1042-2587

Copyright 2003 by
Baylor University

Enterprise Education:
E T&P Influencing Students’
Perceptions of
Entrepreneurship
Nicole E. Peterman
Jessica Kennedy

This research examines the effect of participation in an enterprise education program on

perceptions of the desirability and feasibility of starting a business. Changes in the per-
ceptions of a sample of secondary school students enrolled in the Young Achievement
Australia (YAA) enterprise program are analysed using a pre-test post-test control group
research design. After completing the enterprise program, participants reported signifi-
cantly higher perceptions of both desirability and feasibility. The degree of change in per-
ceptions is related to the positiveness of prior experience and to the positiveness of the
experience in the enterprise education program. Self-efficacy theory is used to explain the
impact of the program. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence to support including
exposure to entrepreneurship education as an additional exposure variable in entrepre-
neurial intentions models.

Introduction

Early research on the factors that influence the decision to start a new business
focused on trait or personality characteristics of individuals (Brockhaus, 1980; 1982;
McClelland, 1961). Models were also developed of the entrepreneurial process that in-
corporated behavioral and situational factors (Gartner, 1985; Van de Ven, Hudson, &
Schroeder, 1984). More recently, intentions models (Bird, 1988; Boyd & Vozikis, 1994;
Shapero, 1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982) that focus on attitudes and their antecedents have
been proposed to better explain the entrepreneurship process. For example, Davidsson
(1995) related personal variables including age, gender, education, vicarious experience
and experiences of change to a variety of attitudes that influenced conviction and entre-
preneurial intentions.
Despite the recognition that education and prior entrepreneurial experiences influ-
ence people’s attitudes towards starting their own business, the impact of entrepreneur-
ship or enterprise education, as distinct from general education, on attitudes or
perceptions of entrepreneurship has remained relatively untested (Donckels, 1991;
Krueger & Brazeal, 1994). University-based entrepreneurship curricula have attracted the

Please send all correspondence to: Jessica Kennedy j.kennedy@cqu.edu.au.

Winter, 2003 129

bulk of research within the area of entrepreneurship education (Gorman, Hanlon, & King,
1997; Young, 1997) leaving a gap in the literature pertaining to pre-university entrepre-
neurship and enterprise programs. However, entrepreneurship development in primary
and secondary schools has received growing attention (Donckels, 1991; Gasse, 1985;
Kourilsky, 1995) because students have expressed a desire to participate in entrepre-
neurship education programs. It is believed that the ideal stage to acquire basic knowl-
edge about entrepreneurship and to foster a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship is
during childhood and adolescence years (Filion, 1994; Gasse, 1985).
Although the alleged benefits of entrepreneurship education have been much extolled
by researchers and educators, there has been little rigorous research on its effects. In 1986,
Dainow reviewed ten years of entrepreneurship education literature and concluded that
researchers need to systematically collect and analyse data and adopt more varied
methodologies. The Gorman et al. (1997) review of literature pertaining to entrepre-
neurship, enterprise and small business education indicates that more rigorous studies are
still required. Their review includes numerous references to research that assume a causal
relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial behavior. However,
few researchers attempted to measure the influence of education (Gorman et al., 1997).
At the present time, it is evident that the question of whether education, be it general or
focus on enterprise, can influence entrepreneurial perceptions, requires further research
(Donckels, 1991; Kantor, 1988; Krueger & Brazeal, 1994; McMullan, Chrisman, &
Vesper, 2002). Ideally, researchers need to develop credible methods of testing precon-
ceived hypotheses, using control groups, large sample sizes, and conducting long-term
studies for example. Descriptive or retrospective techniques are not likely to provide con-
vincing evidence that entrepreneurship can be influenced by educational programs
(Alberti, 1999, Gorman et al., 1997; Matthews & Moser, 1996). There is opportunity to
test what has remained relatively untested, and consequently, move the field beyond its
exploratory stage (Alberti, 1999).
The purpose of this article is to study the effect of enterprise education on percep-
tions of entrepreneurship in adolescents. More specifically it questions what effect par-
ticipation by high school students in an enterprise education program has on perceptions
of the feasibility and desirability of starting a business.

Intentions Models

A variety of intentions models have been developed by previous researchers. These

include the model proposed by Bird (1988) and developed by Boyd and Vozikis (1994),
the Shapero (1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982) model tested by Krueger (1993), and the
Davidsson (1995) variation, which was extended and applied by Autio et al. (1997) to
the university situation. Dominant models of entrepreneurial intentions are largely homol-
ogous in that they all focus on the pre-entrepreneurial event and integrate attitude and
behavior theory (Ajzen, 1991), and self-efficacy and social learning theory (Bandura,
1986). Additionally, the models include exogenous factors, environmental factors, voli-
tional elements and the influence of supportive environments, suggesting that these
factors contribute to the coalescing of entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions. There
appears to be little difference in the proportion of variation in intentions explained using
different approaches (Krueger, Reilly, & Carsrud, 2000). This article will examine the
effect of enterprise education on perceptions using the Shapero model.
Shapero’s (1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982) model hypothesises that a person’s intent
to start a business is influenced by perceived desirability, perceived feasibility, and

