholders need to take on board to further improve the outcomes of the program.Firstly,entrepreneurship teachers should make sure that they deliver and assess lessons both theoretically and practically.Secondly,CSDC managers should be recruiting entrepreneurship teachers that have subject matter,pedagogical expertise,and entrepreneurial experience.They should also set up business enterprises within the premises of the training centers so that students could be participating in the actual operations of the business as part of their practical learning.Thirdly,curriculum developers should review the entrepreneurship curriculum used by CSDCs to include other aspects of entrepreneurship that can enable start-up entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.Fourthly,policy makers should make sure that there are synergies within government policies in order to create conducive environment for start-up entrepreneurs.This study provides insightful research answers in understanding the role of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in influencing entrepreneurial intention of CSDC students.It also contributes to the extant literature regarding the mediation effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention,by providing evidence from educational institutions that have least been researched.Over and above,the study has brought into the light fundamental factors that can increase or decrease the effect of entrepreneurship education.These factors need to be considered when planning for entrepreneurship education program to ensure optimum outcomes.