Young Entrepreneurs Study a joint Tufts University and Stanford University project studying entrepreneurial purpose in young adults Grant Activities July 1, 2011 June 30, 2012 About the Study The Young Entrepreneurs Study (YES) is a joint project with the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development (IARYD) at Tufts University and the Stanford Center on Adolescence. Made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation, the YES project is a longitudinal study of the development of entrepreneurial purpose, achievements, and character attributes among diverse adolescents and young adults in the United States. Specifically, we are interested in identifying the cognitive, motivational, behavioral, and ecological bases of entrepreneurship development. We define entrepreneurship as "The process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the risks, and receiving the resulting rewards." Among young people, entrepreneurship refers to the application of enterprising qualities within both new and existing organizations, and using the appropriate skills necessary for success in that environment and culture. Accordingly, we are interested in both traditional perceptions of entrepreneurship, such as starting a business, and the more novel pathways that young adults take to build a career. Entrepreneurship affords promising opportunities to people in low-income communities and has the potential to contribute in positive ways to economic well-being and positive social change in society. Therefore, we believe that fostering entrepreneurship will significantly enhance our business and social communities. The quantitative and qualitative findings from this study will provide scientifically validated information needed for creating effective educational programs and policies designed to foster entrepreneurial capacity. In addition, this project will provide a theory of youth entrepreneurship, as well as a model for future entrepreneurship research on this essential but under-studied area of American life.
2 Wave 1 Profile Total participants: 4,004 Demographic areas: East Coast, West Coast, Midwest Age Range: 18-24 Full Sample Age Distribution 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Full Sample Education Distribution High School Diploma 2-Year Degree Some College Bachelors Degree Graduate Degree Other
3 Full Sample Gender Distribution Female 60% Male 40% Full Sample Race/Ethnicity Distribution White African American Asian Hispanic Pacific Islander Native American Arab-American Asian Indian Other Multiethnic Full Sample Immigrant Distribution Foreign Born 16% US Born 84%
4 Articles Scholarly Articles Lerner, R. M., & Damon, W. (In press). Entrepreneurship in adolescence: A relational developmental systems approach. International Journal of Developmental Science, 6(3). Geldhof, G. J., Porter, T., Weiner, M. B, Malin, H., Bronk, K. C., Agans, J. P., Mueller, M., Damon, W., & Lerner, R. M. (2012). Fostering youth entrepreneurship: Preliminary findings from the Young Entrepreneurs Study. Journal of Research in Adolescence. Manuscript submitted for publication. Other Articles Damon, William. The Education of Steve Jobs, (9/16/2011) http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/93066 Conference Presentations and Papers March 2012, Society for Research on Adolescence, Vancouver, B.C. Weiner, M. B., Geldhof, G. J., & Lerner, R. M. (2012, March). The Entrepreneurship Intentional Self Regulation Questionnaire: Factorial and Concurrent Validation. Poster Presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence, in Vancouver, Canada. March 2012, Society for Research on Adolescence, Vancouver, B.C. Roundtable Discussion: Entrepreneurship as a Pathway to Positive Youth Development October 2011, Society for the Study of Human Development conference, Brown University Weiner, M. B., Geldhof, G. J., Lerner, R. M. (2011, October). The Entrepreneurship Intentional Self Regulation Questionnaire: Factorial and Concurrent Validation. Poster Presented at the Society for the Study of Human Development, in Providence, RI. Other Publications or Presentations Spring 2012 Liang, B., & Yuen, A., Researchers examine the secret of successful young entrepreneurs, Stanford Spotlight, http://ed.stanford.edu/spotlight/researchers-examine-secrets-successful-youngentrepreneurs The Stanford team (Bill Damon, Anne Colby, and Heather Malin) attended a meeting held by the Stanford Epicenter, a new research and education center dedicated to creating and sharing entrepreneurship learning resources for engineering students. At this meeting, we presented on the
5 YES Project to scholars from around the U.S. who are also conducting research related to entrepreneurship education. Advisory Board We held our first Advisory Board meeting on November 8, 2011 at Tufts University. Board members include: Gary Bergstrom, Chairman, Acadian Asset Management LLC David Chase, Chase Venture Advisors, LLC Deborah Osgood, President/CEO, Knowledge Institute Ananda Roberts, President/CEO, nfocus Software