130 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

propensity to act. Shapero assumes that people are motivated by displacement, which
could be either positive or negative. People’s resulting behavior, Shapero posits, will
depend on their propensity to act and the relative credibility of alternative behaviors
(Shapero, 1985). Perceived desirability, perceived feasibility and propensity to act are
presented as direct antecedents to entrepreneurial intentions. Shapero suggests that a
person’s attitude towards entrepreneurship would be indirectly influenced by his or her
prior exposure to entrepreneurship, through prior work experience and the existence of
role models. Krueger (1993) tested this model, incorporating breadth and positiveness of
prior experience to capture prior exposure to entrepreneurship.
In this study, participation in an enterprise program is incorporated in Shapero’s
(1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982) model to determine its impact on the perceived desir-
ability and perceived feasibility of starting a business.

Education and Perceptions of Entrepreneurship

Some early researchers hypothesized that entrepreneurs are less well educated than
the general population (Jacobowitz & Vilder, 1982). More recent evidence suggests that
people who start businesses have a higher level of education than people who do not
(Bates, 1995; Bowen & Hisrich, 1986). In particular, the study of census data (Robinson
& Sexton, 1994) provides convincing evidence that business owners are more highly
educated than the general public. Despite the relationship demonstrated between level of
education and business ownership, it has been argued that formal education in general
does not encourage entrepreneurship. Rather, it prepares students for the corporate domain
(Timmons, 1994), promotes a “take-a-job” mentality (Kourilsky, 1995) and suppresses
creativity and entrepreneurship (Chamard, 1989; Plaschka & Welsch, 1990).
To foster entrepreneurship, specialised courses have become increasingly common
in tertiary institutions (Solomon & Fernald, 1991) and enterprise education has been pro-
moted to encourage entrepreneurial behavior (Donckels, 1991; Gasse, 1985). Reviews
of the literature on enterprise and entrepreneurship education (Dainow, 1986; Gorman,
1997) and of particular entrepreneurship support programs (McMullan et al., 2002)
provide some evidence that these programs are successful in encouraging entrepreneurs
to start businesses, or improve the performance of businesses. However, as the reviews
state, the studies tend to have methodological limitations in that in general they do not
measure pre- and post-test, and also lack control groups. Moreover, the purpose and eval-
uation of these programs need to be carefully considered, as the commonly used subjec-
tive participant satisfaction measures are not correlated with objective measures of
subsequent venture performance (McMullan, Chrisman, & Vesper, 2001).
This study focuses on an enterprise education program and its effect on perceptions
of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and enterprise education programs that are
described as best practice, such as Mini Society, Youth Empowerment and Self-
Sufficiency and Youth Achievement Australia (Breen, 1999; Kourilsky & Carlson, 1996),
have similar characteristics and incorporate interactive learning, experience-based learn-
ing, role models and community and business links. The likely effect of this type of edu-
cation on perceptions of entrepreneurship can be explained through theories of social
learning and self-efficacy.
Career socialisation theory proposes that the decision to initiate a career is influenced
by many social factors including exposure to educational experiences (Dyer, 1994).
Enterprise education programs provide social experiences, such as opportunities to exer-
cise significant responsibilities, to start one’s own business and to observe role models.

Winter, 2003 131

These experiences may influence a person’s desire to pursue a career congruent with his
or her learning experiences (Kram, 1983; Shapero & Sokol, 1982). Hence, enterprise
educational experiences could be expected to influence the perceived desirability of
starting a business.
Self-efficacy relates to a person’s perception of ability to execute a target behavior
(Bandura, 1986). Shapero’s model assumes that self-efficacy is central to intentions
towards entrepreneurship and specifically influences the perceived feasibility of starting
a business (Shapero, 1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982). Self-efficacy is believed to be influ-
enced by experience and social influence (Ajzen, 1987; Boyd & Vozikis, 1994; Shapero,
1975; Shapero & Sokol, 1982), by mastery of experience, observational learning or
vicarious experience, social persuasion, and support and personal judgments or physio-
logical states (Boyd & Vozikis, 1994; Krueger & Brazeal, 1994). Best practice entrepre-
neurship programs are expected to increase the self-efficacy of participants.

