Guest editorial

Citation

Ramsey, E., Smith, K. and Martin, L. (2011), "Guest editorial", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 17 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr.2011.16017baa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Volume 17, Issue 2

This special issue addresses the theme of “Developing enterprising individuals” within the context of the role of higher education in the study and teaching of entrepreneurship.

Kuratko and Hodgetts (2004, p. 30) describe entrepreneurship as “a dynamic process of vision, change, and creation, requiring an application of energy and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions”. In this regard, the growing interest in entrepreneurship education is stimulated by the premise that, not only does such activity benefit long-term regional economic development, but it also serves as an educational prerequisite in a graduate labour market of increasing career uncertainty (Gibb, 2008). With a growing recognition of the wider societal needs for enterprising individuals, entrepreneurship education provides an ideal context for individuals to address “their identity, objectives, hopes, relation to society, and the tension between thought and action” (Gustafson, 1993, p. 25).

This has led to broad developments in the field of entrepreneurship education across developed and developing countries and across all levels of education from school to post university as part of lifelong learning. However entrepreneurship education is still more often related to business start up and management rather than the development of the individual to cope with creativity and change (Kirby, 2004; Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2004). In addition to current educational provision ignoring individual needs, the traditional focus on business and new venture management provides an inadequate basis for responding to societal needs and proposes the wider notion of “enterprise” (Gibb, 2002).

To develop individual and societal responses implies new approaches to the teaching of enterprise or/and entrepreneurship. “Clearly, for entrepreneurship education to embrace the 21st century, professors must become more competent in the use of academic technology and also expand their pedagogies to include new and innovative approaches to the teaching of entrepreneurship” (Solomon et al., 2002, p. 82).

Given that “entrepreneurship is not solely the prerogative of business but encompasses priests, doctors, teachers, policemen, pensioners and community workers and, indeed, potentially everyone in the community”- this special edition has been devised to explore how enterprising individuals can be supported in their development through entrepreneurship education. As such, the papers that make up this special issue provide distinctive individual contributions to enhance our understanding of the role of entrepreneurship education in the development of enterprising individuals.

Paper 1: “Enterprise education in schools and the role of competency frameworks”

The first paper by Mathew Draycott and David Rae, examines the topic of “Enterprise education in schools and the role of competency frameworks”. More specifically it presents a critical review of a range of competency frameworks and related documents introduced in England to assist with enterprise education mainly for the 14-19 age groups. It makes a significant contribution to wider academic debate by raising and discussing questions that need to be considered in reflecting on the current progress and future direction of enterprise education based on such frameworks. In practical terms it presents new ideas in the development of enterprise education for researchers, policymakers and practitioners in schools.

Paper 2: “Concepts into practice: Meeting the challenge of development of entrepreneurship educators around an innovative paradigm: the case of the International Entrepreneurship Educators’ Programme (IEEP)”

The second paper by Allan Gibb, explores a range of conceptual and practical challenges faced in delivering an innovative programme (the International Entrepreneurship Educators’ Programme (IEEP)) targeted among staff of UK higher and further education institutions. The paper discusses the major concepts and issues that shaped IEEP. In particular it presents useful details on the “Mastery” framework model which sets out the knowledge and practical components necessary for educators to support the development of entrepreneurial capacities and mindsets. According to the author, “the paper is best described as a reflective piece aimed at stimulating readers to think about their own development needs and at the same time build their own critique of the model that has been developed”. Alan invites feedback on the concepts that have been presented as adding value to the learning experience within entrepreneurship education programmes.

Paper 3: “The influence of stakeholders on developing enterprising graduates in UK HEIs”

The third paper by Harry Matlay is based on extensive longitudinal research conducted between 2000 and 2009 and provides a comprehensive analysis of primary, secondary and tertiary stakeholder influences upon the development of enterprising graduates in UK HEIs. Presentation of the empirical findings is underpinned by a critical review of the key literatures relating to entrepreneurship education, enterprising graduates and stakeholder involvement in UK HEIs. The results confirm that formal and informal interaction between primary stakeholders involved in entrepreneurship education is an essential feature in the process of developing enterprising graduates. A key recommendation is that the UK government and its representatives need to focus their policies, initiatives and support measures upon specific knowledge and skills needs of students in order to ensure that entrepreneurship education is effective, demand driven and specific to the future needs of enterprising graduates.

Paper 4: “Graduate entrepreneurs are different: they access more resources?

The fourth paper in this special issue, by David Pickernell, Gary Packham, Paul Jones, Christopher Miller and Brychan Thomas, considers whether graduate entrepreneurs are significantly different to non-graduate entrepreneurs, both generally and in terms of external resources that they harness for enterprise development. It identifies, discusses and conceptualises the main factors influencing entrepreneurs with a focus around the linkages between external resource types, sources of resources, along with the human capital consideration of whether the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner is a graduate or non-graduate entrepreneur. This discourse provides the basis for the study, which employs a quantitative analysis of data relating to these factors, generated from the 2008 UK Federation of Small Businesses Survey, with comparative analysis conducted between graduate and non-graduate entrepreneurs. The paper raises a number of important questions of relevance to both higher education generally and enterprise education specifically. It has provided important empirical baseline data for future quantitative and qualitative studies focused on the impact of enterprise education in developing more enterprising individuals.

Paper 5: “Enterprising individuals and entrepreneurial learning: a longitudinal case history in the UK tourism sector”

This paper, by David Crick, employs a longitudinal case history approach within the UK tourism industry. The literature contextualises the investigation within the existing body of knowledge which is mainly underpinned by entrepreneurial learning (e.g. episodic and /or emergent learning) and the influences on entrepreneurship educational needs over time. The case history methodology employed multiple interviews, inspection of documentation and observation of working practices over an eight-year period within two micro businesses. The paper provides valuable insights in respect of how the entrepreneurs have developed their learning over time, including for example, the need to undertake planning, reflection on prior learning, work/life priorities. The paper serves as a useful contribution to entrepreneurship education by highlighting key aspects of entrepreneurial learning that are important to consider in developing enterprising individuals. The author calls for further research to widen the scope of the work undertaken to allow for comparisons of the perceptions of a greater number of enterprising individuals to be made.

Elaine Ramsey, Kelly Smith, Lynn Martin