Construction and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Entrepreneurial Intention in Secondary School Students in Chile

This study develops and validates a psychometric instrument to measure entrepreneurial intention (EI) among secondary school students in Chile. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, the instrument integrates attitudinal and contextual factors adapted to the school context. Data from 1,402 students were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis, reliability estimation (Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability), and validity procedures (convergent and discriminant validity, variance inflation factor). Results support the instrument's factorial structure and internal consistency, enabling robust assessment of entrepreneurial intention and related educational interventions. The instrument demonstrates solid psychometric properties across most constructs, identifies items for future refinement, and provides practical guidelines for its application in school-based entrepreneurial programs and structural equation modeling. This work contributes a validated tool for both research and evidence-based practice in entrepreneurship education, with direct implications for evaluating and improving educational initiatives targeting entrepreneurial competencies in adolescents.