Prediction of Entrepreneurship of Pre-service Teachers based on Cognitive Flexibility and Self-Efficacy Belief

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine whether or not pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy belief and cognitive flexibility predict their entrepreneurship. Study group of this research consists of a total of 374 pre-service teachers, 265 females (71%) and 109 males (29%), who are undergraduate students in various education departments from an university’s faculty of education in Turkey during 2017-2018 school year and participated in this study voluntarily. During the data collection process, Entrepreneurship Scale (ES) for measuring pre-service teachers’ entrepreneurship, Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) for measuring cognitive flexibility and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) for measuring the self-efficacy belief were used. In the research multiple regression analysis, which is a relational screening model, was used. According to the obtained data, cognitive flexibility and self-efficacy belief variables predict entrepreneurship in a meaningful way (R=.708, R2 =.502, p=.00). Also cognitive flexibility and self-efficacy belief variables combined explain approximately 50% of total variance in entrepreneurship of pre-service teachers. Therefore it can be said that supporting entrepreneurial intentions of teacher candidates in education faculties might be realized by situations aimed at increasing their cognitive flexibilities and general self-efficacy belief regarding this subject. Because it is believed that by supporting these aforesaid intentions, teacher candidates might be helped to participate in important educational activities and projects that require entrepreneurship in their professional lives.