A Transformative Human-Centered Interdisciplinary Design of Entrepreneurship Education for a Technological Future

Abstract

This paper explores interdisciplinary, human-centered entrepreneurship education that builds entrepreneurial self-efficacy and transformative learning among students. Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Mezirow’s transformative learning theory, our study examines a co-curricular entrepreneurship pedagogy embedded within a National Science Foundation project. Using qualitative data from reflections, interviews, and observations, the study identifies stakeholder engagement, community-based design, and self-reflection as activities that support sustainable perspective shifts. The findings show that interdisciplinary, real-world challenges function as disorienting dilemmas that promote empathy and critical thinking. The study offers a replicable instructional model that integrates coursework, applied projects, practice-based engagement, and institutional support. This model demonstrates that entrepreneurship education can be designed to support both “can do” and “will become” student habits of the mind.

1. Introduction

Entrepreneurship education equips students with the skills and perspectives needed for innovation and economic impact (Linton & Xu, 2021; Lv et al., 2021). To achieve these outcomes, scholars have designed curricula to increase students’ entrepreneurial intentions and self-efficacy (Chen et al., 2022; Nabi et al., 2017). Such outcomes can be short term, however, and emerging evidence suggests that curricula is more likely to be transformative when students are challenged to address wicked problems that integrate technical and business knowledge in contexts focused on human and community needs (Bell, 2021; Formenti & Hoggan-Kloubert, 2023; Mezirow, 1981, 1997).

In this light, calls for human-centered entrepreneurship curricula designs (HCD) have increased (Mohseni et al., 2023). HCD projects are inherently cross-disciplinary, positioning students as empathetic co-creators who iteratively prototype and refine ideas while collaborating across fields (Ilyas et al., 2024). Such approaches align particularly well with the goals of mission-driven and minority-serving institutions, where curricula are explicitly linked to community stakeholders (Price & Toney, 2024). There is still much to learn, however, about the design and implementation of HCD entrepreneurship curricula.

This study addresses two key questions. How can entrepreneurship education be structured with interdisciplinary human-centered activities that change students’ habits of the mind? How can entrepreneurship curricula be designed to support structured critical self-reflection that helps students challenge their assumptions and develop new perspectives? These questions respond to recent calls in the literature for entrepreneurship education that emphasizes mindset transformation through critical self-reflection (Kassean et al., 2015; Mezirow, 1997) and reframed assumptions (Mezirow, 1981). Such attributes have been suggested to improve entrepreneurial outcomes and facilitate shifts in students’ entrepreneurial mindset (Bae et al., 2025; Saadat et al., 2021; Wardana et al., 2020); and, also to impact students’ intentions and self-efficacy (Nabi et al., 2017; Rideout & Gray, 2013). Scholars emphasize, however, that learners must be prepared to engage in critical self-reflection if sustainable perspective shifts are to occur (Mälkki, 2012).

Our theoretical framework combines Bandura’s social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977, 2001) with Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1981, 1997). Students build confidence by observing others and by engaging in mastery experiences with appropriate support (Bandura, 1977, 2001). In entrepreneurship education, such experiences call for mentorship and hands-on tasks that provide clear feedback (Zhao et al., 2005) in positive learning environments (Haddad et al., 2021). Additionally, critical self-reflection on challenging or “disorienting” experiences is key to revising one’s assumptions and worldview (Mezirow, 1997). Effective entrepreneurship pedagogy therefore will scaffold skill building with structured self-reflection (Taylor, 2007). Our theoretical framework suggests that curricula designs should let students learn by doing and observing while also prompting them to reflect on how these experiences reshape their assumptions. This combined lens guides our analysis of interdisciplinary, human-centered activities that may produce both entrepreneurial self-efficacy and transformative learning.

We conducted a qualitative case study of a co-curricular entrepreneurship pedagogy housed at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and embedded within a National Science Foundation (NSF) project (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006). The pedagogy brought together engineering and business students on a human-centered design project to commercialize water-quality sensor technology in a culturally relevant environment (Bertrand et al., 2016). Activities included engaging community stakeholders (Martin et al., 2023), conducting customer discovery interviews, iterating on prototypes based on user feedback, and preparing technical and outreach reports. We collected qualitative data and conducted thematic analysis to identify the ways in which student habits evolved from the pedagogy experience.

