Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

EdD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Learning Sciences and Human Development

Committee Chair

Jiangmei Yuan

Committee Member

Ugur Kale

Committee Member

Jake Follmer

Committee Member

Carrie White

Abstract

There is considerable agreement that promoting entrepreneurship stimulates economic development and job creation, which helps maintain a country’s economic competitiveness. Entrepreneurship education is a key to increasing the likelihood of potential entrepreneurs. While substantial research has documented strategies for enhancing students' entrepreneurial mindset and building entrepreneurial skills in higher education, entrepreneurship is rarely incorporated into or studied in secondary education. This mixed-method study examined the impact of an online ten-lesson entrepreneurship course on secondary students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. Students took a pre-survey that measured their entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions before the course and a post-survey upon completing the course. Students' artifacts (elevator pitch frameworks and business canvas models) from the capstone lesson were collected. A paired-sample t-test compared students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions before and after the course, and artifacts were analyzed using a rubric. Survey results showed significant improvements in two dimensions of entrepreneurial intentions: Professional Attraction and Entrepreneurial Capacity. Students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy subscales (Searching, Planning, Marshaling) did not yield a significant improvement. The analysis of students' artifacts showed that students could identify problems and generate solutions to their problems. However, students did not clearly understand how to project revenue based on a target market.

Download

Share

COinS