Purpose The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of how entrepreneurial education research has evolved with regard to pedagogy over the past decades. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed systematic review methodology to enable an in-depth analysis of the literature in a process that was both replicable and transparent. Guided by the research purpose, the systematic review of 395 articles published between January 1980 and December 2018 was influenced by a configurative approach aimed at interpreting and understanding the phenomenon under study. Findings The analysis suggests that the scholarly discourse on pedagogy in entrepreneurial education research has developed over time from teacher-guided instructional models to more constructivist perspectives. A shift in the literature was also observed, where scholarly discussions moved from addressing the issue of teachability to a greater emphasis on learnability. Contemporary discussions centre on the theoretical and philosophical foundations of experience-based teaching and learning. Originality/value The study illustrates how entrepreneurial education has evolved into a distinct research theme, characterized by a practice-oriented research agenda that emphasizes the need to connect teaching to “real-world” environments. The practice-oriented agenda has led to continued societal interest in promoting entrepreneurial education, while at the same time creating low academic legitimacy.

Purpose The quest of this paper is to justify, elaborate and elucidate the concepts of action, experience and reflection, and how they are intertwined when discussing contemporary entrepreneurship education. These concepts have been given a meaning in entrepreneurship education, but have not been discussed in-depth, and by that have been abridged in meaning and purpose, and mostly been treated in isolation from each other. Design/methodology/approach The paper is conceptual and takes its starting point in the historical development of the field and discusses the concepts, from philosophical roots and their application, in entrepreneurship education. Findings Neither of the discussed concepts are enough to generate learning one by one, as they are intertwined within the learning process that aims to generate knowledge. From this perspective, an understanding of how these concepts work, both individually and in synergy, is of importance for entrepreneurship education. Research limitations/implications The discussion presented in this paper may be a starting point for future empirical studies on entrepreneurial learning, by developing the meaning of action, reflections and experience, or by trying to conceptualize them. Practical implications The study indicates that entrepreneurship education should not concentrate only on one dimension of the entrepreneurial learning process, as for example on actions, but should try to combine all of its discussed elements. Originality/value By exploring the origins and developments around the concepts, the paper brings a deepened understanding of what the field considers as important when learning entrepreneurship. By decomposing and mutually referring the concepts, we contribute to the call of strengthening the theoretical and philosophical understanding in entrepreneurship education.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore knowledge accumulation in research on pedagogy in entrepreneurship education, with particular attention to how core journal outlets, core topics and core scholarly works have developed over time.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combine a systematic literature review technique and bibliometric analysis to depict the development of this stream of research in the period 1995–2018.FindingsFindings from the analyses suggests that research addressing pedagogy in entrepreneurship education has developed into a coherent research theme over the past decade, with a noticeable cognitive structure in core research topics and core works, as well as a number of core journal outlets for debates and dissemination of findings.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is anchored in a bibliometric research tradition and influenced by the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.Originality/valueThe paper provided contributes to the understanding of knowledge accumulation in research addressing pedagogy in entrepreneurial education.

Although entrepreneurship education is promoted through an active learning approach, critical concerns regarding how to educate potential entrepreneurs has increased. To remedy this, we pose the question: “Who is the student entrepreneur?” Building on conceptual work from developmental psychology, expertise research, pedagogy, and andragogy, we problematize based on the key characteristics of the emerging adult; a construct originating from developmental psychology. We illustrate an educational process moving from a pedagogical phase into an andragogical phase where the learner becomes in control of the learning process. As a result, we propose a continuum model of entrepreneurship education for emerging adults.

If experience is the guiding light in entrepreneurship education, then why is there so little mention of a philosophy of experience? This article aims to illuminate the philosophical foundations upon which entrepreneurship education rests by discussing learning through experience. In particular, we discuss the concept of experience used in educational research and learning activities for fostering knowledge development in entrepreneurship education. To illustrate our discussion, we develop a diagram that addresses primary and secondary experience and its interplay as well as a model that further illustrates how educative entrepreneurial experience could be researched through the empirical phenomenology. We suggest that although entrepreneurship is currently positioned as an experiential subject in academia, the theoretical and philosophical roots of experience in learning have not been fully addressed, leading to a deficit in our understanding of how knowledge is derived from experience, and how experience may differ depending on its philosophical underpinnings.