Research

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16 pages, 892 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pedagogical Approaches to Responsible Entrepreneurship Education

by Paul Agu Igwe, Nnamdi O. Madichie, Okechukwu Chukwuemeka, Mahfuzur Rahman, Nonso Ochinanwata and Ikenna Uzuegbunam

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9440; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159440 - 01 Aug 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3626

Abstract

This article explores innovations in and pedagogical approaches to Responsible Entrepreneurship Education (REE), with a specific focus on how to advance responsible entrepreneurial competencies (“know-how”) and entrepreneurial practices (“know-that”). Consequently, this article proposes the “4Rs” framework (re-imagining, reconfiguring, reshaping, and reforming) to guide [...] Read more.

This article explores innovations in and pedagogical approaches to Responsible Entrepreneurship Education (REE), with a specific focus on how to advance responsible entrepreneurial competencies (“know-how”) and entrepreneurial practices (“know-that”). Consequently, this article proposes the “4Rs” framework (re-imagining, reconfiguring, reshaping, and reforming) to guide entrepreneurship educators’ actions. Firstly, it is necessary to “re-imagine” the intended and enacted curriculum to develop a contemporary awareness and knowledge of social and environmental enterprises. Secondly, it is essential to “reconfigure” teaching pedagogies to problematize the entrepreneurship environment and outer world. Thirdly, it is required for educators to “reshape” the attained curriculum with the stakeholders to offer learners co-curricular and extracurricular experiences. Finally, pedagogical “reforms” provide an opportunity to incorporate innovations into the discovery of new knowledge and paths of responsibilities. These pedagogical approaches support entrepreneurial learning as “processes” and entrepreneurship as a “process” aligned to the achievement of responsible entrepreneurial behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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17 pages, 862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Building Students’ Entrepreneurial Competencies in Chinese Universities: Diverse Learning Environment, Knowledge Transfer, and Entrepreneurship Education

by Haijiao Chen, Yuting Tang and Jinghe Han

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9105; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159105 - 25 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2281

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education is a critical issue for higher education (HE) students, and thus has been on the agenda of national sustainable development in China. However, few studies have approached the enhancement of HE students’ entrepreneurial competencies in relation to the perspective of their [...] Read more.

Entrepreneurship education is a critical issue for higher education (HE) students, and thus has been on the agenda of national sustainable development in China. However, few studies have approached the enhancement of HE students’ entrepreneurial competencies in relation to the perspective of their learning environment. This study developed and employed the Theoretical Model of Entrepreneurial Competencies to examine the path of improving HE students’ entrepreneurial competencies. The results reveal that a diverse learning environment is an important external factor in developing HE students’ entrepreneurial competencies. Knowledge transfer, self-efficacy, and cognitive flexibility mediate this relationship. Moreover, entrepreneurship education significantly moderates the effects of self-efficacy on HE students’ entrepreneurial competencies, but it does not play a moderating role between cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial competencies. This study provides insights for both policy and managerial endeavors in sustainably advancing HE students’ entrepreneurship through an innovative learning environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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22 pages, 1096 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Impact of Entrepreneurial Education on Entrepreneurial Intentions among Romanian Doctoral Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

by Roxana Hatos, Smaranda Cioban, Gyarmati Bea, Anca Dodescu and Adrian Hatos

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8369; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148369 - 08 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2289

Abstract

In the context of the intensely debated topic of the impact of entrepreneurship education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions, the current paper presents findings of the entrepreneurial intentions of a group of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers from different fields of study enrolled in [...] Read more.

In the context of the intensely debated topic of the impact of entrepreneurship education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions, the current paper presents findings of the entrepreneurial intentions of a group of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers from different fields of study enrolled in the SmartDoct project—an entrepreneurship education project co-financed through the European Social Fund and implemented by the University of Oradea, Romania, between 2019 and 2022. Our paper investigates individual-level determinants of the intention to become an entrepreneur, grounding in the social-cognitive, planned behaviour, and human capital theories. Using content analysis of semi-structured interviews, the paper offers insights into the narratives related to the entrepreneurial intentions of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, including relevant suggestions regarding the impact of gender, field of study, perceived influence of behavioural control, social norms concerning social support, and of the role models. Our results document the capacity of entrepreneurial programmes to encourage business initiation via stimulating entrepreneurial self-efficacy, the importance of perceived behavioural control on explaining entrepreneurial intention, and the value of social support and of role models, as well as the salience of the gender and field of study in explaining the net effect of entrepreneurial training in the case of students enrolled in advanced research programmes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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15 pages, 304 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Entrepreneurial Intention of Students (Managers in Training): Personal and Family Characteristics

by Aleksandra S. Dragin, Maja B. Mijatov, Olja Munitlak Ivanović, Ana Jovičić Vuković, Anđelija Ivkov Džigurski, Kristina Košić, Milena Nedeljković Knežević, Slavica Tomić, Uglješa Stankov, Miroslav D. Vujičić, Vladimir Stojanović, Ljubica Ivanović Bibić, Bojan Đerčan and Aleksandra Stoiljković