This paper contributes to entrepreneurship education scholarship and practice in several ways. We present a transferable instructional model for entrepreneurship curricula that embeds self-reflection, interdisciplinary teamwork, and community engagement into the learning process (Martin et al., 2023; Souitaris et al., 2007). This integrated framework bridges research, teaching, and innovation to support the transformations that students need to lead in a complex, technology-driven society (Haneberg et al., 2022; Huang et al., 2025). Our findings extend theoretical understanding of how interdisciplinary, human-centered approaches can motivate entrepreneurial learning beyond skill-building (Blankesteijn et al., 2024). Our approach aligns with calls for transformative learning in entrepreneurship education (Kakouris et al., 2023; Kakouris & Liargovas, 2021; Saadat et al., 2021).

2. Literature Review

We next discuss research that addresses how and under what conditions entrepreneurship education can provide measurable impact on student habits and their assumptions. Bandura (1977) noted that mastery experiences are most powerful when learners reflect on them, which is also a point central to Mezirow’s theory of perspective transformation (Mezirow, 1997).

2.1. Social Cognitive Theory and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy

Social cognitive theory, also known as social learning theory, suggests that we learn new behaviors through our interaction with others and our observations of their behaviors in different environments (Bandura, 1977, 2001). In the entrepreneurship literature (Nabi et al., 2017), social cognitive theory provides support for both general self-efficacy and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (Chen et al., 2022), which refers to one’s confidence when performing entrepreneurial tasks such as opportunity identification, start-ups and resource acquisition (Wardana et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2005). For students, entrepreneurial self-efficacy beliefs develop from structured mastery experiences (Kassean et al., 2015; Monroe-White & McGee, 2024; Newman et al., 2019).

Although social cognitive theory dates back decades, current research continues to build and expand upon social cognitive theories with new insights on problem-based educational programs (Colombelli et al., 2022) and other interventions (Linton & Xu, 2021; Yi & Duval-Couetil, 2021). These tools help build the confidence and support networks needed to master entrepreneurial tasks. One common intervention used in entrepreneurship education is community engagement, particularly where minority students are participating because supportive mentors, peer role models, and access to resources have been shown to increase their entrepreneurial self-efficacy (O’Brien et al., 2019).

For example, HBCUs often function as entrepreneurship ecosystems for Black students that provide community partnerships and culturally relevant support (Edmondson et al., 2024; Price & Toney, 2024). In turn, students are encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship beyond the classroom as they revise their mindsets with new perspectives about themselves, society, the environment, and opportunity. This process is what Mezirow (1997) terms perspective transformation, in which learners alter their ‘habits of mind’ and frames of reference that promote shifts in entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviors (Taylor, 2007).

2.2. Transformative Learning in Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Education

Transformative learning occurs as students tackle problems using technical and organizing skills in contexts that challenge their understanding of community needs and interactions (Bell, 2021; Mezirow, 1981, 1997; Saadat et al., 2021). Such experiences can be intentionally designed (Kakouris et al., 2023; Kakouris & Liargovas, 2021; Saadat et al., 2021) and reinforced when educational experiences are embedded in real communities where users, customers, and civic stakeholders inform design choices (Bosman et al., 2020; Martin et al., 2023; O’Brien & Cooney, 2024). Such pedagogical design principles are especially salient at mission-driven institutions, like minority serving institutions where educational goals align closely with the needs and aspirations of the communities they serve (Bell, 2021; O’Brien et al., 2019; Price & Toney, 2024; Prieto et al., 2021). Accordingly, researchers ask that more consideration be given to the pedagogical context, with a focus on learning environments that provide meaningful relationships, facilitation, and supported action as learning conditions (Cranton, 2002; Nabi et al., 2017, Stevens & Culén, 2024). Taylor (2007) further underscores that the learner’s readiness to engage in self-reflective processes is also an important consideration.

