Magnus Hoppe, Mats Westerberg and Eva Leffler
The purpose of this paper is to present and develop models of educational approaches to entrepreneurship that can provide complementary analytical structures to better study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and develop models of educational approaches to entrepreneurship that can provide complementary analytical structures to better study, enact and reflect upon the role of entrepreneurship in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
A general framework for entrepreneurship education is developed by using theory as well as practical experiences from the fields of business, engineering and pedagogy. The paper is mainly conceptual where the unfolding Swedish practice is used as contextual backdrop.
Findings
The FOR/IN/THROUGH/ABOUT (FITA) taxonomy is presented and used to develop three models of how to approach entrepreneurship in higher education depending on purpose. As there exists a didactical divide between entrepreneurial education for business and entrepreneurial approach to teaching and learning, educators and researchers ought to let their specific context influence the adoption of the taxonomy as well as the presented models.
Research limitations/implications
The differentiations suggested by the presented models can be used to both structure the designs and limit claims of future research. More heuristic research is called for.
Practical implications
The use of FITA in the designing of entrepreneurship education offers new opportunities for enhancing complementary student learning in higher education.
Social implications
The study suggests that any political or scholarly initiative must acknowledge the diversity of entrepreneurship education and chose different approaches depending on what is to be achieved.
Originality/value
The multidisciplinary approach has made it possible to present and create models that denote a common ground for a productive discussion on how to better understand and make use of entrepreneurship in higher education.
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Maj-Lis Hörnqvist and Eva Leffler
The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning of entrepreneurship in schools and a school leadership which aims to nurture an entrepreneurial attitude. The authors will also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning of entrepreneurship in schools and a school leadership which aims to nurture an entrepreneurial attitude. The authors will also discuss what challenges there could be for principals to lead activities to develop an entrepreneurial attitude to learning and teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper integrates policy documents and scientific material concerning entrepreneurial attitude, leadership and school culture.
Findings
In Sweden as well as internationally there are clear policy intentions for renewal of schoolwork in a more entrepreneurial direction. The most striking challenges for principals are to be enough creative within the boarders set by school authorities when setting vision and goals for the development of their schools to enhance an entrepreneurial attitude, building trust and distributing power among staff, along with having courage to think outside “the box”.
Research limitations/implications
The point of departure is entrepreneurial attitude in education as understood in a Swedish context. International policies as well as research are discussed.
Practical implications
The paper illuminates strategic ways of thinking and acting according to leadership in an entrepreneurial learning school context.
Originality/value
The role of principals as well as the significance of culture in a school context focused on developing an entrepreneurial attitude is quite often discussed in research. School differs from business in that there are more restrictions set by school authorities. The paper shows an undeveloped area which can be useful to identify and problematize challenges for leadership.
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Eva Leffler and Åsa Falk-Lundqvist
This study puts focus on teaching and learning attitudes in two schools, one in England and other in Sweden. The purpose is to highlight and problematize teaching and learning in…
Abstract
This study puts focus on teaching and learning attitudes in two schools, one in England and other in Sweden. The purpose is to highlight and problematize teaching and learning in a changing society and find out what happens when two school cultures learn from each other. In Sweden, the attitude is “entrepreneurial learning” and in England “personal learning and thinking skills,” different names, but the same underpinning approach to teaching and learning. This chapter is based on an “open” questionnaire, classroom observations and group interviews with teachers. In our way of analyzing the material, we have chosen the concepts dualistic and integrative perspective on knowledge and school development. Following themes was visualized: authority – authoritarian, interest – meaninglessness, and control – trust. Results show both similarities and differences between the two countries. However, the most unexpected result was what the teachers focused on in the classroom. The Swedish teachers paid more attention to the relationship to the students, while the English teachers focused more on the relationship to learning.
