The Effects Of Pre-University Entrepreneurship Education On Entrepreneurial Intention As Mediated By Acquired Competencies And Mindset

Abstract

As the interest of the Filipino youth in entrepreneurship continues to progress with the need for a stronger economy fueled by innovative enterprises, the Department of Education thought to provide pre-university entrepreneurship education through the K to 12 Program, where students are expected to develop the competencies and mindset needed to ignite among students the desire to put up a business in the future. The researchers used mixed-method design to determine how Entrepreneurial Competencies (EC) and Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) mediate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Education (EE) and Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) as reflected by Grade 12 Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) Senior High School (SHS) students in Metro Manila. To achieve this, the researchers polled 425 Grade 12 ABM students with a self-reporting questionnaire consisting of a 52-item Likert scale.  Also, 31 informants were interviewed to validate and to further support the findings in the quantitative analysis. After performing Mediated Regression Analysis, Path Analysis, Thematic Analysis, and Pattern Matching, the results showed that EC and EM partially mediate the relationship between EE and EI. The students’ education, knowledge, or experience in business and entrepreneurship serves as a significant factor in acquiring the essential EC and EM that would help develop their intention to become entrepreneurs. Students who plan to become entrepreneurs are advised to choose ABM as their senior high school strand, and educational institutions are recommended to prioritize experience-based learning through increasing project-based outputs and startup immersions.