Human-centered design (HCD) approaches to entrepreneurship education (Mohseni et al., 2023) address both concerns. In practice, HCD is an analytic and creative process in which learners iteratively prototype, test, and refine solutions to problems (Razzouk & Shute, 2012). HCD encourages students to empathetically engage with end users and community stakeholders, ensuring that solutions address real human needs (Martin et al., 2023). As Bender-Salazar (2023) observes, the human-centered design method makes the client or product user the primary focus of a process of iterative feedback loops that engage the learner in a self-reflective process that leads to perspective transformation (Mezirow, 1997).

The United States National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Equitable Water Solutions initiative, for example, explicitly embeds human-centered design into its interdisciplinary entrepreneurship curricula. As part of the NSF Convergence Accelerator Track K, teams receive training in HCD alongside team science and use-inspired research methods (NSF, 2024). This mandate ensured that diverse project teams engage directly with end users and community stakeholders in developing equitable water innovations. Such examples underscore HCD’s role in laying the groundwork for transformative learning by pushing NSF entrepreneurship faculty and students beyond familiar frames of reference.

2.3. Disorienting Dilemmas in Community-Engaged Learning

Human-centered multidisciplinary projects are transformative because they confront students with disorienting dilemmas (Mezirow, 1981, 1997) that fundamentally challenge their assumptions and that call for critical self-reflections that shift perspectives. Mezirow (1997) explains that repeated disorienting dilemmas, combined with critical reflection, yield new frames of reference. In interdisciplinary problem-based learning contexts, these dilemmas frequently arise from the interplay of different disciplinary perspectives and the uncertainties of community engagement (Feng et al., 2025). In community-based entrepreneurship projects, learners might encounter resource limitations, differing cultural norms, or stakeholder needs that do not align neatly with classroom theories (Hullender et al., 2015; Mälkki, 2012).

Students may also struggle, for example, when engineering, business, and social science team members each bring conflicting approaches to a project that forces learners to question their own previously held methods or solutions. Importantly, these dilemmas are not a sign of failure or disarray in education; rather, they are a deliberate feature of transformative pedagogy (Feng et al., 2025; Kassean et al., 2015). These kinds of real-world encounters go beyond traditional business model case studies or simulation exercises, which typically take place in static or preprogrammed contexts. By encouraging students to explore unfamiliar disciplinary and social contexts (Mezirow, 1997), interdisciplinary entrepreneurship programs create the conditions for transformative learning to begin (Feng et al., 2025; Hullender et al., 2015),

Once the stage is set for transformation, it is critical self-reflection that will convert disorienting dilemmas into habits of the mind (Mezirow, 1981, 1997). Research consistently shows that without deliberate reflection, even powerful experiences may not lead to meaningful change in mindset (Bae et al., 2025; Neergaard et al., 2021). Reflection is the process by which learners process an experience cognitively and emotionally (Chiu, 2025), extracting insights about themselves and their world (Bae et al., 2025). Reflection also teaches students how to manage uncertainty and ambiguity. These are important skills for entrepreneurs (Neergaard et al., 2021). For instance, Neergaard et al. (2021) found that applying structured ‘nudging’ and reflection strategies in an entrepreneurship course helped students to expose and challenge their entrepreneurial habits. Similarly, Kulturel-Konak et al. (2025) used a transformative learning framework to show that participation in innovation competitions produced significant increases in students’ self-awareness and open-mindedness which are key indicators of perspective change.

Studies find that critical self-reflection paired with emotional engagement provides students with a new understanding of social issues along with a heightened sense of moral responsibility and personal agency (Dirkx, 2001; Hullender et al., 2015). Mezirow (1997) refers to this process as transforming habits of the mind. Transformative learning ultimately aims to reshape habitual ways of thinking patterns toward more inclusive and analytical outlooks. In an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship context, this could mean, for example, shifting a student’s mindset from seeing uncertainty as intimidating to viewing it as an opportunity f or innovation, or expanding a student’s perception of what “solutions” entail beyond the confines of their own discipline.

