Entrepreneurship Education and Entrepreneurial Intention in Indonesian Higher Education: The Mediating Roles of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Mindset

Abstract

This study addresses the gap between the increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship education and the relatively moderate level of entrepreneurial intention among university students, suggesting that the underlying psychological mechanisms require further investigation. This study examines the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial mindset as mediating variables in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. A quantitative explanatory approach was employed using a cross-sectional survey of 360 undergraduate students who had completed an entrepreneurship course at a public university in Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling to ensure prior exposure to formal entrepreneurship education. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping procedures to assess both direct and indirect effects. The results indicate that entrepreneurship education has significant positive effects on entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial mindset. Both mediators significantly influence entrepreneurial intention, with entrepreneurial mindset demonstrating the strongest effect, followed by entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Mediation analysis reveals complementary partial mediation, in which the total indirect effect exceeds the direct effect, resulting in a substantial total effect (β = 0.529), and the model explains 31.1% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention. These findings indicate that entrepreneurship education influences entrepreneurial intention primarily through cognitive and confidence-based mechanisms, with entrepreneurial mindset emerging as the dominant pathway. This study contributes by providing a comparative examination of dual psychological mediation mechanisms within a unified structural framework, highlighting the importance of strengthening both entrepreneurial mindset and self-efficacy in designing effective entrepreneurship education programs.