Tile research focuses on the role played by the school in preraring learners for self-employment. It seeks to establish the extent to which entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and attitudes are being promoted ai school thus equipping learners for ihe world of business once they leave school. The study is undertaken ag~i the background of very high mte of unemployment currently facing South Africa. A nmnber of factors, such as high population growth, globalisation and a variety of other socio-political circlUllStance have resulted in the shrinkage of job opportunities in the formal sector of the economy. The unemployment problem mostly affects the rural schoolleavers, among other groups, in the community. Small bu.'$ine.<Js development is generally seen as the most promising solution to the unemployment problem. Preparing learners for entrepreneurship is therefore the most serious challenge facing schools today. The school is required to deliver the kind of education that will make it possible for learners to start and develop their own businesses once they leave school. Hence the quest for education that is relevant to the needs and aspirations of society. A qualitative study undertaken with rural schoolleavers who own small businesses reveals that the school has not yet taken delibemte steps to tester entrepreneurship among learners thus preparing them for self-employment when they leave school. Again it bas been demonstrated that schools have great potential to inculcate entrepreneurial knowledge, attitudes and skills once they can start working in close co-operation with the community. A shift from traditional approaches to teaching and learning to the progressive (entrepreneurial) approaches can contribute greatly in producing learners who are ready fbr life as independent, creative and influencial business leaders of the future. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Comparative Education)

University education is no longer a passport to secure employment for graduates. This requires young graduates to consider entrepreneurship and self-employment as a viable career option. Understanding the determinants of entrepreneurial intention (EI), therefore, becomes important. In exploring the determinants of EI, prior studies investigate the effects of individual factors, contextual factors and entrepreneurship education (EE) in isolation from each other. Moreover, literature on the effect of EE on EI shows mixed conclusions. The current study, by considering EE as the kernel, firstly examines individual and institutional determinants of EI. Secondly, it explores whether EE affects the relationships between EI and its individual and institutional determinants. To avoid bias from utilising one particular methodology, this study purposely employed a concurrent triangulation strategy. This was intended for model testing and in-depth understanding of the research issues in the Zambian context. Primary data were collected from Zambia via qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. For the qualitative study, 13 interviews were conducted and interviewees included final year undergraduate students, educators and practitioners in enterprise support organisations. For the quantitative study, 452 useful responses were received from final year undergraduate students. Research results suggest that, firstly, EI is primarily a function of perceived feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship. Secondly, individual and institutional factors directly influence perceived feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship. Thirdly, and more importantly, individual and institutional factors indirectly exert their impact on perceived feasibility and desirability via EE. The study contributes to knowledge in four major areas. Firstly, against the backdrop of mixed conclusions in prior research about the effect of EE on EI, this study finds that the effect of EE should be examined in conjunction with factors at individual and institutional levels. Specifically, it establishes that effectiveness of EE mediates the effects of individual and institutional factors on perceived feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship i.e. the attitudinal antecedents of EI. This helps clarify the role of EE. Secondly, unlike prior studies and models that examine the influence of EE, individual factors and contextual factors in isolation from each other, this study develops and validates a multi-level integrated model to explore how these factors jointly shape EI. Specifically, the model shows that factors at individual and institutional levels influence EI not only through their effects on perceived feasibility and desirability but also through their impact on the effectiveness of EE. Thirdly, the study provides evidence from Zambia, an