Impact of the Exposure to Entrepreneurship Education on Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Case - Based Study of the Higher Education in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of the exposure to entrepreneurship education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. This is an exploratory quantitative study. A questionnaire based on McClelland model was applied on a sample of 230 Business undergraduate students of a Brazilian university throughout a period of eight semesters. The following statistical tools were used - t-Student, ANOVA, Hierarchical Cluster, K-Means Cluster, Cross tabulation and Chi-Square. No differences were significant to discriminate gender, nor previous experiences on family business. Yet, there were no significant changes of entrepreneurial competencies factors mean values when considering longitudinal behavior in units of semesters in the period of 2014 to 2017. Although there are two groups representing different levels of intention to undertake, even the group with less intention presents mean value around and/or above the minimum threshold value (as 30) mentioned by McClelland. The results of all tests provide empirical evidences that allow confirming that the exposure to entrepreneurial education indeed influences and positively the students´ entrepreneurial intentions. The entrepreneurial education may not be only related to development of entrepreneurs or tied to the specifics of starting a business. It should also contribute to economic development, enterprising spirit and work skills among people aiming professional self-realization in various contexts. Two directions for policy intervention in the area of the higher education in Brazil are offered: entrepreneurship becomes an interdisciplinary program and be present in all courses and bring universities closer to the market by strengthening the entrepreneur ecosystem.