Entrepreneurship as a Career Option within Education: A Critical Review of Psychological Constructs

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is now suggested as a competence not only for starting new businesses but for employability and well-being as well. Envisaged as a career option, entrepreneurship is now a new concern in the field of career counseling psychology. Traditionally, entrepreneurship is about starting new businesses or being self-employed, but nowadays, it is also considered a competence for employability and well-being. Systematically nurtured in educational settings for more than two decades, the entrepreneurial intention of students has become a specific construct for educators to assess the impact of entrepreneurial courses. The present article seeks to critically review the psychological constructs, models, and approaches that have been used in educational settings to explain the formation of entrepreneurial intention. The majority of relevant studies has been found to be quantitative, reproducing in a positivist manner the construct of self-efficacy and the theory of reasoned action. Some constructs and approaches that have been extensively used in the career counseling discipline seem to be under-researched in the entrepreneurship education field. In this line of research, the potential contribution of sources on self-efficacy and dysfunctional career beliefs or motives should be examined. Additionally, theoretical paradigms like constructionist-narrative-based career counseling or positive psychology and other newer theories (e.g., happenstance learning theory) might be useful in investigating several influences on career decision making for entrepreneurship. Based on the current findings from the literature, a research agenda is proposed for future research in the field in order to achieve better connections between entrepreneurship and career theories and to shed light on the complex process of students’ entrepreneurial career decisions.