Education program and experiential learning in Chinese entrepreneurship education: A year-long Social Cognitive Theory intervention's impact on self-efficacy and intention

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education helps young people create their first job, typically through either experiential learning or education programs. Our study evaluated the effect of integrating both methods in a single intervention involving 40 people aged 18 to 25. Our research intervention was grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory. We assessed its impact via ANCOVA analyses. We looked for shifts in entrepreneurial self-efficacy (across six subdimensions) and intention of 20 intervention participants compared with an equal number of control participants. The results indicated statistically significant changes in all the measures except initiating investor relationships and building an innovative environment. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of delivering entrepreneurial education in non-formal Chinese settings. It also pioneers exploring the impact of education programs and experiential learning in a single intervention. Finally, it assesses this impact over one year, sharply contrasting with the more typical exploring of relationships at a single time point. Our findings contribute to the ongoing discourse on the efficacy of entrepreneurship education programs in China, providing support for offering such programs outside formal education. Our results also emphasize the significance of comprehending the surroundings in which the programs are being delivered and the potential external forces that participants may be exposed to. © 2024 China Science Publishing & Media Ltd

Keywords

Author Keywords

Entrepreneurship education Social cognitive theory Experiential learning Entrepreneurial intention Entrepreneurial self-efficacy China

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Michiel de Ruyter Scientific Organization from Partium, Oradea, Romania, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

🇨🇳 SHANGHAI JIN SHENG CREATIVE SERVICE CO. LTD., SHANGHAI, China

Funding & Acknowledgements

European Commission, EC

Funding text 1: To enable a Chinese social purpose enterprise to create an environment encouraging social innovation, the European Commission supported the \"Youth Employment and Social entrepreneurship\" (YES) project through the Erasmus Plus programme. The project targeted 18- to 25-year-old young people, presenting a unique opportunity to undertake novel research in its Chinese geographical context, where entrepreneurship studies generally seem to be sparse and limited. In the present study, the authors aimed to explore whether the YES-embedded EE resulted in statistically significant changes in the participants' ESE and intentions over one year. Our objectives were to 1) adopt a longitudinal design instead of exploring relationships at a single time point, thus addressing gap 1, and 2) utilize a social purpose enterprise as opposed to a higher education setting, thus addressing gap 2.; Funding text 2: This article is an output of the YES project (number: 617207-EPP-1-2020-1-RO-EPPKA2-CBY-ACPALA), implemented with the support of the EU Erasmus+ programme, Grant decision (agreement number: 2020-617207) of the European Commission Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The article reflects the views only of its authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, EACEA

Funding text 1: To enable a Chinese social purpose enterprise to create an environment encouraging social innovation, the European Commission supported the \"Youth Employment and Social entrepreneurship\" (YES) project through the Erasmus Plus programme. The project targeted 18- to 25-year-old young people, presenting a unique opportunity to undertake novel research in its Chinese geographical context, where entrepreneurship studies generally seem to be sparse and limited. In the present study, the authors aimed to explore whether the YES-embedded EE resulted in statistically significant changes in the participants' ESE and intentions over one year. Our objectives were to 1) adopt a longitudinal design instead of exploring relationships at a single time point, thus addressing gap 1, and 2) utilize a social purpose enterprise as opposed to a higher education setting, thus addressing gap 2.; Funding text 2: This article is an output of the YES project (number: 617207-EPP-1-2020-1-RO-EPPKA2-CBY-ACPALA), implemented with the support of the EU Erasmus+ programme, Grant decision (agreement number: 2020-617207) of the European Commission Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The article reflects the views only of its authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

References 10 References

1 Abdelfattah, Fadi Abdel Muniem, Cognitive style and fostering of technological adaptation drive E-entrepreneurial of new mature business, International Journal of Innovation Studies, 7, 3, pp. 230-243, (2023)

2 Ajzen, Icek, The theory of planned behavior, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 2, pp. 179-211, (1991)

3 Al-Qadasi, Nabil, Attitude of youth towards self-employment: Evidence from university students in Yemen, PLoS ONE, 16, 9 September, (2021)

4 Aljaouni, Nour Walid, Financial literacy programs and youth entrepreneurial attitudes: some insights from the Jordanian community, Journal of Enterprising Communities, 14, 5, pp. 787-810, (2020)

5 Anwar, Imran, The role of entrepreneurship education and inclination on the nexus of entrepreneurial motivation, individual entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intention: Testing the model using moderated-mediation approach, Journal of Education for Business, 97, 8, pp. 531-541, (2022)

6 Enriching Youth Policies in Cities Lessons from My Generation at Work Thematic Network, (2015)

7 Arshed, Noman, Empirical Contribution of Human Capital in Entrepreneurship, Global Business Review, 25, 3, pp. 683-704, (2024)

8 Athayde, Rosemary, Measuring enterprise potential in young people, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 33, 2, pp. 481-500, (2009)

9 Athayde, Rosemary, The impact of enterprise education on attitudes to enterprise in young people: An evaluation study, Education and Training, 54, 8, pp. 709-726, (2012)

10 Awad, Jeehan A.R., Enhancing social responsibility and resilience through entrepreneurship and digital environment, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31, 3, pp. 1688-1704, (2024)

Education program and experiential learning in Chinese entrepreneurship education: A year-long Social Cognitive Theory intervention's impact on self-efficacy and intention

How to Cite