Exposure to entrepreneurship education interventions reveal improvements to vocational entrepreneurial intent: a two-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

The education sector has witnessed a growing recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship education (EE), which has expanded beyond its traditional focus on business students. While higher education institutions have gained significant prominence in EE, little is known about the effects of EE in technical vocational education and training (TVET) institutions. This study aimed to examine the impact of EE on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI), attitudes towards business (ATB) creation, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) of vocational students, grounded in the theory of planned behavior. Adopting a Two-Wave Longitudinal design, the study was conducted on a sample of 128 TVET students who underwent an intensive six-month EE program. The results showed that the Time 2 scores were significantly higher than the Time 1 scores for EI (9.510), ATB (9.773), SN (8.588), and PBC (2.993), indicating the effectiveness of EE in fostering pro-entrepreneurial desires among vocational students. The findings suggest that TVET institutions should consider incorporating EE into their curricula and provide adequate support systems for their student population. This study contributes to the limited research on the impact of EE in the TVET context, particularly within emerging economies, and offers insights for educational practice and future research.