The Effects of Entrepreneurship Education on Students' Entrepreneurial Intentions at the Tshwane University of Technology

This study evaluated the effects of entrepreneurship education on students' entrepreneurial intentions at the Tshwane University of Technology using the theory of planned behaviour. The study explored the influence of entrepreneurship education, perceived effects of entrepreneurship education, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and attitude towards behaviour on entrepreneurial intentions. A total of 301 first, second and third-year entrepreneurship students completed the online survey questionnaire. The study's conceptual model was tested using partial least-squares structural equation modeling in RStudio. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS 26 were used for descriptive statistics.

The findings generated from the PLS-SEM model showed that entrepreneurship education had a statistically significant influence on entrepreneurial intentions and perceived behavioural control. Moreover, the results further revealed that perceived behavioural control partially mediated the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship education did not have a statistically significant relationship with subjective norms and attitude towards behaviour.

Perceived effects of entrepreneurship education had a statistically significant effect on perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and attitude towards behaviour, and an insignificant direct effect on entrepreneurial intentions. The relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and perceived effects of entrepreneurship education was fully mediated by perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and attitude towards behaviour. The findings further revealed that perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitude towards behaviour had a statistically significant influence on entrepreneurial intentions. This study's findings add to the theory of planned behaviour as well as the field of entrepreneurship education.

Future research should consider combining the entrepreneurial event model with the theory of planned behaviour and evaluate the influence that entrepreneurship education has on the entrepreneurial intentions of students in South Africa.