The YAA Program and Its Hypothesized Effects

Established in 1977 in Australia, YAA is a non-profit, non-government organisation

that operates nationally through a network of state and regional offices. It is an extension
of Junior Achievement, which was founded in 1911 in the United States of America. The
YAA business skills program is an enterprise education program designed to offer young
people a practical introduction to business. The program is cross-disciplinary and pro-
vides an in-depth, practical opportunity for participants to develop and demonstrate key
competencies and enterprise skills in a supportive and challenging learning environment.
Participants have opportunities to increase their understanding of the firm lifecycle, and
of marketing, human resources, finance, manufacturing and general management respon-
sibilities. The program has four modules that represent the key stages of the firm cycle:
foundation, establishment, consolidation and improvements and liquidation. Compre-
hensive manuals are provided as well as regular newsletters and support from Australian
state offices. Participants are coached by two or three volunteer role model advisers from
local organisations during the initial stages of the program. Once the business is opera-
tional, the advisers’ role becomes one of consultant. The business skills program is usually
run after school hours at the premises of the sponsoring organisation.
The following hypotheses are based on the results of prior studies and the expected
effects of the YAA program.
The perceptions of students prior to entering the YAA program will be influenced by
their prior experiences. More specifically,
Hypothesis 1a: Perceived desirability will be positively related to breadth of prior
experience.
Hypothesis 1b: Perceived desirability will be positively related to positiveness of
prior experience.
Hypothesis 2a: Perceived feasibility will be positively related to breadth of prior
experience.
Hypothesis 2b: Perceived feasibility will be positively related to positiveness of
prior experience.
These hypotheses are the same as those tested by Krueger (1993) using a sample of uni-
versity students.

132 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

 Prior experiences will influence the decision of whether or not to enrol in the YAA
program. It is reasonable to propose that those who have broader experience or more
positive experience will be more interested in furthering their knowledge and experience
of entrepreneurship.
Hypothesis 3a: People with broader prior experience will be more likely to decide
to participate in the enterprise education program.
Hypothesis 3b: People with more positive prior experience will be more likely to
decide to participate in the enterprise education program.
Completing the enterprise program is expected to result in positive changes in percep-
tions of entrepreneurship. The following hypotheses relate to high school students’ expo-
sure to enterprise education.
Hypothesis 4: Participation in the enterprise education program will positively
increase perceptions of desirability of starting a business.
Hypothesis 5: Participation in the enterprise education program will positively
increase perceptions of feasibility of starting a business.
The effects of the program are not expected to be the same for all participants. The
extent to which perceptions change as a result of the YAA experience is expected to
be influenced by the prior experiences of the participants, with greater changes occurring
in those with low levels of experience or less positive experience. Participants with
low levels of prior experience are expected to start the program with low levels of
perceived feasibility and desirability. The YAA program will be the major influence
on their perceptions, which are expected to rise substantially. In contrast, the perceptions
of those with higher levels of prior experience are expected to be moderated by the
YAA program, but this program is only one of a number of experiences that can be
expected to influence perceptions. Participants whose prior experience has been negative
are expected to react positively to the program, resulting in an increase in perceptions.
For those with very positive prior experiences, the YAA program may change percep-
tions, but there is likely to be a ceiling effect with only a small change in perceptions
feasible.
Hypothesis 6a: People with low breadth of experience will record greater increase
in perceived desirability than those with broader prior experience.
Hypothesis 6b: People with less positive prior experience will record a greater
increase in perceived desirability than those with more positive prior experience.
Hypothesis 7a: People with low breadth of prior experience will record a greater
increase in perceived feasibility than those with broader prior experience.
Hypothesis 7b: People with less positive prior experience will record a greater
increase in perceived feasibility than those with more positive prior experience.

Data and Measures

A pre-test-post-test control group design was adopted to measure the change in

respondents’ perceived desirability and perceived feasibility over a period of approxi-
mately five months. The group who participated in the YAA program and the control
group were voluntarily tested at both times.

Winter, 2003 133

Figure 1

The Conceptual Model

Perceived
H1ab Desirability

H6ab
Exposure to
Entrepreneurship: Participation in H4
Breadth and H3ab an Enterprise
Positiveness Education
of prior experience Program H5

H7ab
Perceived
H2ab Feasibility

Table 1

Descriptive Data—Pre-Test Group

Descriptive characteristics YAA participants Control group

Sex: Male 40 50
Sex: Female 77 69
Age: 15 6 1
Age: 16 92 103
Age: 17 8 9
Age: 18 11 6
School grade: 11 110 117
School grade: 12 7 2

The sample was obtained by first identifying schools in Queensland where the YAA
program was being offered and was at the introductory stage. A self-administered ques-
tionnaire was mailed to the teachers at 17 schools. It was completed by 117 students who
were beginning a YAA program and 119 students from the same schools and the same
class who had declined to enrol. The sex, age and school grade of students in the test and
control group are described in Table 1. A second questionnaire was sent at the end of the
YAA program, five months later, and the same students were asked to complete it. The
second questionnaire was completed by 112 YAA participants and 112 control partici-
pants. Although participation in the research was voluntary, the questionnaire was com-
pleted by all students who were in class on the day that it was administered. A total of
12 of the post-test questionnaires were not returned, five from the YAA group and seven

