Readiness towards Entrepreneurship Education: Students and Malaysian Universities

• Published in: Education & training (London) 2012-01, Vol.54 (8-9), p.697-708
• Main Authors: Othman, Norasmah, Hashim, Norashidah, Wahid, Hariyaty Ab
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Career Readiness; College Readiness; Educational Assessment; Educational Indicators; Entrepreneurship; Foreign Countries; Institutional Environment; Malaysia; Profiles; Program Implementation; Questionnaires; Social Science Research; Student Attitudes; Universities
• ISSN: 0040-0912
• DOI: 10.1108/00400911211274837

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to observe the readiness of students and the internal environment of Malaysian public universities in the implementation of entrepreneurship education. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employed a quantitative approach and the main instrument used to gauge the entrepreneurship readiness among students in Malaysia public universities was the questionnaire. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to obtain descriptive statistics that describe the profile of entrepreneurship readiness, both among the students themselves and in the internal environment of the universities, as the students perceive it. Findings: According to the findings, students in Malaysian public universities demonstrate strong readiness, in terms of entrepreneurial willingness and capabilities. Within the internal environment of public universities, however, readiness for entrepreneurship education remains, from the students' perspective, imperfect, and requires improvement if these institutions are to support future entrepreneurship education. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to students in Malaysian public universities. It is suggested that further research should include the students of private universities also, in order to mine a wealth of information pertinent to the readiness of Malaysian students, as well as to provide material for the remodelling of the internal environments of higher learning institutions. Practical implications: Readiness profiles of students and institutions towards the implementation of entrepreneurship education provide important resources for policymakers responsible for Malaysian public universities, enabling them to enhance the implementation of entrepreneurship education. Originality/value: There has been little discussion or analysis of the readiness of students and the internal environments of public universities in Malaysia towards the implementation of entrepreneurship education. This paper attempts to fill this gap in current research. (Contains 6 tables.)