Over time, as learners process multiple disorienting experiences, they form new frames of reference that are more inclusive, integrative, and empowering. The outcomes might include a more collaborative outlook, greater tolerance for ambiguity, a strong sense of social responsibility, and an internalized belief in one’s capacity for continual learning. In other words, their perspectives shift (Mezirow, 1981, 1997). Evidence from youth entrepreneurship education shows that early experiential programs can yield lasting improvements in participants’ entrepreneurial attitudes (Reyes-Aceves et al., 2023). Hence, by complementing social cognitive theory’s focus on skill and efficacy development with transformative learning’s focus on perspective shifts, entrepreneurship education can train learners who are confident, adaptive, and prepared to tackle complex societal challenges over the long term (Newman et al., 2019; Nyamunda & Van der Westhuizen, 2020).

3. Methodology

This study employed a qualitative case study design to examine an interdisciplinary, community-embedded entrepreneurship program at an HBCU in Jackson, Mississippi. The sample size consisted of seven students, selected to meet the classroom and study objectives. The team composition was structured to support the high-growth technology commercialization design while ensuring representation across disciplines. The integration of engineering and business students was central to the study’s purpose, reflecting the interdisciplinary collaboration foundational to the program model (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006; Guest et al., 2020; Vasileiou et al., 2018).

In qualitative research, small sample sizes are appropriate and valid when the objective is to capture the richness and contextual depth of participants’ experiences rather than statistical generalization (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006; Guest et al., 2020; Vasileiou et al., 2018). The immersive year-long engagement with these students, with each observed across multiple academic terms, facilitated sustained interaction and trust, yielding rich, credible data (Rolfe, 2006; Shenton, 2004).

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University approved this project (IRB Protocol 0013-25, 1 October 2024). The IRB also approved a waiver of signed consent given the classroom context and that participants were informed of the study’s purpose and because the data were collected anonymously. The qualitative design, coupled with the interdisciplinary and culturally diverse composition of participants, enabled a robust exploration of transformative learning within the HBCU context with the potential to replicate aspects of this educational model to other universities with modification for student body and community fit.

3.1. Participants and Context

The seven student participants included three undergraduate business majors, one MBA student, one PhD student in a business discipline, and two graduate technology students. Together, they represented a mix of business and STEM expertise, aligning with the study’s emphasis on interdisciplinary integration. The group also reflected diverse nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, including Black/African American, Jordanian, and Bangladeshi students, which provided a cross-section of the university’s student body. Each student’s involvement in the co-curricular program ranged from one to six months (depending on academic timelines and graduation), and collectively the program activities spanned a full academic year.

The program focused on commercializing a faculty-developed water-quality sensor technology, which is a project funded by the National Science Foundation, using a human-centered design process that integrated engineering innovation, business strategy, and community collaboration. The HBCU context offered a mission-driven environment where technological solutions were developed in tandem with community needs, reflecting the institution’s emphasis on service learning, equity, and socio-economic development (Bell, 2021; O’Brien et al., 2019).

3.2. Co-Curricula Actions and Reflections

All students, regardless of academic level or major, were assigned comparable roles in the program to encourage interdisciplinary and collaborative learning. Each student devoted 10–20 h per week to project-related activities that spanned several key domains. The first domain, stakeholder engagement, involved identifying community members, local businesses, government agencies, and other relevant partners affected by the water-quality issue in Jackson, Mississippi. Students helped initiate contact, prepare materials, and organize forums to discuss how new water quality sensing technology could serve local needs. The second domain, customer discovery interviews, required students to work with faculty to develop interview protocols and conduct interviews with potential stakeholders. These interactions, held in person and virtually, enabled students to gather insights from diverse community perspectives and test the usability and relevance of the water sensor technology.

