Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a homeschool education influences entrepreneurial characteristics and activity.
Design/methodology/approach
A collective case study design was used to investigate how a homeschool education influences entrepreneurial characteristics and activity.
Findings
From the participant interviews, surveys, and document analysis, three salient themes emerged. First, participants noted that their home education, at least in later years, was largely self-directed and that this independent, self-motivated type of learning impacted their subsequent entrepreneurial activities. Next, participants also related that they believed the alternative nature of their homeschooling education and its emphasis on being comfortable with being different influenced their entrepreneurial pathway. Finally, the third theme to surface was the idea that homeschooling helped develop an internal locus of control, a belief that is helpful in entrepreneurial undertakings.
Research limitations/implications
Research limitations included a lack of generalizability due to a small sample size and possible selection bias.
Practical implications
Despite these shortcomings, however, several implications exist. For example, the findings from this study show that homeschooling may be a viable alternative education method for parents looking to encourage entrepreneurial traits and activities in their children.
Social implications
Future areas of research were also identified, including a call to research the role locus of control plays in homeschooled students.
Originality/value
This study addresses an area that, to the knowledge of this researcher, is completely lacking from the research literature.
Pooled dataset on entrepreneurial characteristics of undergraduates in selected universities in Nigeria
