The influence of entrepreneurship education and students' views on self-employment among postgraduate students in Universiti Utara Malaysia

This research paper contains the findings of an examination of the relationship between entrepreneurship education and views on self-employment. Using a sample of 160 postgraduate students of Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, this research paper seeks to determine whether the knowledge acquired in entrepreneurship courses has influence on the views expressed by postgraduate students on self-employment. Correlation and linear regression are used for analysis. The findings, based on correlation analysis suggest that there is significant correlation between the predictor variables (communication skills,
innovation and technical knowledge) and views on self-employment at significant levels. Consistent with expectation, the linear regression analysis result shows a significant positive relationship between innovation and views on self-employment. Technical knowledge is also positively significantly related to views on selfemployment. In contrast to prediction, the study indicates an insignificant relationship between communication skills and views on self-employment. The findings have implication for theory and practice. The place of spillover theory of entrepreneurship is supported in the study. Educators and managers should prioritize technical knowledge and innovation for nascent entrepreneurs to enhance their performance.
Time is a limiting factor for this study, and scope may limit the generalization of the
findings