THE INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Entrepreneur plays a vital role in economic development as key contributors to technological innovation and new job growth. Further, they help build communities in ways such as: providing jobs, conducting business locally, creating and participating in entrepreneurial networks, investing in community projects and giving to local charities. Entrepreneurship has been identified as a tool or mechanism that can be used to open the minds of individuals and organizations. It is added value of creativity and innovation which focuses on investing in human capital by enhancing and fostering the ‘can-do’ attitude. Entrepreneurship is “an individual’s ability to turn ideas into actions” and its value to society cannot be underestimated or dismissed (www.entreprenurenvoy.org/why-entrepreneurship).
It has been noticed that governments now advocate that entrepreneurship be taught in higher institutions. However, if the emphasis of such action is so that undergraduates after graduation or in the later future can be self-employed because of the less likelihood of getting a job, then the society maybe unconsciously raising necessity entrepreneur. Necessity entrepreneurs are driven mainly by push factors which may arise from the exit from or risk of unemployment, family pressure and/or dissatisfaction with the present situation in general. Opportunity entrepreneurs are on the other side of the continuum; they are motivated by pull factors which include the need for achievement, the desire to be independent, and social development possibilities ([email protected]). Opportunity entrepreneurs have been identified as being responsible for global change. It has been noted that a necessity based start-up may in fact evolve into an alternative overtime (Granger, 1995, Hintz & Jungbauer-Gans, 1999).
From careful observation of the above written paragraphs, one can note that becoming an entrepreneur is a career choice or option. A similitude between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurs is that at one point or the other in their lives, they had the intentions of becoming entrepreneurs. Intentions are the best predictors of behaviour, especially when the behaviour is rare, hard to observe or involves unpredictable time lags (Kruger & Brazeal, 1994). Thus, for one to be an entrepreneur, one has to have such intentions.
Intentions are influenced by attitude, while intentions influence behaviour and exogenous factors (personality traits and the educational system) influence attitudes (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980; Ajzen, 1987) as cited in Krueger & Carsrud, (1993: 316). The formal educational system as have been advocated by some governments, have imbibed entrepreneurship into their curricular. Thus, the school have a role to play in shaping entrepreneurial attitudes, skills and behaviour, not out of the reason that good jobs are scarce and that such undergraduates have little chances of being employed (which has been proven to be wrong), but that such students should be trained to have an entrepreneurial outlook, and see challenges in the Nigerian environment as opportunities to exploit because the world needs graduates who are innovative, dynamic, smart, daring, efficient, determined and creative, or in one word, entrepreneurial (Achchulan & Nimalathasan, 2012).
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
Based on the fact that entrepreneurship has numerous benefits both to the entrepreneur and the society at large, it is surprising that little research have been done on the factors that influence individuals (undergraduates) intention to start a need business in developing nation like Nigeria.
Entrepreneurial intention is widely recognized as the first critical step in the process of becoming an entrepreneur (Bird, 1998; Krueger, Reily & Carsrud, 2000) as cited in [email protected]. Some prior studies have investigated the impact of demographic profile, contextual factors and personality characteristics on the entrepreneurial intentions of student in the past decades (Koh, 1996; Wang & Wong, 2004; Nabi & Hoden, 2008 Harris & Gibson, 2008) as cited in  [email protected].
Despite the fact that numerous researchers have been undertaken on the impact of personality characteristics on entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduates, few of these studies have taken into cognizance whether students who have such intentions actually differ from those who do not in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics or traits.
Beyond these, very few studies in the Nigerian context have focused on the role and influence of the formal educational system in shaping entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and behaviour of students (as the economies, the wealth creation and the employment markets resides in the hands of entrepreneurs; those capable, innovative, driven individuals and organizations that can effect change and make things happen). This study aims at filling these gaps.
1.3 Statement of Research Questions
In the light of the aforementioned research problem, this study sought to answer these specific research questions:
1.    What is the level of entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduates?
2.    Do undergraduates with (or without entrepreneurial intentions) differ in term of entrepreneurial characteristics?
3.    Has offering entrepreneurship courses (one or more) in universities caused undergraduates to have entrepreneurial intentions?
1.4      Objectives of the Study
The broad objective this study sought to achieve is to determine the effects of entrepreneurship education on undergraduates as it concerns entrepreneurial intentions.
1.    To ascertain the level of entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduates.
2.    To determine if undergraduates with entrepreneurial intentions differed from those without such intentions in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics.
3.    To determine if exposure to entrepreneurship education had created entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduates.
1.5    Significance of the Study
One way of raising entrepreneurs that the world really needs is to educate individuals to be entrepreneurial. In studying the personality characteristics of entrepreneurs, the educational system can decide to use such findings as a standard or yardstick in knowing how far or well they have gone in raising entrepreneurs and to identify if all entrepreneurs do and should actually possess common personality characteristics.
This research work is undertaken with a view to understanding entrepreneurial intentions, its relationship with entrepreneurial personality traits and the correlation between offering an entrepreneurial course on the choice of becoming an entrepreneur among undergraduates.
This study will be of use to policy makers and those in the academia; so that teaching methods can be adjusted to suit changing times, employees as individuals; as they would make efforts to adjust to what the world really needs, knowing that in every follower there is a potential leader. It would also be beneficial to researchers as it would add relevant information to existing knowledge and to students; so they can challenge themselves to be better and bring out their creativity and uniqueness in all the do.
1.6    Scope of the Study
This study sought to determine the extent to which undergraduates had the intentions of becoming entrepreneurs, to know whether those who had or did not have such intentions differed in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics and to determine if exposure to entrepreneurship courses caused entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduates in the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
1.7    Limitations of the Study
Possible limitations that may be encountered in this study are;
1.    The use of convenience sampling techniques due to difficulties securing a complete list of all the undergraduates in the University of Benin.
2.    Bias on the part of the respondents.
3.    Low response rate from the respondents.
Nevertheless, tangible efforts will be made to overcome these limitations in order to make meaningful contribution to existing knowledge on entrepreneurial intentions among students in higher institutions.