Find your limits and break them! Nurturing students’ entrepreneurship competence through innovative teaching methods and self-assessment
Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy
ISSN: 1750-6204
Article publication date: 7 August 2023
Issue publication date: 10 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at measuring the results of the use of an improved and innovative teaching method, specifically designed for supporting the development of students’ entrepreneurship competence, through students’ self-assessment before and after the teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
The teaching methods design was based on the effectuation approach and considering the comprehensive entrepreneurship competence model as theoretical grounding. The teaching methods experimentation took place in three countries (Estonia, Italy and Poland), collecting pre–post self-assessment surveys from 404 students of entrepreneurship courses. The results of the experimental groups were compared, in each country, with those of control groups not exposed to the same teaching.
Findings
Students participating in classes using innovative teaching methods declared an increase in entrepreneurship competencies, with statistically significant differences, contrasting the results in the control group. The positive changes in self-assessment were observed for 13 of 14 subcompetencies investigated. The increase in the level of the self-assessment of entrepreneurship subcompetencies was significantly greater among bachelor’s degree students.
Originality/value
The strengths of the study include a diverse research sample and a uniform structure of teaching design applied in three different countries, while specific comparative studies on entrepreneurship education and its effect on learners are limited. Moreover, this study used a pre–post design and involved a control group, while most of the existing research on the effect of entrepreneurship teaching are based on different methods. Finally, while most studies measure the impact of entrepreneurship education by focusing on entrepreneurial intentions, this study focused on the development of students’ entrepreneurship competences.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Erasmus + Knowledge Alliance project “Be Competent in Entrepreneurship: Knowledge Alliances for Developing Entrepreneurship Competencies for the Benefit of Higher Education and Business (BeComE)” and the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research entrepreneurship program considering the use of self-assessment tool.
Since acceptance of this article, the following author has updated their affiliation: Gilda Antonelli is at the Economy and Management Faculty, WSB University, Gdańsk, Poland.
Citation
Antonelli, G., Venesaar, U., Riviezzo, A., Kallaste, M., Dorożyński, T. and Kłysik-Uryszek, A. (2024), "Find your limits and break them! Nurturing students’ entrepreneurship competence through innovative teaching methods and self-assessment", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 29-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-10-2022-0148
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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