Entrepreneurship education and start‐up activity: a gender perspective

Purpose This article seeks to evaluate whether entrepreneurship education (EE) in upper secondary schools promotes male and female start‐up activity. The Company programme (CP) reaches more than 200,000 European youths annually. Design/methodology/approach The control‐group design is methodologically strong, and the empirical data are from Norway. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,171 24‐25 year olds; 50 per cent of the respondents had been involved in CP in the period 2004‐2006, and 50 per cent had not. The analyses also control for other factors of relevance to start‐up activity. Findings Results from econometric analyses indicate a positive correlation between participation in CP and start‐up activity. The analyses also indicate that CP has more impact on male start‐up activity as compared to women. Research limitations/implications A lot of other influences occur between the participation in CP and the start‐up activity. Although CP may be associated with more start‐ups, these are not necessarily start‐ups of a higher quality, survival rate or growth potential. The analysis also conceals variations in start‐up activity among CP‐participants with regard to time spent on CP, position in the CP, and obligatory vs voluntary participation. Practical implications To promote start‐up activity among women more effectively, CP could be more focused on shaping confidence and increasing perceived competency among girls participating in the programme. Social implications One solution for how to increase start‐up activity among young men and women could be to offer EE within upper secondary schools. Originality/value The study measures experience with start‐up activity 6‐8 years after EE‐participation in upper secondary school, it compares the impact of EE on male and female business start‐ups, and the control‐group design is advantageous compared to previous studies.