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This conceptual chapter re-actualizes the Didaktik-inspired discussions in entrepreneurship education, initiated by Kyrö, Blenker et al., and Bechard and Toulouse over 15 years…
Abstract
This conceptual chapter re-actualizes the Didaktik-inspired discussions in entrepreneurship education, initiated by Kyrö, Blenker et al., and Bechard and Toulouse over 15 years ago. Didaktik in the German educational tradition is a pedagogical sub-discipline which, unlike the Anglo-American understanding of “didactics” as teaching methods, focuses on the relations between the subject, teacher, and students, and considers questions regarding what to teach, how to teach, and why, as being interdependent. A review of literature on entrepreneurship education published in the last decades shows that research in the German Didaktik tradition is sparse, and that the awareness of the differences between Didaktik and “didactics” has been overlooked. This chapter has practical implications for entrepreneurship educators as it presents Didaktik as an approach which comprises planning, implementing, and evaluating teaching in a way that includes an awareness of the learners’ relationship to the subject without excluding the teacher’s key role in education. In a theoretical perspective, the chapter challenges the Anglo-American understanding of “didactics” and proposes Didaktik as an approach to developing entrepreneurship education research and practice to be scientifically based in two fields and encompass transformative learning and critical perspectives, rather than being driven by political agendas and focusing on results.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical contribution by exploring how secondary school students are governed and shaped when entrepreneurship is emphasised in school…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical contribution by exploring how secondary school students are governed and shaped when entrepreneurship is emphasised in school curricula, and if female and male students are governed in different ways through different techniques connected with entrepreneurship in school.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes its departure in Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality. In total, 90 students in gendered focus groups from three upper secondary schools were interviewed about how entrepreneurship in school was implemented and experienced. The schools were geographically dispersed.
Findings
The analysis indicates, the three schools included in the study provide different prerequisites for students to become an active subject. This partly depends on where the individual school is geographically located, but also on the students gender. When entrepreneurship in school is implemented throughout the entire curriculum, female students tend to adopt male-coded entrepreneurial abilities. The neoliberal agenda, with an aim of fostering entrepreneurial self, appears to have permeated the awareness of students, especially female students.
Originality/value
First, the paper contributes with an empirical research regarding students’ experiences of entrepreneurship in school. Second, the paper contributes to a gender perspective on entrepreneurship in school. Third, the paper contributes to the understanding of how entrepreneurship in school is realised in a different school context.
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Martin Lackéus, Mats Lundqvist and Karen Williams Middleton
The purpose of this paper is to use entrepreneurship to bridge the traditional-progressive education rift.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use entrepreneurship to bridge the traditional-progressive education rift.
Design/methodology/approach
The rift between traditional and progressive education is first deconstructed into five dualisms. Conceptual question-based analysis is then applied to determine if and how three entrepreneurial tools could contribute to bridging this rift; effectuation, customer development and appreciative inquiry. Finally, pattern-based generalizations are drawn from this analysis.
Findings
Patterns in the analysis motivate the articulation of an overarching educational philosophy – learning-through-creating-value-for-others – grounded in entrepreneurship and capable of bridging the educational rift.
Research limitations/implications
Only three entrepreneurial tools are included in the conceptual analysis, signifying a need to explore whether other tools could also help teachers bridge the traditional-progressive education rift. Entrepreneurial tools and the new educational philosophy manifesting entrepreneurship could also need to be further contextualized in order to be useful in education.
Practical implications
The tentatively new educational philosophy has been shown to be capable of bridging five dualisms in education which are currently problematic for teachers in their daily practice, and to remedy teacher challenges such as complexity, lack of resources, assessment difficulties and student disengagement.
Originality/value
An educational philosophy grounded in entrepreneurship has arguably not been proposed previously. Contrasting existent educational philosophies, this new philosophy goes beyond learning-through to also emphasize creating-value-for-others. This could facilitate bridging between traditional and progressive education, one of the most important challenges in education. It could also be used to facilitate the infusion of entrepreneurship into general education.