With their feet on the ground: a quantitative study of music students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship education

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study examines students’ attitudes toward entrepreneurship education. The context of the study are the arts, where we empirically test whether different dimensions of arts entrepreneurship education are recognized by students from higher music education institutes in the Netherlands. Specifically, we investigate 167 music students’ perceived need for various entrepreneurship education topics, because students’ concurrent attitudes toward entrepreneurship education may affect their future career behaviours. Our findings suggest that students embrace a holistic approach to entrepreneurship education, in terms of new venture creation, being enterprising, and employability and career self-management. Values such as a passion for music and the need for autonomy are not at odds with the perceived need for entrepreneurship education in relation to vocational work. As one of the first attempts to quantitatively investigate students’ perceived need for entrepreneurship education (PNEE), this study is a stepping stone for future quantitative research in this area.