134 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

Table 2

Pre-Test Questionnaire and Scales Used

Intentions
Do you think you will ever start a business?
Perceived feasibility
How hard do you think it would be?
How certain of success are you?
How overworked would you be?
Do you know enough to start a business?
How sure of yourself are you?
Perceived desirability
I would love doing it.
How tense would you be?
How enthusiastic would you be?
Entrepreneurial experience
Have your parents ever started a business?
Has anyone else you know started a business?
Have you ever worked for a small or new company?
Have you ever started a business?
Positiveness of experience
For each of the 4 entrepreneurial experience
questions, the following question was asked:
Has the experience been positive or negative?
Yes/No
Very hard = 1; Very easy = 7
Very certain of success = 1; very certain of failing = 7
Very overworked = 1; Not overworked at all = 7
Know everything = 1; Know nothing = 7
Very sure of myself = 1; Very unsure of myself = 7
I’d love doing it = 1; I’d hate doing it = 7
Very tense = 1; Not tense at all = 7
Very enthused = 1; Very unenthusiastic = 7
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No
Yes/No

from the control group. Three YAA participants and one control group member were
deleted from the data set because they recorded that they had been exposed to other entre-
preneurial experiences during the period of the program. The post-test sample therefore
consisted of 109 YAA participants and 111 control group members.
Both questionnaires measured entrepreneurial intentions and perceptions of the desir-
ability and the feasibility of starting a business for both the YAA and the control group.
The first questionnaire also measured the breadth and positiveness of prior entrepreneurial
experience for both groups. Questions are shown in Table 2.

Perceived Desirability and Perceived Feasibility. To ensure a degree of attitudinal

relevance (Kim & Hunter, 1993; Robinson et al., 1991), respondents were asked if they
thought they would ever start a business. Using a seven-point Likert scale they were then
asked to respond to five questions relating to perceived desirability and three related to
perceived desirability derived from Krueger (1993).
The Cronbach alpha for the perceived desirability construct was .63 from the first
questionnaire and .66 from the second, which indicates that it is moderately reliable
(Nunnally, 1978). In a previous study (Krueger, 1993) the Cronbach alpha for the
perceived desirability scale was 0.69. The Cronbach alpha for the perceived feasibility
measure was 0.64 from the first questionnaire and 0.77 from the second, also moderately
reliable. The Krueger (1993) study reported the perceived feasibility scale’s reliability at
0.71.

Prior Exposure to Entrepreneurship. Respondents’ breadth of entrepreneurial experi-

ence was measured by four questions answered with a “yes” or “no.” The sum of scores
for the four questions equalled the respondent’s breadth of entrepreneurial experience.
Following each question, respondents were asked to indicate “yes” or “no” to the fol-
lowing question: “Was the experience positive or negative?” Positiveness was calculated

Winter, 2003 135

Table 3

Correlation Matrix for Prior Experience and Perceptions

Breadth of Positiveness of Perceived

Effect experience experience desirability

Positiveness of experience -0.032 (n = 200)

Perceived desirability -0.077 (n = 236) 0.267* (n = 200)
Perceived feasibility 0.049 (n = 236) 0.147 (n = 200) 0.488* (n = 200)

* Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 tailed).

by finding the mean of responses rather than the sum. Students varied in their number of
prior entrepreneurship experiences, and positiveness may not be additive, i.e., a person
with four positive prior experiences may have a similar perception to one with two pos-
itive experiences. Using the mean rather than the sum also reduces the correlation
between breadth and positiveness of experience, making it easier to interpret the results
of the analysis. Those participants with no prior entrepreneurial experience were not
included in the analysis of positiveness of prior experience.

Results

Analysis of Data from the Beginning of the YAA Program

It was hypothesized that perceived desirability and feasibility would be related to
breadth and positiveness of prior entrepreneurial experience and this was tested using
data from both YAA students and the control group at the beginning of the YAA program.
Table 3 shows the correlation matrix for breadth and positiveness of experience, per-
ceived desirability and perceived feasibility. The results support hypothesis 1b that per-
ceived desirability is positively related to the positiveness of a person’s experience. There
is no support for hypotheses 1a, which relates perceived desirability to breadth of expe-
rience. Perceived feasibility is not related to either breadth or positiveness of experience
so hypotheses 2a and 2b are not supported.
Hypotheses 3a and 3b, that participants in the YAA program would have higher
breadth and positiveness of experience than non-participants, were tested using t-tests
(Table 4). Both hypotheses were supported. It was also found that the desirability per-
ceptions of the YAA group were higher than the control group, but there was no differ-
ence in the perceived feasibility of starting a business.

Analysis of Changes Resulting from the YAA Program

A two-way mixed design ANOVA test was conducted to test hypotheses 4 and 5 that
participation in the enterprise education program would positively increase the perceived
desirability and feasibility of starting a business. Time and group as well as the interac-
tion were significant for both perceived desirability and perceived feasibility. The simple
main effect analysis revealed that desirability perceptions of the YAA group were

136 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

Table 4

Comparing Prior Experience and Perceptions of the YAA and Control Group

Significance of
Effect YAA Control difference

Breadth of experience X = 2.06 sd = 1.02 n = 117 X = 1.57 sd = 1.09 n = 119 <0.001

Positiveness of experience X = 0.87 sd = 0.28 n = 107 X = 0.78 sd = 0.34 n = 93 0.036
Perceived desirability X = 4.56 sd = 0.96 n = 117 X = 4.33 sd = 0.96 n = 119 0.070
Perceived feasibility X = 3.53 sd = 0.58 n = 117 X = 3.54 sd = 0.78 n = 119 0.916

