Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Students' Interest in Entrepreneurship as Perceived by Graduates of Agricultural Scientific-Applied Higher Education Centers of Iran

Authors
Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to find out the factors affecting Entrepreneurship strengthening tendencies in student of Iran’s Agricultural Scientific-Applied Higher Education Centers. The research is an applied type in which Descriptive method has been employed. The tool for data collection was questionnaire the Reliability of which was 85%. Population of the research consisted of 1954 graduates of Iranian Agricultural Scientific-Applied Higher Education Centers in 2004, 340 of whom were selected as a sample through stratified sampling. The data were analyzed in two descriptive and inferential parts through SPSS software. Mean age of these graduates participants is 26 years. 58.2% are among the free quota while the remainders are government employees. 24.3% of the free quota graduates and 41.4% of the employee quota graduated with B.S. Degrees and the rest graduated in an Associate Degree namely a pre-B.Sc. degree. The results also show that only 15% of the total graduates are in private business and are self-employed, as compared with 62.9% who are employees. According to the results obtained from factor analysis, factors affecting the graduates' interest in entrepreneurship can be divided into 7 factors of: educational methods, educational contents, equipment & facilities, individual factors, trainers' skills, students' features, and environmental factors. Step by step regression shows that of the above-mentioned factors, environmental one has not entered the equation and the other 6 factors could specify 62.1% of changes of the dependent variable of the research, whereas according to regression analysis, trainers' skills constituted the most important factor affecting graduates' interest in entrepreneurship.
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