Circular Economy-Based Entrepreneurship Education, Project-Based Learning, And Industry Collaboration In Shaping Vocational Students’ Entrepreneurial Interest: The Roles Of Environmental Awareness And School Climate
Keywords:
circular economy-based entrepreneurship education; Project-Based Learning; industry collaboration; environmental awareness; school climate; entrepreneurial interest; vocational education
Abstract
This study examines how circular economy-based entrepreneurship education, Project-Based Learning (PjBL), and industry collaboration shape entrepreneurial interest among vocational high school students, while testing environmental awareness as a mediator and school climate as a moderator. An explanatory cross-sectional survey was conducted with 200 students at SMKN 2 Selong, selected through proportionate random sampling from a population of 400. Data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. Industry collaboration emerged as the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial interest (β = 0.469; p < 0.001) and also enhanced environmental awareness (β = 0.509; p < 0.001). Circular economy-based entrepreneurship education significantly increased environmental awareness (β = 0.258; p < 0.001) but had no direct effect on entrepreneurial interest. PjBL showed no significant effect on either endogenous construct. Environmental awareness did not mediate the hypothesized relationships, whereas school climate directly predicted entrepreneurial interest (β = 0.249; p = 0.001) but did not moderate the focal relationships. The model explained 50.0% of the variance in environmental awareness and 50.5% of the variance in entrepreneurial interest. These findings indicate that authentic industry-based experiences and a supportive school ecosystem are more consequential for fostering entrepreneurial interest than instructional exposure alone, underscoring the need for more entrepreneurship-oriented and sustainability-integrated PjBL designs
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Chen, S.-H., Ke, Y., Ma, C., Ahmed, F., He, T., & Day, M. J. (2026). From knowing to doing: How industry project-based learning shapes entrepreneurial mindset. The International Journal of Management Education, 24(3), 101452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2026.101452
del Brío González, J. Á., Mitre Aranda, M., & Barba-Sánchez, V. (2022). Environmental awareness and the entrepreneurial intention in university students: Direct and mediating effects. The International Journal of Management Education, 20(3), 100719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100719
Fahrurrozi, M. (2024). Entrepreneurship teaching: Design and activities of 21st century learning for economic class under mini-project (participatory-phenomenological design). Jurnal Kependidikan: Jurnal Hasil Penelitian dan Kajian Kepustakaan di Bidang Pendidikan, Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran, 10(2), 704–717. https://doi.org/10.33394/jk.v10i2.11063
Fahrurrozi, M. (2025). Building sustainable businesses: How education, digitalization, and collaboration drive long-term success. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 12, 101707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101707
Franke, G., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). Heuristics versus statistics in discriminant validity testing: A comparison of four procedures. Internet Research, 29(3), 430–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-12-2017-0515
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The circular economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Ho, O., Iyer-Raniga, U., Sylva, K., Sivapalan, S., Dissanayaka, S. M., & Sadykova, C. (2025). Circular economy education: Student feedback from five higher education institutions in the Asia Pacific. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 26(7), 1655–1676. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2023-0292
Huang, M., Xu, S., Guo, T., Ni, Y., & Xu, Y. (2024). Impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intention of higher vocational students: A moderated mediation effects model. European Journal of Education, 59(4), e12775. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12775
Kaewsaeng-on, R., Al-Takhayneh, S. K., Jam, F. A., Chang, B.-L., Pradana, M., & Mahmood, S. (2022). A three wave longitudinal study of school innovation climate and entrepreneurship teachers’ acceptance to technology: Moderating role of knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1028219. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1028219
Kock, N., & Hadaya, P. (2018). Minimum sample size estimation in PLS-SEM: The inverse square root and gamma-exponential methods. Information Systems Journal, 28(1), 227–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12131
Nguyen, T. P. L. (2023). Integrating circular economy into STEM education: A promising pathway toward circular citizenship development. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1063755. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1063755
Prabowo, H., Ikhsan, R. B., & Yuniarty, Y. (2022). Drivers of green entrepreneurial intention: Why does sustainability awareness matter among university students? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 873140. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873140
Santoso, R. T. P. B., Priyanto, S. H., Junaedi, I. W. R., Santoso, D. S. S., & Sunaryanto, L. T. (2023). Project-based entrepreneurial learning (PBEL): A blended model for startup creations at higher education institutions. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00276-1
Sukardi, S., Wildan, W., & Fahrurrozi, M. (2022). Designing cluster development-based entrepreneurial school model in tourism sector for vocational high school. Jurnal Kependidikan: Jurnal Hasil Penelitian dan Kajian Kepustakaan di Bidang Pendidikan, Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran, 8(3), 571–578. https://doi.org/10.33394/jk.v8i3.5652
Widjaja, S. U. M., Wibowo, A., Narmaditya, B. S., Wardoyo, C., & Saptono, A. (2022). Identifying factors affecting entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention among Indonesian university students. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 10(3), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2022.100306
Wu, L., Jiang, S., Wang, X., Yu, L., Wang, Y., & Pan, H. (2022). Entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions of college students: The mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the moderating role of entrepreneurial competition experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 727826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727826
Yuan, X., Kaewsaeng-on, R., Jin, S., Anuar, M. M., Shaikh, J. M., & Mehmood, S. (2022). Time lagged investigation of entrepreneurship school innovation climate and students motivational outcomes: Moderating role of students’ attitude toward technology. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 979562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.979562
Yuana, S. L., Wiliyanto, W., Hadiyantono, T. A., Figueroa, M. J., Hapsari, M., & Pinem, M. L. B. (2024). Mundane circular economy policy: Mainstreaming CE education through the agency of schools. Journal of Cleaner Production, 440, 140847. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140847
Zhang, W., Li, Y., Zeng, Q., Zhang, M., & Lu, X. (2022). Relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention among college students: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912158
Published
2026-10-31
How to Cite
Anisa, I., Muh. Fahrurrozi, & Nuro Sholihah. (2026). Circular Economy-Based Entrepreneurship Education, Project-Based Learning, And Industry Collaboration In Shaping Vocational Students’ Entrepreneurial Interest: The Roles Of Environmental Awareness And School Climate. International Journal of Economics, Business and Innovation Research, 5(06), 2474-2497. https://doi.org/10.63922/ijebir.v5i06.6542
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