Table 5

Results of ANOVA for Time and Group Membership

on Attitudes (n = 220)

Eta
Effect F Value Significance Squared

Perceived Desirability
ANOVA
Group 24.59 <0.001 0.101
Time 12.52 <0.001 0.054
Group*Time 18.88 <0.001 0.08
Simple Main Effects
Time—YAA 18.87 <0.001 0.149
Time—Control 0.87 0.354 0.008
Perceived Feasibility
ANOVA
Group 25.31 <0.001 0.104
Time 40.52 <0.001 0.157
Group*Time 63.34 <0.001 0.225
Simple Main Effects
Time—YAA 60.32 <0.001 0.358
Time—Control 3.92 0.05 0.034

significantly higher at post-test than pre-test, whereas the control group’s was unchanged.
Feasibility perceptions of the YAA group were also significantly higher for post-test than
pre-test, whereas the control group’s were significantly lower (Table 5). Box’s M test
showed that the assumption of homogeneity for these tests was violated, but with large
and equal sample sizes the analysis is robust (Hakstian, Roed, & Lind, 1979). Hence there
is support for hypotheses 4 and 5.
The next set of hypotheses relate to breadth and positiveness of prior experience. To
test the hypotheses using ANOVA, breadth and positiveness of experience were recoded
into high/low categories because of the skewness of the data.
Hypotheses 6ab and 7ab stated that participants with low breadth and positiveness
of experience are likely to record greater increases in perceived desirability and perceived

Winter, 2003 137

 Table 6

Results of ANOVA for Changes over Time in

Perceived Desirability for High and Low Breadth
and Positiveness of Experience Groups (n = 100)

Eta
Effect F Value Significance Squared

Breadth 0.03 0.859 <0.001

Positiveness 2.08 0.859 0.021
Time 17.13 <0.001 0.151
Breadth*Positiveness 0.13 0.713 0.001
Breadth*Time 0.02 0.877 0.000
Positiveness*Time 6.39 0.013 0.062
Breadth*Positiveness*Time 0.17 0.683 0.002
Simple main effects
Time—Low positiveness 22.27 <0.001 0.540
Time—High positiveness 6.03 0.016 0.071

feasibility from the enterprise education program than participants who enrol with a high
level of prior experience or very positive prior experience. Two three-way mixed design
ANOVA were conducted to analyse the data. The three factors included to measure effects
on perceived desirability and perceived feasibility were breadth (low and high), posi-
tiveness (low and high) and time (pre-test and post-test).
To test hypotheses 6ab and 7ab, repeated measures ANOVAs were performed. For
perceived desirability, the ANOVA showed a significant effect for time and for positive-
ness and time, with perceived desirability increasing from time one to time two (Table
6). A simple effects analysis showed that there was a significant time effect for both low
and high positiveness groups. There is therefore support for hypothesis 6b but not hypoth-
esis 6a. Similarly, the time/positiveness interaction was also significant for perceived
feasibility, and the simple analysis showed a significant change in both low and high
positiveness groups (Table 7). Hypothesis 7b is supported but not hypothesis 7a.

Discussion
The major issue examined in this article is the effect that participation in the YAA
program has on perceptions of the desirability and feasibility of starting a business. Data
collected at the beginning of the YAA program confirmed that the positiveness of a
person’s prior experience affects perceptions of the desirability of starting a business
(hypothesis 1b). Positiveness of prior experience was not related to perceptions of feasi-
bility (hypothesis 2b), nor was breadth of experience related to perceptions of desirabil-
ity (hypothesis 1a). These results accord with those of Krueger (1993) in his path analysis.
In contrast with the Krueger (1993) study, this study found that breadth of experience
was not significantly related to perceived feasibility (hypothesis 2a). Also perceived desir-
ability and feasibility were correlated in this study, whereas they were not related in
Krueger’s study. These differences may result from the omission of propensity to act as
a variable in the model tested. They may also be related to the age of the students tested.

138 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

 Table 7

Results of ANOVA for Changes over Time in

Perceived Feasibility for High and Low Breadth and
Positiveness of Experience Groups (n = 100)

Eta
Effect F Value Significance Squared

Breadth 0.05 0.820 0.001

Positiveness 0.04 0.849 0.000
Time 33.73 <0.001 0.260
Breadth*Positiveness 1.78 0.185 0.018
Breadth*Time 0.16 0.692 0.002
Positiveness*Time 7.29 0.008 0.071
Breadth*Positiveness*Time 0.23 0.632 0.002
Simple main effects
Time—Low positiveness 59.23 <0.001 0.757
Time—High positiveness 23.77 <0.001 0.231

