Document Type : Research Paper
Abstract
Background:
Entrepreneurship Education is a systematic process aimed at developing knowledge, skills, attitudes, and personality traits, delivered through formal education (Azim & Al-kahtani, 2015). Given that the key characteristics of entrepreneurs—such as initiative, risk-taking, independence, creativity, positive thinking, and more—are learnable and teachable, entrepreneurship education has become one of the most fundamental activities in the educational systems of developed countries. By providing a suitable environment and offering necessary training, efforts are made to strengthen these individual traits (Arasti, Sefidgar, & Zafrian, 2015). In fact, the success of advanced and developed countries in addressing unemployment is the result of their particular attention to entrepreneurship and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset within the educational system from childhood and adolescence (Sessen & Pruett, 2014).Self-employment plays a significant role in the economic development of a country (Aboho, Aleru, & Danladi, 2016; Okeke, Okonkwo, & Oboreh, 2016), and entrepreneurship education has been introduced as a means of supporting self-employment (Gafar et al., 2015). On the other hand, Martin, McNally, and Kay (2013) in their research have highlighted the impact of entrepreneurship education on self-employment. In other words, entrepreneurship education is a form of investment for the future, as through these trainings, individuals can gain positive experiences, make better decisions about their career paths, and engage in creating new jobs (Zabihi & Moghadasi, 2006). Entrepreneurship education enhances awareness of self-employment, motivates individuals to equip themselves with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to establish and develop effective businesses (Fleming, 1996).
(Sri Ramalu, Nadarajah & Aremu, 2020) in a study involving 332 students from three higher education institutions in northern Malaysia, concluded that entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial support, environment, and educational programs have a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial self-employment. In other words, the knowledge gained from entrepreneurship education positively and significantly influences students' self-employment after graduation.
(Iyortsuun, Goyit & Dakung, 2021) in a study of 445 students from four universities in northern Nigeria, found that intense passion, based on human capital theory, plays a mediating role in the relationship between entrepreneurship education programs and a positive attitude toward self-employment.
(Zaman et al., 2021) in a study of 542 students from public universities in Pakistan, concluded that entrepreneurship education, which includes business programs, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and social entrepreneurial attitudes, has a positive and significant impact on individuals' inclination toward self-employment.
(Seyedi, Moradnezhadi & Mehdizadeh, 2021) in a study of 30 trainees from the Ivaneh Technical and Vocational Training Center for Women, aimed at comparing two teaching methods—lecture (control group) and guest lecture (experimental group)—on the learning of business and entrepreneurial skills, found that, except for human resource skills, the experimental group scored significantly higher in twelve other areas compared to the control group.
Research purpose:
The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental research was to estimate the impact of entrepreneurship training on perceived self-employment of help seekers of Imam Khomeini relief committee.
Research questions:
1.Is there a significant difference between the perceived self-employment of the experimental group and the control group in the science test before entrepreneurship training?
2.Is there a significant difference between the perceived self-employment of the experimental group and the control group in the science test after entrepreneurship training?
Method:
The study participants included three groups as follows: 70 help seekers of Imam Khomeini relief foundation. They divided to two groups : 27 people in control group and 27 people in experimental group by droping out 9 people of 70 people as sample. The participants were selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected via Singh and Denoble(2003) and Decker and Calo(2012) sclaes. In this study, a quasi-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test design, including a control group, was used. The statistical population of this research included all clients of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Fars Province. For entrepreneurship training, educational programs were first prepared, and the instructors responsible for implementing the program received the necessary training and acquired the required information about the educational content. In this regard, after selecting various centers of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee across Fars Province where the training was to be conducted, necessary coordination was made with the trainers of these centers to provide them with the required training. Following this, the initial preparations for working with the target clients began.For the analysis of data, T-Test & Analyze of Covariance in SPSS 25 were used.
Results:
The findings of the first question of research showed that there is no significant difference between all dimensions of self-employment (ability to recognize ideas for self-employment; feel confident enough to quit a secure job; ability to run a business; to have intensions to be self-employed; to devote free time to the further researching and planning of own business) of the experimental group and the control group in the science test before entrepreneurship education. At the end the results of the second question of research showed that there is significant difference between all dimensions of self-employment(ability to recognize ideas for self-employment; feel confident enough to quit a secure job; ability to run a business; to have intensions to be self-employed; to devote free time to the further researching and planning of own business) of the experimental group and the control group in the science test before entrepreneurship education.
Discussion and conclusions :
The findings of this research showed that the impact of entrepreneurship education on self-employment of help seekers of Imam Khomeini relief foundation. In this regard, the authorities should hold the entrepreneurship training courses for help seekers of Imam Khomeini relief foundation to motivate them to run their own business. "Indeed, entrepreneurship education is an important method for encouraging entrepreneurship because it: gives individuals a sense of independence and self-confidence; enables individuals to identify career priorities; broadens their perspective, allowing them to better recognize opportunities; and provides them with the knowledge to successfully develop new business opportunities (Doğan, 2015). On the other hand, entrepreneurship education enhances students' entrepreneurial awareness and abilities, helping them achieve independence. In other words, such education leads to the creation of new businesses and improves the level and quality of existing businesses (Long et al., 2021). In fact, entrepreneurship refers to the knowledge, skills, competencies, and mental frameworks that university graduates are expected to utilize to seize surrounding opportunities for self-employment and succeed in this endeavor (Kalimasi & Herman, 2016). In other words, entrepreneurship education can influence the knowledge and skills of graduate entrepreneurs, encouraging them to pursue self-employment. Essentially, this type of education provides entrepreneurial students with the knowledge and skills they need for self-employment (Yoon, 2018).
Keywords
Main Subjects
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