The third area of work, data analysis and prototyping, involved synthesizing feedback from stakeholders to refine and iterate on product design. Students contributed to the development of user personas and scenario mapping to ensure that community priorities were embedded in design decisions. Finally, the reporting and dissemination domain tasked students with preparing deliverables that captured the progress and outcomes of the project. These included writing technical and summary reports, presenting findings at conferences, and leading internal meetings with faculty and peers to plan commercialization strategies. Through these activities, the program effectively integrated engineering and business education with community engagement, as highlighted in entrepreneurship education research (Beaumont et al., 2025; Duval-Couetil et al., 2025).

3.3. Data Collection

Multiple qualitative data sources were used to capture the complexity of learning experiences. An open-ended survey was administered to students at program completion. The survey gathered demographic information and explored entrepreneurial self-efficacy, aspirations for high-growth ventures, and perceptions of the technology’s contribution to community development. Researchers also conducted direct observations of student–faculty interactions, stakeholder meetings, and fieldwork. These observations, guided by action research principles, provided insight into behavioral shifts, collaboration patterns, and reflective learning practices (Han et al., 2022; Winkler, 2013). In addition, weekly debrief sessions and informal mentoring discussions allowed students to reflect on experiences, describe challenges, and articulate lessons learned. Since the survey covered the entire program cohort (N = 7) and was intended to capture individual transformations rather than to generate a new formal theory, thematic saturation was not pursued.

Combining data from surveys, observations, and reflections enabled triangulation and ensured consistent, reliable findings across multiple methods (Shenton, 2004). Further, our iterative co-design activities (interviews, persona building, prototype refinement) align with human-centered design principles shown to increase methodological rigor (Mohseni et al., 2023).

3.4. Data Analysis and Trustworthiness

Qualitative data from surveys, observations, and discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Coding was guided by sensitizing concepts from the literature (Bowen, 2006), including transformative learning and culturally responsive mentorship, to maintain theoretical alignment. Observational and reflective data were compared to confirm patterns identified in survey responses, strengthening the internal consistency of interpretations. Rigor and trustworthiness were established through triangulation of data sources and member checking, wherein preliminary findings were shared with participants for feedback (Shenton, 2004). Dependability and confirmability were ensured through detailed documentation of coding decisions. Prolonged engagement in the field provided contextual depth and strengthened authenticity (Shenton, 2004).

Recent work in higher education validates standardized instruments that capture student gains (López-de-Arana Prado et al., 2024). Data coding was done by the Senior Faculty. Member checking was conducted at the end of the course when preliminary themes were shared with students for feedback and confirmation of accuracy. Our mixed strategy of triangulation and structured reflection aligns with this push toward validated tools and transparent evidence for impact. Collectively, these strategies reinforced the validity of the findings as a representation of the interdisciplinary, community-based learning processes at the core of the study.

4. Findings of Transformative Learning Themes

Thematic categories drawn from transformative learning theory of disorienting dilemmas, critical self-reflection, empathy, and habits of mind are used to organize the findings. Representative quotations are displayed in tables, each followed by interpretive commentary that connects student experiences to relevant theory and literature. This format provides a structured view into how interdisciplinary, community-engaged learning fosters shifts perspective and entrepreneurial identity, including ESE. Rather than generalizing outcomes, the analysis focuses on the specific ways participants described their learning experiences and the institutional design features that supported them. The findings are presented as interpretive themes, grounded in transformative learning theory. Given the small, context-specific sample, our goal is analytical transferability of insights to similar interdisciplinary, community-engaged entrepreneurship settings as opposed to statistical generalizability.

Students’ reflections capture the disruptive experiences that Mezirow (1981, 1997) and Taylor (2007) identify as disorienting dilemmas (See

Table 1. Disorienting Dilemmas.

Theme	Quote
Challenging Assumptions	“Working with peers from different disciplines has opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and approaching problems.”
Interdisciplinary Learning	“As a business grad, I got to learn about a lot of technological stuff such as the NMR sensor.”
Hands-On Learning	“The hands-on projects in the lab have taught me how to apply my engineering skills to real-world business challenges.”
Collaborative Modeling	“Collaboration has played a role in my personal and professional growth working alongside others to achieve a common goal.”