under-researched developing country, that EI is primarily a function of perceived feasibility and desirability of entrepreneurship. This supports prior research conclusions from developed countries. Lastly, the study further develops and validates constructs for EE, providing a basis for evaluating EE. In particular, it demonstrates that effectiveness of EE in relation to EI can be evaluated from three angles: perceived learning from the module/programme, experiential learning and access to resources. On the whole, the findings derived suggest that, in order to promote graduate entrepreneurship, multifaceted and concerted efforts will be required from policy makers (to help shape institutions), practitioners (to devise and implement collaborative support mechanisms), educators (to design and deliver appropriate EE content and pedagogy) and scholars (to evaluate and develop knowledge). Acknowledgements I am entirely responsible for the work presented in this thesis. However, at the same time I acknowledge that work of this magnitude and depth can never be solely the effort of one individual. There are many stakeholders to thank. I am greatly indebted to the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (UK) for offering the Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship, the Coppebelt University for granting the study leave, and the University of Wolverhampton Business School’s Management Research Centre for facilitating the research project. I am also indebted to my supervisors, Dr Yong Wang (Director of Studies), Dr Ian Mckeown and Dr Graham Tate for guiding me through this study. Without Dr Yong Wang’s dedicated direction, mentoring and support, this project would not have been finished properly. Special thanks go to the eight universities in Zambia which authorised and facilitated access to the final year students for the survey. Special gratitude also goes to the lecturers, students and enterprise support practitioners in Zambia who participated in the interviews. I am also grateful to all the staff at the University of Wolverhampton for their support. Particularly, I wish to thank Prof Silke Machold, Prof Mike Haynes, Prof Les Worrall, Dr Paschal Anosike, Dr Stuart Farquhar and Steven Greenfield for their encouragement and support. I thank Andy (Dr Jones), David and Aurelian (Dr Mbzibain) for all the insightful discussions in ML119 and ML120. Lastly, words are not adequate for appreciating my wife and best friend Bernadette and our children Bruce, Grace and Benita for their encouragement and sacrifice during this research project. I end this section with gratitude to God for life and blessing.

Comprised of a cover story and five separate but interrelated articles, this dissertation explores entrepreneurial learning. By connecting multiple theoretical perspectives, reviewing extant literature, using four qualitative datasets, and building theory inductively, the articles explain components to and mechanisms of entrepreneurial learning. This dissertation is one of the first to explore the essence of entrepreneurial learning by incorporating non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs simultaneously, cognitive processes, and contextual variables.  Learning lies at the core of entrepreneurship, and scholars have even argued that a theory of entrepreneurship requires a theory of learning. The literature suggests that experiences in the context of entrepreneurship triggers entrepreneurial learning, and that such learning relates to achieving ambitious goals, the discovery of new opportunities and better overall performance. Entrepreneurial learning has also been highlighted in contexts outside entrepreneurship and as a mean to fostering future entrepreneurs and developing people’s entrepreneurial attributes and characteristics. The idea is that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and acting and that entrepreneurial learning can be of use to anyone, even to those lacking entrepreneurial experience. Entrepreneurial learning literature, both inside and outside the context of entrepreneurship, emphasizes triggers of entrepreneurial learning, but does not recognize components that enable those triggers to be recognized and acted on and the underlying mechanisms that distinguish entrepreneurial learning from other types of learning. This gap makes it difficult to assess what entrepreneurial learning is and how it can be enhanced for both entrepreneurs and people preparing for entrepreneurship. This dissertation explains how and why entrepreneurial learning can be understood as a simultaneous and active regulation of cognition, motivation, and emotions to achieve goals. This elaboration captures core components and the mechanism of entrepreneurial learning, and illustrates how it can be understood and enhanced in various contexts.

