Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy

Citation

Harry Matlay (2016), "Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy", Education + Training, Vol. 58 No. 7/8, pp. 900-902. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2016-0107

It is widely accepted that the US leads in the interrelated fields of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education research. In this sweeping statement, I include aspects of empirical research, theory building and educational practice, as well as official, institutional and private support. Historically, the earliest roots of modern entrepreneurship education as a field of practice can be traced back to 1938 in Japan, where a professor at Kobe University inaugurated a pioneering course of applied education in entrepreneurship. Soon after the end of the Second Wold War (1939-1945), a small number of universities in the USA, the UK and in other industrially developed countries began to offer a limited range of small business management modules and courses. The real and accelerated growth in entrepreneurship education took place in the USA, which experienced a significant expansion beginning with the 1950s. One could argue that such a significant development of innovative and high quality entrepreneurship oriented education has made an important contribution to the ongoing success of the US economy, not withstanding cyclical global economic decline and recessions. The accompanying research and dissemination on aspects relating to entrepreneurship education has also grown commensurate with the increase in the US universities that offered this type of specialised education and inherent expansion in the number of faculty members involved with such courses. This is amply evidenced by the rapidly expanding mass of corresponding refereed articles, reports and books. To complement these, there also exists a considerable volume of quality practitioner articles and shorter, but focused “grey literature”.

The book under review, edited by Michael H. Morris, who is the George and Lisa Etheridge Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida, is based upon papers and workshops which were presented, over the previous 30 years, at the annual US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship conference. Accordingly, it includes cutting edge perspectives from educators, researchers and leaders in teaching entrepreneurship, developing curricula and advancing entrepreneurship education programs, courses and modules. The text is organized into three interconnected sections: the first comprises 14 papers which individually and cumulatively provide an outline of entrepreneurship education in the US; the five papers in the next section present an overview of exemplary (and award winning) programs in entrepreneurship, at five distinct US universities; the final section outlines ten focused cases of innovative teaching, experiential learning and community engagement initiatives.

It is beyond the scope of this book review to outline in detail the content of all 29 papers included in this excellent volume. Suffice to say that it is a well-structured, very informative and competently written collection of articles that not only inform but also challenge the readers’ views on entrepreneurship education as well as their own perspectives on student learning and expected entrepreneurial outcomes. I have learnt a great deal about why entrepreneurship education in the USA is so complex and comprehensive, and what makes it so successful, not only in the classroom but also in the real world. The 14 leading edge research perspectives incorporated in the first section are original, empirically rigorous and intellectually challenging. Each one of the five model academic programs presented in this book is innovative and though provoking, both for students and faculty staff. The shorter papers in the third section provide an exceptional and privileged insight in original and innovative aspects of entrepreneurship education not usually encountered in mainstream literature. As a whole, reading this book has been a positive, thought provoking and enjoyable experience.

This book should appeal to a wide range of interested parties, in the USA, the UK, Continental Europe, Australasia and elsewhere, including: researchers, educators, policy makers and the management team of universities and faculties who intend or currently offer entrepreneurship education. I also believe that undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students could also benefit considerably from both the conceptual and contextual aspects of this volume, in order to inform and/or enhance their own thinking, perspectives and experiences of entrepreneurship education.