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7345; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127345 - 16 Jun 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2558

Abstract

To increase the entrepreneurial intention, it is necessary to understand the main drivers that are driving students, as carriers of future economic development, towards starting a personal business venture. With regards to that, the main aim of this research was to analyze the [...] Read more.

To increase the entrepreneurial intention, it is necessary to understand the main drivers that are driving students, as carriers of future economic development, towards starting a personal business venture. With regards to that, the main aim of this research was to analyze the entrepreneurial intention among students (managers in training) in the field of tourism and hospitality management. Particular attention was paid to the influence of their socio-demographic characteristics, as well as their parents on entrepreneurial intention. The research was conducted in survey form on a sample of 310 students in Serbia in 2020. The main findings indicated that entrepreneurial intention is higher among the male students, as well as among those students whose parents are entrepreneurs or whose fathers are retired. Besides theoretical contribution, the research results might contribute to scientific and research organizations and institutions in providing the guidelines for forming study programs that will raise the students’ entrepreneurial intention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

13 pages, 857 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Smart Analysis of Learners Performance Using Learning Analytics for Improving Academic Progression: A Case Study Model

by Reshmy Krishnan, Sarachandran Nair, Baby Sam Saamuel, Sheeba Justin, Celestine Iwendi, Cresantus Biamba and Ebuka Ibeke

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3378; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063378 - 14 Mar 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4086

Abstract

In the current COVID-19 pandemic era, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are commonly used in e-learning for various learning activities in Higher Education. Learning Analytics (LA) is an emerging area of LMS, which plays a vital role in tracking and storing learners’ activities in [...] Read more.

In the current COVID-19 pandemic era, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are commonly used in e-learning for various learning activities in Higher Education. Learning Analytics (LA) is an emerging area of LMS, which plays a vital role in tracking and storing learners’ activities in the online environment in Higher Education. LA treats the collections of students’ digital footprints and evaluates this data to improve teaching and learning quality. LA measures the analysis and reports learners’ data and their activities to predict decisions on every tier of the education system. This promising area, which both teachers and students can use during this pandemic outbreak, converges LA, Artificial Intelligence, and Human-Centered Design in data visualization techniques, semantic and educational data mining techniques, feature data extraction, etc. Different learning activities of learners for each course are analyzed with the help of LA plug-ins. The progression of learners can be monitored and predicted with the help of this intelligent analysis, which aids in improving the academic progress of each learner in a secured manner. The Object-Oriented Programming course and Data Communication Network are used to implement our case studies and to collect the analysis reports. Two plug-ins, local and log store plug-ins, are added to the sample course, and reports are observed. This research collected and monitored the data of the activities each students are involved in. This analysis provides the distribution of access to contents from which the number of active students and students’ activities can be inferred. This analysis provides insight into how many assignment submissions and quiz submissions were on time. The hits distribution is also provided in the analytical chart. Our findings show that teaching methods can be improved based on these inferences as it reflects the students’ learning preferences, especially during this COVID-19 era. Furthermore, each student’s academic progression can be marked and planned in the department. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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15 pages, 623 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Assessment of the Key Competences for Lifelong Learning—The Fuzzy Model Approach for Sustainable Education

by Aleksandar Aleksić, Snežana Nestić, Michael Huber and Nikolina Ljepava

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2686; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052686 - 25 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1885

Abstract

Contemporary education in higher education institutions has a goal to provide necessary competences determined by legislative demands, science trends and job market needs to graduated students intending to strengthen their employability. The main idea of this research is to assess the level of [...] Read more.