The thesis provides a comparative analysis of the implementation of the EMPRETEC programme in Ghana and Namibia. The EMPRETEC programme is a unique entrepreneurship and business development programme developed by the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations in the late 1980s. Since then, it has been implemented in nearly 30 countries to support business development. The central aim of this research is to identify the major factors that influenced the implementation process of the EMPRETEC programme in Ghana and Namibia and to analyse how they afforded or constrained the achievement of seven so-called Critical Programme Components (CPCs). These CPCs are: 1) targeting high growth entrepreneurs; 2) developing an entrepreneurship training workshop that is adapted to the local context; 3) ensuring direction of the programme by a coalition of private and public sector leaders; 4) mobilising support from the private sector; 5) promote linkages among clients; 6) promote business linkages with foreign firms; and 7) establish a sustainable foundation. The theoretical concepts of the research are based on the implementation literature which emerged as part of the policy sciences during the second half of the last century. A new approach is developed to study the highly complex implementation process: in a first step, an analytical framework is developed that comprises five analytical lenses: 1) a contextual lens focusing on the context in which the entire implementation process is embedded; 2) an inter-organisational lens focusing on interactions of the involved stakeholders; 3) an organisational lens for the identification of institutional strengths and weaknesses; 4) an intra-organisational lens for the analysis of intra-agency relationships; and 5) an individual lens focusing on the individuals who were involved in the implementation of the programmes. These lenses cover the entire spectrum and levels of the implementation process. In a second step, 15 major implementation factors are derived from implementation theory. These factors and their influence on the implementation process are then assessed with the help of 100 distinct measures. The influence of the 15 factors on the implementation process and the seven CPCs is subsequently analysed and finally tested using evidence from 18 additional EMPRETEC centres. The study's contribution to knowledge is twofold: (i) The study provides insights into the underlying factors that influenced the implementation of the EMPRETEC programme in Ghana and Namibia. Overall, the implementation conditions were more favourable in Ghana as compared to Namibia. The research hints at the importance of the context and implementers' (both organisations' and individuals') characteristics as crucial factors for successful implementation. Finding the right implementers and aligning implementation objectives to existing development discourses and implementers' ideologies can help to improve effective implementation. (ii) The study proposes an innovative approach to study implementation processes across narrow cases. Based on third-generation implementation models, a unique data collection and analytical framework is suggested that allows comparing and testing various implementation factors and their influence on the implementation process. The emerging results are of high relevance to governments, donors, private organisations and other stakeholders, as many lessons could be derived to improve the implementation and effectiveness of donor interventions, especially in the area of business development programmes.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In the Dominican Republic (DR) the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas is of great importance because SMEs generate employment and increase local capacity in areas with the highest poverty rates in the country. Ultimately, SME development can contribute to poverty alleviation especially in rural areas. Micro-enterprise training as a form of capacity development initiatives aim at effective empowerment of entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs, which allow them to build capacities to develop their business. These capacities will enhance their ability to ensure sustainability of decisions that influence their quality of life. So far, very little research has been conducted on the precise effects and overall effectiveness of SME-related training in the Dominican Republic. Against this background, it is of great benefit to evaluate impacts of micro-enterprise training initiatives on the development of SMEs in rural DR, in order to find out which factors stimulate the creation and growth of enterprises and which factors hinder their development. This allows effective adjustments of future support initiatives in the development sector and it contributes to the existing empirical evidence base in this field. This study applies Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour as theoretical frameworks to analyze impacts of micro-enterprise training on SME development. Secondary data for this study was drawn from the Dominican tourism-project La Ruta del Cacao, applying a mixed-method approach for the data collection. Quantitative research methods in the form of a semi-structured questionnaire helped to quantify the impacts of provided micro-enterprise training. Qualitative methods in the form of Focus Group Discussions allowed an in-depth analysis of training impacts on respondents, with the aim of identifying influencing factors, especially those which the theoretical framework may not have covered. The theoretical discussion of this study identified that entrepreneurial intentions are mediated by the attitude toward entrepreneurship, perceived subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. The empirical results show that the provided training is likely to have slightly improved the participants attitude towards enterprise creation. Perceived subjective norms have not decreased due to the training and appear not to have played a role in the participants decision to start or not start a business. The participants perceived behavioural control is not likely to have increased due to the training. On the other hand, results indicate that the training provided participants with useful entrepreneurship-related skills and knowledge. Overall, the participants entrepreneurial intentions slightly improved as a result of the training. However, the impact of these outputs on SME development was rather modest. Identified external factors which influenced the participants entrepreneurial behaviour were a lack of capital, job loss, having a family to take care of, being part of an entrepreneurial family and the existence of an entrepreneurial role model. Intrinsic characteristics were identified as the most influential in demonstrating successful entrepreneurial behaviour and SME creation. The findings of this research contribute firstly to the existing evidence base of micro-enterprise training impacts in rural Dominican Republic. In addition, the findings contribute to the literature base on applications of both Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour in the field of entrepreneurship education.

