Project Entrepreneurship: A Study of the Influence of Peer Mentorship on Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this action research study was to understand better student perceptions of entrepreneurship opportunities, with a particular focus on exploring how a peer-mentor might play a helping role supporting the entrepreneurial activities of their peer students in a college environment. This action research study focused on the experience of a five-week, virtual mentorship program. The theoretical perspectives guiding the research included the work of Ajzen, Bandura, and Stets and Burke. In this mixed method study, quantitative data were collected for three constructs—self-efficacy, entrepreneurial identity, and entrepreneurial mindset. Quantitative data were gathered using pre- and post-intervention surveys. Qualitative data were gathered through written journal reflections and semi-structured interviews at the end of the study. Participants were undergraduate students serving as mentors and first-year, full-time students engaging as mentees. The study was conducted during the fall 2020 semester and occurred in a fully, virtual format in response to COVID-19 public health considerations. Modest increases in levels of agreement with entrepreneurial self-efficacy and relational support for entrepreneurship were indicated from the analysis of the quantitative results. A slight decline for entrepreneurial identity also occurred. Qualitative data provided richer understandings of student perspectives. Themes around the perception of self, relationship with others, entrepreneurial focus, and feelings towards entrepreneurship emerged from the mentee’s qualitative data. Central themes for the mentor data included helping, focusing on the college experience, and feelings as a mentor. The perspectives of mentors and mentees were also explored in analysis of journal entries. Students indicated they valued entrepreneurial activity and mindset, with the majority expressing future goals relevant to entrepreneurship. The discussion focused on the complementarity of the data, connection of the outcomes to the theoretical frameworks, personal lessons learned, limitations of the study, and implications for research and my own practice.