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.