O empreendedorismo é consagrado como o motor econômico da sociedade (SCHUMPETER, 1985). O objetivo deste estudo foi a concepção de um simulador educacional multifuncional para empreendedores, aportando avanços em relação a modelos publicados em periódicos acadêmicos, tendo como prioridade a validação conceitual do simulador. Multifuncional porque simula decisões das diversas áreas de Administração. Os avanços são: 1) a inclusão do Ciclo de Vida das Organizações (CVO) como conceito central do modelo concebido e 2) a modelagem de decisões não cobertas pelos simuladores acadêmicos TEG The Entrepreneurship Game (LOW et al, 1994) e DEAL Executive Deal Making (THAVIKULWAT, 1995). A validação conceitual é aqui entendida como a seleção justificada, com base em extensa revisão de literatura específica e em casos de empresas reais, de cada uma das decisões e suas alternativas modeladas e das características organizacionais que formam o contexto do negócio simulado. Foram selecionadas decisões, suas alternativas e características organizacionais, do estágio de Criação e do estágio de Crescimento, com base em 15 estudos de CVO e na literatura de cada um dos grupos de decisões simuladas (pesquisa e desenvolvimento; preço; comunicação de marketing; administração de vendas e distribuição; proteção intelectual; operações; e gestão de pessoas). O caso simulado foi de um novo negócio de base tecnológica. Os modelos matemáticos primeiramente baseados na literatura foram refinados por meio de 1) aplicações-teste, em graduação e pós-graduação stricto sensu da FEA/USP e graduação da UFF-Volta Redonda, e de 2) entrevistas realizadas com 6 (seis) empreendedores de base tecnológica associados ao CIETEC, incubadora de empresas da USP. Uma característica de destaque deste modelo é o crescimento da complexidade de gestão na transição do estágio de Criação para o estágio de Crescimento. Foram também elaborados e refinados três materiais de apoio: manual do participante, folha de decisão e relatórios de resultados. Cada material possui duas versões: uma para estágio de Criação e outra para o estágio de Crescimento. Este estudo trouxe três contribuições para a literatura de educação vivencial em Empreendedorismo e Administração, todas elas não presentes nos simuladores para empreendedores identificados na literatura, TEG e DEAL: 1) discussão da validade conceitual do modelo; 2) incorporação do conceito de Ciclo de Vida das Organizações; e 3) modelagem de novas decisões e alternativas inerentes ao contexto empreendedor. O estudo prossegue com aplicações diversas do modelo e desenvolvimento de novos modelos, sendo sempre priorizada a busca de validação conceitual. / Entrepreneurship is recognized as the economic engine of a society (SCHUMPETER, 1985). This study focus on the development of a multifunctional management simulation for entrepreneurs, improving current models identified in literature, targeting conceptual validation as key element of the proposed model. Multifunctional means including decisions of diverse areas of Business Administration. There are two aimed improvements: 1) including Organizational Life Cycle (OLC) as key concept behind the proposed model and 2) modeling new decisions not covered by the following academic simulators, TEG The Entrepreneurship Game (LOW et al, 1994) and DEAL Executive Deal Making (THAVIKULWAT, 1995). Conceptual validation means explain logic behind selection of decisions, alternatives and organizational characteristics, based on extensive literature review and based on interviews with real companies. Decisions, alternatives and organizational characteristics of OLC Creation stage and Growth stage were defined based on 15 OLC studies and based on literature of each group of decisions modeled (research and development; price; marketing communication; sales and distribution management; intellectual property; operations; and HR management). A new high tech business was chosen as a case to be modeled. First versions of mathematical models of Creation and Growth stages were refined through 1) tests with undergraduate and graduate students of FEA/USP and UFF-Volta Redonda; and 2) interviews with 6 (six) high tech entrepreneurs at CIETEC, incubation center at USP. A relevant characteristic of the resulting model is the management complexity growth through transition from Creation stage to Growth stage of the business. Three supporting materials were created and refined during this research: students\' manual; decision template; and management and accounting reports. Each material has two versions, one for each stage of OLC modeled. There are three major contributions for experiential learning in Entrepreneurship and Management, all of them not available in TEG and DEAL: 1) conceptual validation of the model; 2) introduction of Organizational Life Cycle as key concept of the simulation; and 3) modeling of new decisions relevant on entrepreneurship context. Next steps include diverse applications of the management simulation developed in this study and also development of new models focusing on conceptual validation.

