Evaluation of Views of Professors and Students and Student Need for Topics of Suggested Entrepreneurship Course Syllabus in Paramedical Sciences, 2014

Abstract

Background Development, maintenance, and improvement of entrepreneurial behaviors in students are the focus of entrepreneurship education. Objectives This study aimed to compile entrepreneurship education topics in paramedical sciences with respect to the labor market and working nature of the intended courses based on the views of professors and students. Methods In this descriptive-analytical study, the views of professors (65) and students (531) from five schools of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were used to design and compile applicable and scientific topics for entrepreneurship education. A questionnaire containing specialized open-ended and closed-ended questions related to entrepreneurship skills was completed by both target groups and used for data collection. The validity of the questionnaire was approved by expert professors, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha (0.71). Data was analyzed using SPSS (version 19), mean, T-test, and content analysis at a significance level of 0.05 (confidence interval = 95%). Results This study determined the skills and subsets of each and suggested topics for an educational program. Moreover, it showed that, at a significance level of 0.05, there is a statistically significant difference in the views of professors and students regarding each skill (P < 0.001). Conclusions It is essential and would be efficient to expand entrepreneurship executive programs beyond the current courses to include the basics of creativity and entrepreneurship and courses and seminars with the following contents: writing a business plan, management principles, principles of negotiation and effective communication, teamwork, business launching and management, marketing principles, an introduction to law, financial affairs, and risk management.