). For example, encountering peers from other fields opened student eyes to new ways of thinking, prompting them to rethink previous assumptions. Such interdisciplinary encounters forced students to question their own disciplinary boundaries and knowledge (Mezirow, 1997; Taylor, 2007). As such, collaborative projects served as disorienting events that triggered perspective shifts (Mezirow, 1997) consistent with literature on transformative learning and not just skill gains.

The quotations in

Table 2. Critical self-reflection.

Theme	Quote
Structured problem solving	“After conducting interviews and literature reviews, I can approach problem-solving with more structure and strategy.”
Reflective communication	“The experience allowed me to think through questions and improve my communication skills.”

reveal how students critically examined and reframed their own learning processes. One student explicitly describes adopting a more structured approach to problem solving after guided inquiry. This reflects Mezirow’s (1997) notion of critical self-reflection, where learners analyze assumptions and develop new strategies. These findings extend social-cognitive perspectives as well, since observing and interacting with diverse models (Bandura, 1977, 2001) enriched students’ problem-solving skills (Beaumont et al., 2025; Linton & Xu, 2021). Another student notes improved communication skills through reflection, illustrating metacognitive growth (Mezirow, 1981, 1997) and the role of discourse in transformation (Taylor, 2007). Together, these reflections suggest that students engaged in meaningful analysis of their experiences. In effect, students moved from intuition toward evidence-based decision making, extending social–cognitive theory into transformational learning (Newman et al., 2019; Saadat et al., 2021).

Students’ growing empathy and social consciousness are highlighted in the

Table 3. Empathy.

Theme	Quote
Community awareness	“My involvement in projects addressing the water quality issue has given me insight into the impact of water contamination and potential solutions.”
Technology for social impact	“Technology is not just a tool but a means of empowering communities and driving economic stability.”
Technology for economic impact	“Technology can definitely drive community resilience and business opportunities. The number of businesses shut down because of not having the necessary technology gave me a wider perspective on funding and operating equipment.”
Stakeholder perspective taking	“To be able to contribute by conducting interviews with the community and leaders made me learn about prospective solutions.”

quotations. By engaging with local water-quality problems, one student gained insight into community needs. Another recognized technology as “empowering communities,” linking technical innovation to social benefit. Conducting stakeholder interviews further deepened this perspective, as students reported learning new solutions from community members. Such developments mirror literature that situates empathy and moral imagination at the heart of transformative learning (Bell, 2021; Jardim, 2021). They also extend Bandura’s social–cognitive framework by showing that students internalized social responsibility alongside skills. These experiences moved students beyond self-interest toward concern for others, reinforcing a more civic-minded entrepreneurial identity (O’Brien & Cooney, 2024). The reflective connection between technology and community in these quotes underscores how transformative learning integrates cognitive growth with ethical awareness (Bell, 2021; Mezirow, 1997).

Shifts in students’ habits of the mind are illustrated in the quotations in

Table 4. Habits of the Mind.

Theme	Quote
Analytical orientation	“Engaging in field testing with equipment allowed me to refine my data-acquisition techniques and deepen my understanding of theoretical concepts.”
Evidence-based decision making	“I now approach business development with a stronger emphasis on research and data analysis, ensuring decisions are informed and strategic.”

. One student reported gaining systematic analytical skills through hands-on testing, and another student describes a new emphasis on research and data in decision making. Together they reflect transformed habits of mind as defined by Mezirow (1981, 1997), whereby students moved toward evidence-based, deliberative frames. This outcome aligns with transformative learning theory, which posits that perspective transformation involves altering ingrained cognitive schemas (Mezirow, 1997). In context, these revised habits enabled students to approach entrepreneurship with a more holistic, informed mindset, echoing prior work on reflexivity (Taylor, 2007; Saadat et al., 2021). The students’ new analytical and research-driven orientations demonstrate how experiential challenges embedded in this interdisciplinary program reshaped their ways of thinking and learning (Mezirow, 1997; Wardana et al., 2020). In Mezirow’s terms, the students’ new analytical habits reflect a transformed frame of reference beyond mere confidence.