Students in high school may not be concerned with the feasibility of starting a business
because the event is too remote. Rather, they may focus on the direction that their
studies and/or work experience should take to prepare them for a career. Hence they may
be concerned with the desirability of various occupations but not their feasibility at this
stage.
As expected, the students who chose to participate in the YAA program recorded sig-
nificantly higher breadth of prior experience (hypothesis 3a) and positiveness of experi-
ence (hypothesis 3b) than the control group. Analysis of the respondents’ breadth of
experience showed that 80% of YAA participants had prior entrepreneurial experience.
It was a surprising result that so many participants, who are still in high school, recorded
such broad experience. Given this result, it was expected that students who were plan-
ning to participate in the YAA program would compare their prior experiences to their
expectations about what the YAA experience would be like. This comparison would influ-
ence perceptions of positiveness of their YAA experience and perceptions of desirability
and feasibility.
It is implicit in hypotheses 3a and 3b that YAA participants will have higher per-
ceptions of desirability and feasibility than the control group. Additional analysis proved
that the former was true ( p = 0.016), but the latter was not ( p = 0.982). The results suggest
that respondents’ exposure to and interpretation of their entrepreneurial experiences has
stimulated a desire to start their own business, but has not affected their perceptions of
feasibility. This may be because their prior experiences have not offered hands on or
experiential learning in a supportive environment and thus the opportunity for enactive
mastery.
The above results indicate that the YAA participants may have a predisposition
towards entrepreneurship prior to their participation. Although this is a weakness in the
study, the main focus of the study is on the change in perceptions, which is not affected
by initial differences between the control and test group.
Hypotheses 4 and 5, that participation in the enterprise education program would
positively increase perceptions of desirability and feasibility, were supported. There was

Winter, 2003 139

a significant increase in perceptions of both desirability and feasibility for the YAA
participants. In the control group, there was no significant change in the perceptions of
desirability, and perceptions of feasibility declined ( p = 0.05). Given that the control group
design was specifically adopted to account for external influences, this result strongly
suggests that participation in the YAA program has positively influenced participants’ per-
ceptions of entrepreneurship. The changes in perceptions may have occurred because of
the supportive environment and infrastructure provided by YAA. The collective self-
efficacy (Bandura, 1997) of the YAA participants may also have influenced the results. It
is possible that some YAA participants who had low self-efficacy were positively influ-
enced during the program by the high collective efficacy of the group they belonged to.
It is interesting that exposure to the enterprise education program and perceived fea-
sibility are related (hypothesis 5), whereas no relationship was found between prior
breadth and positiveness of experience and perceptions of feasibility (hypotheses 2a and
2b). Participants may have had prior experiences that differed substantially from their
participation in the enterprise education program. For example, they may not have gained
hands-on experience or learnt specific skills related to starting a business. This type of
focused practical experience may be required to increase perceptions of feasibility.
Participants generally regarded the YAA experience as positive, but the effect of the
program on perceptions was related to prior experience. In accordance with hypotheses
6b and 7b, those with less positive prior experiences recorded a larger change in both
perceived desirability and feasibility of starting a business than those with more positive
prior experiences.
These results suggest that respondents with low and high positiveness of experience
are comparing their prior experience with the YAA experience, but also respondents with
low positiveness find higher contrast between the experiences. It was expected that par-
ticipants’ positive or negative interpretation of factors, such as exposure to role model
advisers, the interactive and experience-based learning, and the supportive environment
and infrastructure provided during the enterprise education experience, would influence
their perception of perceived desirability and perceived feasibility (Shapero, 1982).
People with low positiveness of experience at time one may have had an experience
in the past that was negative because they perceived the guidance from employers, parents
or mentors to be poor (role model exposure), and/or because they did not learn as much
as they predicted they would (Krueger & Carsrud, 1993; Scherer et al., 1989). If these
people compared the positive experience of participating in the program to their prior
negative experience, the significant increase in their attitudes is understandable. In other
words, their levels of perceived desirability and/or perceived feasibility may have been
lower at time two if they regarded their prior experience as positive. People with high
positiveness of experience may have considered the program as a more positive experi-
ence than their prior experiences, but not a lot more positive.
The results of the study support the proposition that exposure to entrepreneurship
or enterprise education should be included in intentions models as an exposure item.
Intentions researchers incorporate business and general education in their models (e.g.,
Davidsson, 1995) but have not yet considered the influence that entrepreneurship
education or enterprise education has on people’s self-efficacy beliefs, their perceptions
and intentions. This research provides empirical evidence to support the inclusion of ex-
posure to entrepreneurship or enterprise education. It also demonstrates how other ex-
ogenous variables hypothesized to influence perceptions may be assessed.
The challenge arising from this study is to investigate whether intentions models need
to be adjusted to reflect different stages of life. Perceptions of the desirability and feasi-
bility of starting a business may be influenced by people’s stage of life, or their age, as

