Entrepreneurial attitude of rural secondary school learners in an emerging economy

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine the entrepreneurial potential amongst Grade 10 learners in South Africa (Moutse East, Sekhukhune district of Limpopo Province), using the ATE test2 developed at the Kingston University in London. The ATE test2 was tested for validity and reliability; and socio-demographic impacts were tested for statistical significance. A qualitative descriptive design methodology was employed. ATE test2 questionnaires were distributed amongst learners in six public secondary schools, resulting in 836 learners participating in the completion of the questionnaires. Five constructs, namely achievement, personal control, creativity, leadership and intuition, describing the entrepreneurial attitudes of young learners were analysed during exploratory factor analysis. Statistical analysis for reliability, validity and construct correlation showed acceptable results to conclude that the ATE test2 can be used amongst rural learners. A comparison of the mean differences between the constructs for demographic variables produced statistically significant differences in a number of instances, but no practical significance to conclude that these differences can be applied in practice. Practical recommendations were provided for stakeholders to apply in the development of an intervention training programme for a pilot test in entrepreneurship development.