Student observations aligned with these themes. Senior Faculty noted that students became more independent and analytical over time. They refined interview protocols, synthesized findings into actionable insights, and demonstrated greater fluency with research-informed thinking. While these outcomes reflect the specific conditions and context of this lab-based case study, they suggest that iterative, reflective practice can contribute to the development of technical, market research, and critical inquiry skills. Overall, the students not only reported higher ‘can do’ confidence but also described perception shifts about their roles.

5. Instructional Model for Transformative Entrepreneurship Education

The community-embedded program model in this study structured entrepreneurship curricula around integrated activities that build students’ “can do” confidence (self-efficacy) while also shaping their “will become” identities as innovators (Bandura, 1977, 2001; Mezirow, 1997). To guide faculty at other Institutions, we draw on a four-part framework of taught coursework, project-based learning, practice engagement, and institutional support to outline specific pedagogical design elements that promote both mastery and transformation. Below we outline four pillars of this instructional model, with examples from our interdisciplinary program and suggestions for how faculty in other contexts can implement them.

5.1. Designing Interdisciplinary Coursework

Curricula should be intentionally interdisciplinary and experiential. Faculty teams from multiple fields can co-design and co-teach courses centered on real-world wicked or commercialization problems. In-class activities can include case analyses or team projects that require students to integrate technical and market perspectives on a genuine innovation challenge (Ilyas et al., 2024; Stenard, 2023). Diverse teams encourage students to routinely confront assumptions from their own discipline. Co-teaching provides immediate role models across domains and encourages perspective-taking. Further, co-designs allow students to observe faculty experts navigating unfamiliar problems. Through these mastery experiences, students gain confidence that they, too, “can do” entrepreneurship (Bandura, 1977, 2001). Classes should also incorporate structured reflection activities like guided discussions or journals that help students connect what they learn to their evolving self-concepts. In so doing, coursework is not just a transfer of content but a context for students to see themselves as problem-solvers, linking skill mastery to perspective shifts (Newman et al., 2019; Taylor, 2007).

5.2. Structuring Applied Projects

Applied, project work should be the experiential core of the program, with a learning cycle of action and reflection on outcomes to refine solutions (Luka, 2019). Instead of hypothetical exercises, students should engage in real world challenges or commercialization research with faculty participation (McSweeney & Schnurr, 2023). For example, students collaborated on developing water sensor technology (an NSF-funded prototype) by conducting prototyping, market research, and business modeling in real time. Other institutions can create analogous opportunities by partnering with campus research labs, local startups, or incubators. In practice, faculty assign students responsibility for key tasks such as building a prototype, conducting customer discovery interviews and drafting a commercialization plan that allows students to make decisions and encounter real uncertainty. These mastery experiences directly build entrepreneurial self-efficacy, showing students what they can do. At the same time, real world stakes introduce disorienting dilemmas that prompt critical reflection and perspective transformation that help students envision who they will become as their confidence grows (Mezirow, 1997; Wardana et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2005).

Real world stakes such as presenting to industry advisors or iterating a working prototype also introduce disorienting dilemmas that prompt critical self-reflection. By reflecting on successes and setbacks, students not only learn concrete skills but also begin to envision who they will become. An example is a technology entrepreneur with a social mission (Mezirow, 1997; Taylor, 2007). To support this, faculty should schedule interim presentations and debriefs so that students can articulate lessons learned and observe their own progress over time, reinforcing the link between “can do” actions and emerging entrepreneurial identities.

5.3. Facilitating Community Engagement

Connecting projects to real stakeholders amplifies both learning and impact. Faculty should incorporate human-centered design practices into applied projects, guiding students to engage directly with community or industry partners. For instance, our students conducted interviews and co-design sessions with local citizens, businesses, and public agencies to understand water quality needs (Bosman et al., 2020). Other contexts could involve students talking with clinic patients, factory managers, or schoolteachers and other users who are relevant to the innovation. In these activities, students prepare interview protocols, facilitate focus groups, or test early prototypes with intended users, then iterate based on feedback.

