Effect of entrepreneurship education on intention of engineering students in technical and vocational education and training institutions in Kenya

Abstract

Globally, both scholars and policy-makers concur that entrepreneurship is instrumental for new venture formation, economic growth and technological progress. Theoretically, there is a general inclination that entrepreneurship education automatically yields entrepreneurial intention. However, few empirical studies examining the direct influence of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention have yielded inconsistent results. Though personality traits and attitudes are critical factors in determining entrepreneurial intention, their effect on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention has received inadequate attention. With the high rate of unemployment in Kenya, self-employment and small enterprise initiatives are presently high on the county’s national development agenda with the hope that the entrepreneurial initiatives will provide alternative channels of employment. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of personality traits and attitude on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention of students in Technical, Vocational Education, and Training institutions in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention, determine the influence of personality traits on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, examine the influence of attitude on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, and determine the joint effect of entrepreneurship education, personality traits, and attitude on entrepreneurial intention. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Data was collected from a sample of 265 third year students drawn from a population of 855 engineering students. Data was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPSS). Profiles of students and study variables were described by use of means and standard deviation. The hypotheses were tested by simple, hierarchical, and multiple regression analyses. The results showed a positive correlation between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. Further, the results revealed that personality traits moderated the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention; while attitude partially mediated the relationship. The combined effect of entrepreneurship education, personality traits and attitude was higher on entrepreneurial intention. The study contributed to entrepreneurship education theory and management policy and practice by arguing that the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention is contingent on interaction of personality traits and attitudes. The understanding of the contingency perspective of the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention would inform an effective entrepreneurship education curriculum. Finally, the study recommends a longitudinal study to explore the cause of low variation in entrepreneurial intention explained by entrepreneurship education. Future tracer studies should be conducted on the link between nascent entrepreneurial intention and actual implementation of intentions. This would fill the gap between intention and actual behavior in relation to venture formation.