| dc.description.abstract | This study was based on the premise that Entrepreneurship is a key factor in the economy of the country. Studies in entrepreneurship have appreciated the role that Entrepreneurship Education can playas a crucial driver of economic growth. Although there has'been debate as to whether entrepreneurship can actually be taught, the trend has been towards focusing of elements of entrepreneurship that can be taught and designing programs and methods that meet the challenge of teaching the art and science of entrepreneurship. Advocates of entrepreneurship education have proposed that since entrepreneurship deals with perceptions and attitudes of self and environment, the school offers the best avenue for imparting entrepreneurial attitudes.
The secondary school acts as an interface between school and work and is therefore a crucial phase in life as students prepare for employment. There being no formal entrepreneurship programs in public secondary schools in Kenya, this study sought to determine how students of public secondary schools perceive entrepreneurship as a career and whether they would want entrepreneurship education introduced in schools as a way of preparing them for a career in self employment.
Data for this study was obtained by use of a questionnaire administered to randomly selected students from selected schools that were representative of public secondary schools in Nairobi. The questionnaire asked respondents to agree or disagree on a five point Likert scale, with statements regarding their entrepreneurial intentions, challenges and success factors of a career in entrepreneurship. Students were also asked to respond to statements about the desired content for an entrepreneurship education program for secondary schools and expected outcomes of the program.
The research revealed that although majority of students had a positive perception of entrepreneurship as a career option, there were various factors that were perceived as hindrances or challenges. Key of these was the fear of failure, lack of sufficient knowledge to start and run own business and the inadequate funds to start business. The study also revealed that majority of students would want entrepreneurship education to be introduced in secondary schools. Creative thinking and basic accounting were perceived by the students as most important the topics for an entrepreneurship program in secondary school. | en_US |