140 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

well as their exposure to exogenous influences. Krueger’s test of Shapero’s (1975,
Shapero & Sokol, 1982) model revealed a significant correlation between breadth of
experience and perceived feasibility, whereas this study did not. Further, this study
divided respondents’ breadth of experience into low and high, and tested for changes in
perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for both groups. The results indicated that
having low or high breadth of experience did not influence participants’ perceptions.
Krueger’s (1993) respondents were upper division university students. This study
sampled adolescent high school students. It is possible, and future research will help
understand if the stage of people’s life influences the emphasis they place on their per-
ception of personal capabilities. Young people may not consider their capabilities as
important because they do not foresee that they will undertake a business venture in the
near future and thus had time to acquire relevant skills. Adults on the other hand may
consider their capabilities as a fundamental influence on their intentional behavior.
The findings of this study also have important implications for practice. The results
clearly show an increase in YAA participants’ perceived desirability and perceived fea-
sibility. These findings provide support for enterprise education programs for high school
students. Thus, schools and other organizations should be aware of the benefits of pro-
grams like YAA and understand that the characteristics of the programs may create poten-
tial entrepreneurs or highlight entrepreneurship as a career option. While an analysis of
YAA’s content, pedagogy and learning styles is beyond the scope this research, the author
acknowledges the many different types of entrepreneurship programs (most of which
adopt active and hands-on pedagogies), and that comparing them and generalising results
has its limitations.
Providers of entrepreneurship and enterprise education would benefit from the find-
ings of this study. The promoters of such programs may develop strategies to encourage
people who have not had a lot of entrepreneurial experience and who have had few pos-
itive entrepreneurial experiences to enrol in programs. The results of the this study show
that people who had low positiveness of entrepreneurial experience before the program
recorded significant changes in their perceptions towards starting a business after par-
ticipating in the enterprise program.
The study measured the short-term effect of the YAA program. Further research is
required to determine if the exposure to entrepreneurship or enterprise education results
in long-term changes in entrepreneurial perceptions. Herron and Robinson (1993) explain
that “the set of behavioral events that leads persons to become entrepreneurs presumably
takes place over long portions of their lifetime. . . .” What is important then, is the cumu-
lative impact of repeated exposure to entrepreneurship and enterprise education and expe-
riences (Gorman et al., 1997; Rajecki, 1990). This study has shown that perceptions of
both the desirability and feasibility of starting a business are strongly influenced by the
YAA program. It provides empirical evidence to support the inclusion of an additional
exogenous variable in intentions models, namely exposure to entrepreneurship or enter-
prise education.

REFERENCES
Ajzen, I. (1991). Theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 50,
179–211.

Ajzen, I. (1987). Attitudes, traits and actions: Dispositional prediction of behavior in personality and social
psychology. In L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 1–63. San Diego, CA:
Academic Press.

Winter, 2003 141

Alberti, F. (1999). Entrepreneurship education: Scope and theory. In C. Salvate, P. Davidsson, & A. Persson
(eds.), Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Learning: Conceptual Advances and Directions for Future Research
(Research Report No. 1999–6). Jönköping: Jönköping International Business School.

Autio, E., Keeley, R.H., Klofsten, M., & Ulfstedt, T. (1997). Entrepreneurial intent among students: Testing
and intent model in Asia, Scandinavia, and USA. Paper presented at the Frontiers of Entrepreneurship
Research, Wellesley MA, Babson College.

Bandura, A. (1986). The Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review,
84, 191–215.

Bates, T. (1995). Self-employment entry across industry groups. Journal of Business Venturing, 10, 143–156.

Bird, B. (1988). Implementing entrepreneurial ideas: The case for intention. Academy of Management
Review, 13(3), 442–453.

Bowen, D.D. & Hisrich, R.D. (1986). The female entrepreneur: A career development perspective. Academy
of Management Review, 11, 393–407.

Boyd, N.G. & Vozikis, G.S. (1994). The influence of self-efficacy on the development of entrepreneurial
intentions and actions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(4), 63–77.

Breen, J. (1999). Smart business operators of the future: Best practice in the delivery of enterprise education.
Paper presented at the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference Proceedings,
May 6–7.

Brockhaus, R.H. (1980). Risk-taking propensity of entrepreneurs. Academy of Management Journal, 23(3),
509–520.

Brockhaus, R.H. (1982). The psychology of the entrepreneur. In C. Kent, D. Sexton, & K. Vesper (eds.), The
Encyclopaedia of Entrepreneurship, 39–56. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Chamard, J. (1989). Public education: Its effect on entrepreneurial characteristics. Journal of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship, 6(2), 23–30.

Dainow, R. (1986). Training and education of entrepreneurs: The current state of the literature, Journal of
Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 3(4), 10–23.

Davidsson, P. (1995). Determinants of entrepreneurial intentions. Paper presented at the RENT IX Workshop,
Piacenza, Italy.

Davidsson. (1995). Determinants of entrepreneurial intentions. Paper presented for the RENT IX Workshop.
November 23–24, Piacenza, Italy.

Donckels, R. (1991). Education and entrepreneurship experiences from secondary and university education
in Belgium. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 9(1), 35–42.

Dyer, G. (1994). Toward a theory of entrepreneurial careers. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 19(2),
7–21.

Filion, L.J. (1994). Ten steps to entrepreneurial teaching. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship,
11(3), 68–78.

