Resumo

NEETHLING, Adolph C.. Motivations for enrolling in university courses: Insights from an entrepreneurship course. SAJESBM [online]. 2024, vol.16, n.1, pp.1-8. ISSN 2071-3185.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajesbm.v16i1.673.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) have produced mixed results, leading researchers to examine the reason for such inconsistencies. This article examines course enrolment motivation, as a possible factor contributing to the inconsistency in findings on EE impact studies. AIM: This study aims to identify whether students registered for a business degree exhibit different motivations for enrolling for a course in entrepreneurship and should such differences be found, to identify what the different motivations are. SETTING: Data are collected from second-year students registered for a business degree at a South African university. METHODS: Using purposive sampling, a survey was circulated to second-year business students in class after which the data were subjected to a principal component analysis to check for differences in motivation. RESULTS: Three categories of responses were identified proving that there were statistically distinguishable differences in enrolment motivation. CONCLUSION: Three course motivational factors explain why students choose to register for an entrepreneurship course. CONTRIBUTION: This study finds that not all students who have enrolled for a course in entrepreneurship have a desire or interest in entrepreneurship. This study suggests items and dimensions for measuring course enrolment motivation. Hence, the study also introduces a new measure that should be considered in future studies on the impact of EE and suggests further studies to confirm whether it impacts on EE.

Palavras-chave : entrepreneurship education; course enrolment; motivation; principal component analysis; impact studies.

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