Abstract:

This study investigates the relationship between mini-companies and student outcomes. The study builds upon existing literature that explored the connections between participation in mini-companies and various student outcomes, such as entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, school performance and motivation, and personal, interpersonal, managerial, technical, and practical skills. However, the literature review of the study identified a notable gap in prior research concerning the influence of student groups and classes on student outcomes within the context of mini-companies. Therefore, this multilevel study emphasizes the importance of considering multilevel factors, and it investigates individual, group, and class factors, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the outcomes associated with participation in mini-companies.

Our study involved 5002 students in upper secondary school from five European countries, and we used a pre-test post-test design. Students were categorized based on their level of activity in mini-companies: high activity (100 hours or more), low activity (less than 100 hours), and no participation.

A variety of factors have been identified as being important to perform entrepreneurial activities. To assess the outcomes associated with participation in mini-companies, the study developed and validated six composite measures: perceived desirability for self-employment (4 items); perceived feasibility for self-employment (3 items); entrepreneurial intention (4 items); planning (3 items); teamwork (4 items); and creativity (4 items).

There were two important takeaways from our study. First, the results showed that students with high activity in mini-companies had significantly higher scores on all outcome measures compared to non-participants and those with low activity. Second, multilevel models revealed substantial student group effects and smaller class-level effects, thus, the variability in the students’ outcomes was related to their student group. The recognition of student group effects highlights the importance of considering not only individual-level factors, but also group dynamics in understanding the outcomes associated with participation in mini-companies.

Keywords:

Multilevel model, mini-companies, student group effects, class-level effects, entrepreneurial skills, upper secondary schools, students.