Author(s): Simon Thabo Mahlaole, Mmakgabo Justice Malebana
This study evaluated the effects of entrepreneurship education on students' entrepreneurial intentions using the theory of planned behaviour at the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. A cross-sectional quantitative research approach based on convenience sampling method was adopted for the study, involving a total of 301 first, second and third-year entrepreneurship students who completed an online survey questionnaire. The study's conceptual model was tested using partial least-squares structural equation modelling in RStudio. Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS v26 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.
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. The findings add to the advancement of the theory of planned behaviour and the field of entrepreneurship education.