Gender differences in perception of the university education quality as applied to entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine how university students perceive the selected attributes of university education quality in the context of their possible entrepreneurial activities and to explore the differences between genders in this regard. A total of 977 students from Czech and Slovak universities were surveyed. The Z-test for two population proportions was employed to test the hypotheses. The majority of university students positively perceived the quality of university education in general as well as the quality of education at their faculty. Approximately two thirds of the students in both countries agreed that the acquired knowledge may help them in their future entrepreneurship activities. Czech students perceived the quality of education more positively compared to their Slovak counterparts, despite the fact that they had lower entrepreneurial intention. This research shows there are differences in male and female students’ views. In both countries, female students perceived the quality of education more positively, whereas male students declared a statistically higher interest in entrepreneurial activity as compared to female students. The results of this paper could guide universities and policymakers in designing study programs in entrepreneurship responding better to gender needs so that to increase entrepreneurial participation.