FACTORS AFFECTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND ITS EFFECT ON ENTREPRENURIAL INTENTIONS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

There seem to be growing interest in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education all over the world. The concept of entrepreneurship has attracted policy makers, academics, industrialists, economists, university students. According to Matley and Westhead (2005) this is evidenced in the scores of seminars, conferences and workshop being organized at international, regional and national levels with the emphasis on the need to sensitize individuals, societies, and countries to embark on entrepreneurship. The main reason for this is that entrepreneurship is regarded as one of the best economic development strategies to develop country’s economic growth and sustain the country’s competitiveness in facing the increasing trends of globalization (Schaper and Volery 2009; Matley and Westhead 2005). Another reason for the growing interest in entrepreneurship include the growing rate of unemployment and poverty that becomes obvious after the economic depression of the early 1980’s; the recession in the agricultural market and the realization of the ability of small medium sized enterprises to create wide-spread employment opportunities thereby militating against unemployment and poverty (Alarape, 2008).