Abstract

Entrepreneurship is a competency that is crucial for students of any field whose nature is different according to the context. Therefore, the current research develops Home Economics entrepreneurship and tools to be used in the analysis of Home Economics entrepreneurship for undergraduate students. The data was collected from 404 undergraduates from Faculty of Home Economics Technology of Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, academic year 2021 by Stratified sampling. The study was divided into two phases. Phase 1 dealt with qualitative data analysis by studying relevant documents and previous research studies as well as interviewing experts in the field, to develop Home Economics entrepreneurship indicators. After that, confirmatory factor analysis was adopted. Phase 2 was quantitative data analysis, implemented by collecting data from 304 undergraduate students by using ANOVA. The results of Phase 1 qualitative research revealed that the Home Economics entrepreneurship potential consisted of 6 components including seeking business opportunities, innovative thinking, risk taking, management, entrepreneurial intentions, and networking. The results of testing the construct validity of Home Economics entrepreneurship potential showed that the model had a comparative fit with the empirical data. Furthermore, the results of Phase 2 quantitative research revealed that students who trained in Home Economics skills for more than 21 hours per week obtained a higher average for the Home Economics entrepreneurship potentials than others with the statistical significance of .05. Those who received Home Economics awards acquired a higher average for the Home Economics entrepreneurship potentials than others with the statistical significance of .05. Students who performed Home Economics-related jobs acquired a higher average for the Home Economics entrepreneurship potentials than those who did not perform any part-time jobs or performed non-related jobs with the statistical significance of .05. Lastly, students with the genuine entrepreneurial intentions had a higher average for the Home Economics entrepreneurship potentials than those who did not with the statistical significance of .05.

Keywords: Home economics, Entrepreneur, Home economics entrepreneurship potentials, Higher education