Thesis (M. Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The purpose of the study was to assess the general enterprising qualities such as the need for achievement, need for autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk taking and drive and determination amongst learners at selected secondary schools in the Capricorn District Municipality of Limpopo Province. The intention was to suggest strategies to be used to enhance entrepreneurial qualities and to develop these learners to become successful entrepreneurs in future. Commercial and non-commercial learners participated in the study. Data were collected from 1931 respondents constituting 31% of the population. The findings revealed that the majority of learners did not possess entrepreneurial qualities. Among others, the following recommendations were offered: • Schools should teach learners to put theory into practice by offering a learner’s mini business program within their curriculum. • Career guidance programmes should be improved and commence at grade eight and continue to grade twelve. Key concepts: entrepreneurship, entrepreneur and entrepreneurship education.

Disertaciniame darbe nagrinėjama kolegijų studentų verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso veiksmingumas taikant imitacinės verslo įmonės modelį. Nustatyti kolegijų studentų verslumo gebėjimai ir savybės ugdomi imitacinėje verslo įmonėje, požymiai, demonstruojantys kolegijų studentų verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso veiksmingumą taikant imitacinės verslo įmonės modelį bei numatytos verslumo ugdymo(si) tobulinimo galimybės ir perspektyvos. Remiantis verslumo ugdymo(si) koncepcijomis ir teorijomis, filosofinėmis kryptimis, kilusiomis iš skirtingų filosofinių tradicijų ir fenomenologinėmis nuostatomis sukurta verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso tyrimo metodologija, leidžianti įvertinti verslumo ugdymo(si) veiksmingumą imitacinėje verslo įmonėje ir nustatyti iškylančias problemas. Atlikta edukacinė, vadybinė ir filosofinė literatūros analizė leido pagrįsti verslumo ugdymo(si) veiksmingumą šiuolaikinių edukacinių paradigmų kaitos kontekste apibūdinant: verslumo sampratą, verslumo ugdymo(si) programų, tikslų ir mokymo(si) metodų įvairovę, imitacinių modelių ir technologijų taikymo galimybes ir sąlygas. Empirinis tyrimas atliktas pasitelkus kiekybinius ir kokybinius tyrimo metodus. Taikyta anketinė apklausa, pusiau struktūrizuotas interviu, turinio (content) analizės ir statistinės (faktorinės) duomenų analizės metodai. / The dissertation analyses the efficiency of College students’ entrepreneurship education process by applying the model of Imitation Business Enterprise. Entrepreneurship skills and characteristics of College students educated in the Imitation Business Enterprise are identified, features demonstrating the efficiency of College students’ entrepreneurship education process by applying the model of Imitation Business Enterprise and business education development opportunities and perspectives are shown. On the basis of entrepreneurship education concepts and theories, philosophical trends arising from different philosophical traditions and the phenomenological rules, an entrepreneurship education process research methodology is created. It allows evaluating efficiency of entrepreneurship education in the Imitation Business Enterprise as well as allows determining the problems appearing. The performed educational, managerial and philosophical literature analysis helped to base the efficiency of entrepreneurship education in the context of contemporary educational paradigms by describing: the concept of entrepreneurship, variety of entrepreneurship education programs, objectives and education methods, opportunities and conditions for applying imitation models and technologies. Empirical research was performed by using the quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjami verslumo ugdymo Lietuvos profesinėse mokyklose teoriniai aspektai, analizuojama šiandieninė verslumo samprata, verslumo ugdymo svarba Lietuvos švietimo sistemoje. Apžvelgti nacionaliniai ir tarptautiniai dokumentai, reglamentuojantys profesinį mokymą, verslumo ugdymo turinį profesiniame mokyme. Darbo tikslas – išanalizavus verslumo ugdymo sistemą Lietuvos profesinio mokymo sistemoje, pateikti siūlymus verslumo ugdymo tobulinimui. Siekiant darbo tikslo, buvo iškelti 5 uždaviniai. Rašant magistro baigiamąjį darbą taikyti įvairūs metodai: mokslinės literatūros ir dokumentų analizė, kiekybinis tyrimas – anketinė apklausa, palyginimo metodas, grafinio vaizdavimo metodas. Atlikus tyrimą buvo išanalizuotas Lietuvos profesinių