Contemporary education in higher education institutions has a goal to provide necessary competences determined by legislative demands, science trends and job market needs to graduated students intending to strengthen their employability. The main idea of this research is to assess the level of students’ competences for lifelong learning (LLL). Since it is a very complex task, it is characterized by a lack of information and the vagueness of the inherently subjective nature of human thinking. The uncertain values of the assessed level of students’ competences for LLL are represented by linguistic expressions which are modeled by the interval type 2 trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Ranking of the level of students’ competences for LLL is stated as a fuzzy multi-criteria optimization task. The aggregation of students’ opinions into unique marks is given by using the proposed fuzzy Delphi technique. The rank of students’ competences for LLL is given by using the proposed fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting (FSAW). The order of measures that should be delivered to improve students’ competences is based on the obtained rank. The model is tested and discussed on the real data collected from a significant sample of the students with a proposal of future directions of the research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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14 pages, 620 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Development of Employability of University Students Based on Participation in the Internship Promotion Programme of Zhejiang Province

by Yujuan Chen and Ning Gan

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13454; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313454 - 05 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2238

Abstract

In the context of severely restricted employment opportunities, undertaking an internship is an important way for students to enhance their employability and sustainable development. The aim of this study was to judge if the implementation of the Internship Promotion Programme (IPP) at universities [...] Read more.

In the context of severely restricted employment opportunities, undertaking an internship is an important way for students to enhance their employability and sustainable development. The aim of this study was to judge if the implementation of the Internship Promotion Programme (IPP) at universities in Zhejiang Province, China, could enhance graduates’ employability. We conducted surveys and interviews with 400 students and 100 business executives who participated in the IPP during the past 6 years. Based on the collected data and statistical analysis, the findings show that internships help students to improve their innovative thinking, interpersonal communication abilities (domestic and international), problem-solving skills, value creation and responsibility. Participants in the IPP were compared with students who did not take part. The results demonstrated that the IPP participants exhibited higher capabilities to perform important workplace tasks and that as a result, they became more attractive to employers. The analysis, therefore, demonstrates a positive correlation between the internship experience and employability. As a result, it can be concluded that the IPP improves students’ employability and is beneficial to enhancing the quality of higher education, and hence the sustainable development of students. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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19 pages, 1198 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying Entrepreneurial Interest and Skills among University Students

by May Portuguez Castro and Marcela Georgina Gómez Zermeño

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 6995; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13136995 - 22 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4472

Abstract

This study presents the profile of the participants in an online course on entrepreneurship that followed a challenge-based learning methodology and was applied to undergraduate students at a university in Mexico. Students were given challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during [...] Read more.

This study presents the profile of the participants in an online course on entrepreneurship that followed a challenge-based learning methodology and was applied to undergraduate students at a university in Mexico. Students were given challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the course and were allowed to recognize their interest in solving these problems. This paper seeks to identify the entrepreneurial profile of university students through their experiences, interests, attitudes, and entrepreneurial skills. Although entrepreneurship courses are offered more frequently in universities, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the students’ interest and their abilities to continue strengthening them. The data were collected through a questionnaire conducted with 20 multidisciplinary participants. The analysis compared the results of those who finished the course vs. those who did not to determine the significant differences in their answers. The results showed that the participants generated sustainable business ideas that favor local and global problems. Additionally, the students showed great interest in social entrepreneurship and developing companies based on the knowledge acquired during their university studies. It is recommended to continue with the training so that these ideas can become real ventures through linkages with other actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and favor the solution of sustainable problems. The questionnaire instrument enabled identifying the students’ characteristics, interests, and entrepreneurial skills, which could be strengthened with other programs that train them. It was also possible to recognize skills that they did not possess before starting the e-learning course which require further strengthening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 453 KiB

Open AccessReview

Exploring the Role of Sustainability-Oriented Marketing Education in Promoting Consciousness for Sustainable Consumption

by Agu Godswill Agu, Samuel G. Etuk and Nnamdi O. Madichie

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8077; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138077 - 01 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2694

Abstract

Scholars have increasingly examined how education influences consciousness for sustainable behaviour, but studies focusing on developing economies are very few, and the role of sustainability-oriented marketing education is currently underexplored. By applying the theory of planned behaviour, this study explores the influence of [...] Read more.

Scholars have increasingly examined how education influences consciousness for sustainable behaviour, but studies focusing on developing economies are very few, and the role of sustainability-oriented marketing education is currently underexplored. By applying the theory of planned behaviour, this study explores the influence of sustainability-oriented marketing education on students’ consciousness for sustainable consumption. The study is a quantitative research study based on an online survey of marketing students who participated in a training/seminar programme of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. The participants were drawn from three universities across the South-East and South-South zones of the country. SmartPLS structural equation modelling was applied to test the generated data. We find that sustainability-oriented marketing education influences students’ consciousness for sustainable consumption, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. The findings will strengthen marketing education for sustainable development, and they have implications for students’ environmental consciousness in making purchase decisions. The study also brings more insight into marketing education’s role in actualizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurship and Sustainability of Higher Education)

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