This process grounds students’ learning in lived experience and community needs (Bell, 2021). Interaction with real people introduces empathy and social awareness so that students come to see themselves as co-creators of value. These experiences anchor students’ learning in real needs, creating disorienting dilemmas that, when reflected on, reshape their assumptions and provide a key step in perspective transformation (Mezirow, 1997). According to Bandura’s theory, these stakeholder interactions also provide vicarious learning and social persuasion as students see themselves reflected in mentors and role models (Bandura, 1977, 2001) and receive encouragement that they can make a difference. Meanwhile, the challenges of meeting real human needs can serve as disorienting dilemmas (Mezirow, 1997) that shift students’ worldviews. Embedding this community-engagement component ensures that students’ emerging “will become” entrepreneur identities are aligned with social purpose (Edmondson et al., 2024; Bell, 2021).

5.4. Embedding Institutional Support

Institutional support can take many forms, but key elements include recognizing interdisciplinary projects for credit, providing financial and administrative resources, and fostering a campus culture that values experiential innovation (Sahasranamam & Nandakumar, 2020). For example, universities can offer credit-bearing seminars or labs that formally enroll students from different colleges, so that participating in a cross-disciplinary venture counts toward their degrees. Faculty roles could also be supported through structures like an entrepreneurship center or faculty learning community that encourages collaboration across departments (Edmondson et al., 2024). This collective support structure mirrors Souitaris et al. (2007) emphasis on environment and resources that signal to students that entrepreneurship is valued and feasible at the institution. Further, when universities link applied projects to their research and service missions, the program is likely to sustain (Edmondson et al., 2024; Taylor, 2007).

This instructional model weaves together Bandura’s social cognitive emphasis on mastery and modeling with Mezirow’s focus on perspective-changing reflection. Each pillar of interdisciplinary coursework, applied projects, stakeholder engagement, and institutional backing contains practices that let students learn by doing and observing, while also reflecting on how these experiences reshape their assumptions and identities. Faculty in any discipline can adapt this model to simultaneously motivate student perspective shifts and entrepreneurial identity transformation (Bandura, 1977, 2001; Mezirow, 1981, 1997).

6. Limitations and Future Research

Complementing our study data, longitudinal evidence indicates that practical, transformative entrepreneurship education can sustain growth in entrepreneurial competences over multiple years when programs embed applied tasks and feedback (Reyes-Aceves et al., 2023). Our study, however, has limitations. It is based on a single qualitative case at one HBCU with a self-selected group of participants. Although small interview-based samples can yield rich insights (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006), this context-specific approach limits generalizability. Edmondson et al. (2024) conceptualize HBCUs as embedded within Black entrepreneurship ecosystems, emphasizing context-specific factors. To ensure that results extend beyond this setting, future research should test the framework at non-HBCU institutions and with diverse learner groups.

Additionally, our data collection method did not include control conditions or standardized measures. Controlled experimental or quasi-experimental designs could help establish causal effects of the pedagogy (Grégoire et al., 2019). Future studies might incorporate additional mixed methods and performance data to triangulate findings. Longitudinal evaluations such as Reyes-Aceves et al. (2023), for instance, show that measuring outcomes over time by following up beyond a single term or year could affirm the perspective shifts. We also relied on self-reported outcomes. Future research could add more objective metrics of performance measures and include additional participant reflection logs to strengthen evidence of learning.

7. Conclusions

This study advances understanding of transformative learning principles that can be applied in interdisciplinary, experiential entrepreneurship education pedagogy that is designed for a rapidly evolving technological future. Our community embedded interdisciplinary model proposes that human centered experiential entrepreneurship curricula can build both students’ “can do” skills and “will become” habits of the mind that are perspective transformations (Bandura, 1977, 2001; Mezirow, 1997). Grounded in social cognitive theory and transformative learning, our approach encourages critical self-reflection, builds empathy, and creates disorienting dilemmas that reshape learners’ habits of mind and entrepreneurial identities.