Assessment of Student's Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy in Entrepreneurship Courses: A Latent Mean Analysis

In the 21st century, preparing successful engineering graduates entails establishing a solid foundation in engineering disciplines and supplementing it with interdisciplinary expertise, particularly from non- engineering fields. An illustrative example of this approach involves the integration of entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) into undergraduate engineering curricula, exposing students to entrepreneurial practices like creating business models and engaging in pitch competitions. To maximize the impact of EEPs, further research is essential to comprehend their nuances, especially regarding assessment of student outcomes with focus on students' demographic backgrounds. In this quantitative study, we contribute to the growing engineering entrepreneurship research literature by examining changes in students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) before and after taking an entrepreneurship course within the College of Engineering, with a particular focus on gender differences. Following Bandura's self-efficacy theory, we conceptualize ESE as a multifaceted construct comprising five sub-constructs: searching, planning, marshaling, implementing people, and implementing finance. Through a comprehensive analysis of 255 pre-course and 228 post-course responses from students, our latent mean analysis reveals significant positive changes in ESE across various sub-constructs, except for implementing people among female students. This highlights the need for further research to address pedagogical aspects of EEPs in engineering fields and promote inclusivity for historically marginalized student groups, ultimately extending the benefits of EEPs to a diverse student population.