Teaching a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship with constructive alignment in tertiary non-business contexts

• Published in: Education & training (London) 2018-01, Vol.60 (2), p.122-138
• Main Author: Morselli, Daniele
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alignment; Alignment (Education); Behavioral psychology; Business schools; Case Studies; Colleges & universities; Constructivism (Learning); Curricula; Education; Education Courses; Educational Environment; Educational objectives; Educational Research; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship education; Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; Higher education; Initiatives; Learning; Learning activities; Lifelong learning; Masters Programs; Paradigms; Pretests Posttests; Professional development; Psychology of learning; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Student Centered Learning; Students; Teaching methods
• ISSN: 0040-0912; 1758-6127
• DOI: 10.1108/ET-06-2017-0093

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on a course in entrepreneurship education for students studying for a Masters in Educational Sciences at a Finnish university. The course was structured around the principles of constructive alignment and aimed to move beyond reflection on entrepreneurship towards action Design/methodology/approach The course was delivered in alignment with intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment. Along with lectures, group work and peer-review activities, students prepared a career development plan as the course progressed, undertook a homework assignment, wrote a reflective journal, and sat the GET2 test twice. Findings Quantitative and qualitative analysis suggests that students developed more enterprising attitudes as result of participating in the course. This paper makes an argument in favour of entrepreneurship as a subject for all, a transformative experience capable of shaping the mindset in all who participate. Originality/value This paper shows how a course on entrepreneurial education based on a “through” approach can be taught at a tertiary level in places other than economics faculties or business schools. Most tertiary courses rely on “about” and “for” approaches to entrepreneurial education, are teacher-centred, and follow a behaviouristic or cognitive learning paradigm of knowledge transmission, as opposed to the student-centred constructivist approach deployed and described here.