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Enhancing entrepreneurial motivation among pupils and students through a training program
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Entrepreneurial success is likely to be related to the personality structure of an entrepreneur. Among these entrepreneurial characteristics are achievement orientation, risk-taking, leadership and internal locus of control. This study focused on the enhancement of entrepreneurial potential among adolescents by a training program. The aim was the promotion of abilities such as leadership, reflection on entrepreneurial interests and information about entrepreneurs. Data has been collected from N = 632 students aged 15 to 25 of 12 different schools (college and non-college bound tracks) in Thuringia between March and November 2001. 356 students (intervention group) took part in a life-skills based training conducted by their teachers either as units of the regular curriculum, or as an intensive three-day course. The program was evaluated using a questionnaire as pre-test and post-test measurement. Data of the intervention group was compared with a control group (group matching) of 276 adolescents without entrepreneurial training. A comparison of the intervention and control group with analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant increase of knowledge about entrepreneurship and self employment, and a promotion of abilities related to leadership such as 'giving feedback' in the experimental group. Concerning the development of entrepreneurial interests, a discriminant function analyses revealed that personality traits and family background predicted different patterns of interest developement (stable high, stable low, decreaser, increaser, undecided). Adolescents in the stable high and increaser groups showed the most entrepreneurial personality profile (high internal control and achievement orientation, low risk avoidance and high social dominance) and adolescents grouped as decreasers or stable low the least. Moreover, increasers often had a non-entrepreneurial family background. Finally, a one year follow-up study via telephone interview with 324 students shed light on the long-term effects of the intervention program. Especially females and students close to a career decision deadline did profit from the program in the long run and showed high interest in entrepreneurial activities. Results suggest that the new program is a useful tool in supporting adolescents` exploration of entrepreneurial activities as future career option and should be applied at large scale in school curricula.
The study was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Thuringian Ministry of Science, Research and Arts. The Training Program was honored with the German Young Scientist Award 2005 funded by the Körber Foundation.
The Training Manual and CD with Materials in German is available:
Schröder, E. & Schmitt-Rodermund, E. (2004). Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and self-reflection - Evaluation of an intervention program for adolescents. 18 th biennal conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Ghent, Belgium. |
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Principal investigator: E. Schmitt-Rodermund in collaboration with E. Schröder |