Examination of the Entrepreneurship Levels of Translation and Interpreting Students in terms of Personal and Social Variables

Abstract

Entrepreneurship, which means taking action to do something, is becoming more and more important in the field of Social Sciences every day. There is a need for individuals who are willing to take opportunities, responsible for what they do, able to take risks, and do not hesitate to add new perspectives to the field. This study examines the entrepreneurship levels of the students studying in the department of Translation and Interpreting at Selçuk University in terms of personal and social variables. The personal and social variables taken into consideration in this study give an insight about what a successful translator-to-be and/or an interpreter-to-be should be like. The research is conducted by taking into consideration the junior and senior students of the department. In order to examine the entrepreneurship levels of the students, a 51-item measurement tool named "Entrepreneurship Scale for Students of Foreign Languages” is used, and some additional information about the students’ personal and social characteristics are collected in the research. The study finds that there is no significant difference in the entrepreneurship levels of the students studying in the department of translation and interpreting at Selçuk University when other variables are taken into account, except for the gender variable. When the gender variable is analyzed, it is noteworthy that a significant difference in entrepreneurship levels has been detected between male and female students: female students are more entrepreneurial than male students. The reason why female students are more entrepreneurial than male students may be related to the fact that women tend to be more intuitive and self-regulated, which are still found to be some of the most important factors for university students’ entrepreneurial activities.