mokyklų mokinių požiūris į verslumą bei jo ugdymą. Gauti apklausos rezultatai parodė, kad dabartinė verslumo ugdymo situacija netenkina profesinių mokyklų mokinių. Kartais mokiniai nežino ko ir kiek yra mokomi, nes jie nėra supažindinami su ekonomikos ir verslumo ugdymo programa. Išanalizavus apklausos duomenis numatytos verslumo ugdymo Lietuvos profesinio mokymo sistemoje tobulinimo galimybės. / In the master’s final paper the theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship education in vocational schools in Lithuania, the today concept of entrepreneurship, the importance of entrepreneurship education in Lithuanian education system are analysed. The national and international documents, regulating vocational training and the content of entrepreneurship education, are overviewed. The aim of the paper is to make suggestions for entrepreneurship education improvement after analyzing the system of entrepreneurship education in Lithuanian vocational training system. In order to achieve the aim of the paper, 5 objectives were set. In the master’s final paper various methods were used: literature and documents analysis, the quantitative study – questionnaire, comparison and visualisation methods. After the research the vocational schools students’ attitude to the entrepreneurship and its education was analysed. The results of the research showed that today’s situation in entrepreneurship education does not meet the needs of the students of vocational schools. Sometimes the students do not even know what and how much they are being taught because they are not introduced to the program of economics and entrepreneurship education. After analysing the results of the research, the possibilities for entrepreneurship education improvement in vocational training system were provided.

The disproportionately high unemployment figures for the youth highlight the importance of finding alternative ways of increasing youth participation in the economy. According to the Western Cape Youth Report there are four major factors that have been identified as having a significant influence on the entrepreneurial environment in South Africa, especially as this relates to the youth, namely education and training; social and cultural norms; access to finance and the regulatory environment. Recent data compilations show that many poor and non–poor people in many developing countries face a high degree of financial exclusion and high barrier in access to finance. Although access to finance is a perennial problem for all small businesses, the youth are particularly vulnerable to this limitation. Many extremely poor households operate their own businesses, but do so without ample means. A particularly pernicious problem is that the school system is not producing functionally literate students. For many years financial literacy has been neglected. There was also general agreement that people should be equipped with social skills, but financial literacy was not necessarily included as one of these skills. Many school–leavers do not have sufficient literacy, numeracy and livelihood skills to be able to participate actively in the economy. Pilot initiatives revealed that students often enter university with little knowledge of how to work out a weekly budget or manage money. Many of them in receipt of bursaries and other financial support soon run out of money and lead a hand–to–mouth existence. A comprehensive and well co–ordinated approach to youth entrepreneurship is needed to increase the chances of success for start–ups as well as the chances of existing businesses to progressing from “micro” to fully–fledged small and medium–sized entities. The main objective was to research the entrepreneurship competencies, skills and knowledge of the EMS teacher who will be instrumental in promoting entrepreneurship under the youth of the country. To meet the research objectives a qualitative approach was selected and a questionnaire was used as the survey instrument. A new questionnaire was developed to assess respondents’ perceptions of the importance of entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and training in teaching EMS. The responses received were analysed and assessed and the findings are embodied in the recommendations and proposals of this dissertation. This study is of interest to policy makers, educational institutions and schools as well as to the Department of Education. The results of the study are intended to encourage the Department of Education to make a serious effort to promote entrepreneurship competence, knowledge and skills of primary school teachers. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.