Gartner, W.B. (1985). A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation.
Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 696–706.

Gasse, Y. (1985). A strategy for the promotion and identification of potential entrepreneurs at the secondary
school level. Paper presented at the Fr1ontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Babson College, Wellesley,
MA.

142 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE

Gorman, G., Hanlon, D., & King, W. (1997). Some research perspectives on entrepreneurial education,
enterprise education and education for small business management: A ten year review. International Small
Business Journal, 15(3), 56–77.

Hakstian, A.R., Roed, J.C., & Lind, J.C. (1979). Two sample T-squared procedure and the assumption of
homogenous covariance matrices. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 1255–1263.

Herron, L. & Robinson, R.B. (1993). A structural model of the effects of entrepreneurial characteristics on
venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(3), 281–294.

Jacobowitz, A. and Vilder, D. (1982). Characteristics of entrepreneurs: Implications for vocational guidance,
Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 30(3), 252–257.

Kantor, J. (1988). Can Entrepreneurship: Be Taught? A Canadian Experiment, Journal of Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, 5(4), 12–19.

Kim, M. & Hunter, J.E. (1993). Relationships among attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behavior.
Communication Research, 20(3), 331–364.

Kourilsky, M. & Carlson, S. (1996). Mini-society and YESS! Learning theory in action. Children’s Social
and Economics Education, 1(2).

Kourilsky, M.L. (1995). Entrepreneurship education: Opportunity in search of curriculum. Business

Education Forum, October.

Kram, K.E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Review, 26(4), 608–625.

Krueger, N. (1993). The impact of prior entrepreneurial exposure on perceptions of new venture feasibility
and desirability. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 18(3l), 5–21.

Krueger, N., Reilly, M.D., & Carsrud, A.L. (2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal
of Business Venturing, 15, 411–432.

Krueger, N.F. & Brazeal, D.V. (1994). Entrepreneurial potential and potential entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur-
ship: Theory and Practice, 18(3), 91–104.

Krueger, N.F. & Carsrud, A. (1993). Entrepreneurship intentions: Applying the theory of planned behaviour.
Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 5, 315–330.

Matthews, C.B. & Moser, S.B. (1996). A longitudinal investigation of the impact of family background and
gender on interest in small firm ownership. Journal of Small Business Management, 34(2), 29–43.

McClelland, D.C. (1961). The Achieving Society. New York: Van Nostrand.

McMullan, W.E., Chrisman, J.J., & Vesper, K.H. (2002). Lessons from successful innovations in entrepre-
neurial support programming. In Chrisman, J.J., Holbrook, J.A.D., & Chua, J.H. (eds.), Innovation and Entre-
preneurship in Western Canada: From Family Businesses to Multinationals. Calgary, Alberta: University of
Calgary Press.

McMullan, W.E., Chrisman, J.J., & Vesper, K.H. (2001). Some problems in using subjective measures of
effectiveness to evaluate entrepreneurial assistance programs. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(1),
37–54.

Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Social Research Methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Plaschka, P.R. & Welsch, H.P. (1990). Emerging structures in entrepreneurship education: Curricular designs
and strategies. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 14(3), 55–71.

Rajecki, D.W. (1990). Attitudes. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauet Associates, Inc.

Winter, 2003 143

Robinson, P.B. & Sexton, E.A. (1994). The effect of education and experience on self-employment success.
Journal of Business Venturing, 9(2), 141–156.

Robinson, P.B., Stimpson, D.V., Huefner, J.C., & Hunt, H.K. (1991). An attitude approach to prediction of
entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 15(4), 13–31.

Scherer, R.F., Adams, J.S., Carley, S.S., & Wiebe, F.A. (1989). Role model performance effects on devel-
opment of entrepreneurial career preference, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 13(3), 53–71

Shapero, A. (1975). The displaced, uncomfortable entrepreneur. Psychology Today, November 9, 83–88.

Shapero, A. (1985). The entrepreneurial event. Enterprise, February 5–9.

Shapero, A. & Sokol, L. (1982). The social dimensions of entrepreneurship. In C.A. Kent, D.L. Sexton, &
K.H. Vesper (eds.), Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, 72–90. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Solomon, G.T. & Fernald, L.W. (1991). Trends in small business management and entrepreneurship educa-
tion in the United States. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 1(3), 25–39.

Timmons, J.A. (1994). New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century. Burr Ridge: Irwin.

Van de Ven, A.H., Hudson, R., & Schroeder, D.M. (1984). Designing new business startups: Entrepreneur-
ial, organizational and ecological considerations. Journal of Management, 10(1), 87–107.

Young, J.E. (1997). Entrepreneurship education and learning for university students and practicing
entrepreneurs. In D.L. Sexton & R.W. Smilor (eds.), Entrepreneurship 2000, 215–242. Chicago, Illinois:
Upstart Publishing Company.

Nicole E. Peterman is currently employed by Education Queensland (Australia).

Jessica Kennedy is a senior lecturer at Central Queensland University (Australia).

144 ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY and PRACTICE