The university's role in developing Chinese entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature and conceptual developments to explore how and why universities should teach entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach -This is a theoretical paper which draws on the rich seam of existing literature to develop theory about enterprise education purpose and pedagogy. Findings -Universities are uniquely able to provide the right sort of education that will produce "better" entrepreneurs. In turn, these better entrepreneurs are better enabled to produce and successfully implement the innovation that drives economic growth. Practical implications -These are twofold. The paper raises awareness of the importance of the university's role for developing the right sort of entrepreneurship. It also highlights important pedagogic points that will realise the full potential of a university entrepreneurial education. Originality/value -The paper largely synthesises existing work, but conceptualises and presents the material in a new way.

Entrepreneurship Education as a Catalyst of Business Start-Ups: A Study on Malaysian Community College Students

“…It is posited that entrepreneurial factors positively relate with entrepreneurial inclination. In general, the outcomes of the study analysis shows the empirical support for the role played by EIs in supporting entrepreneurship (Postigo et al, 2006;Nurmi & Paasio, 2007;Anderson, 2011;Buang & Awalludin, 2011). This link may be in attribute to the increasing in students' demands pursuing sustainable education and hands-on entrepreneurial activities from the institutions of higher learning that could prepare them with the required entrepreneurial skills in fixing them for their prospective callings.…”

“…In brief, in order to encourage and nurture entrepreneurially-inclined students, students need to be continuously exposed to entrepreneurial competencies and skills to recognise untapped business opportunities. EIs should capitalise on the strengths of experienced academicians and industrial cooperation to enhance entrepreneurial learning among students (Anderson, 2011). It is imperative that EIs be able to merge the elements of entrepreneurial concept and applied knowledge in order to produce entrepreneurial-minded stduents.…”

Understanding the entrepreneurial learning process and its impact on students' personal development: A European perspective

“…• The understanding of learning as exploratory, experiential and created by the learner (Gergen 1999;von Glaserfeld 1995;Loebler 2006); • An overall experiential approach to pedagogy, using interactive and participative forms of teaching (Fayolle and Gailly 2008;Kyrö 2005); • Lecturers functioning as coaches or facilitators providing space for experiences and reflection (Anderson 2011;Izquierdo 2008;Kyrö 2005;Loebler 2006;); • A view on the learner as main actor of the education and responsible for the learning process (Gergen 1999;von Glaserfeld 1995;Loebler 2006) The identification process was based on desktop research on the programs' websites followed by a direct exchange with the program directors via email or telephone. The following table provides an overview of the investigated programs, their duration, the participant profile and the size of the sample.…”

“…379) too insisted, "a better theoretical grasp of entrepreneurial learning is imperative". Anderson (2011) argues that universities fulfil a unique role as creators and disseminators of higher-level knowledge, which cannot be assimilated by everyday experience. Critical ability is the remit and purpose of universities and is founded on higher order skills.…”

Enterprise education with Chinese characteristics; policy, practices and uneven development in PRC

“…) This contextualisation by milieu may be especially important in the uniqueness of the Chinese context and reflect specific academic skills (Anderson, 2011). What is agreed is that a functionalist disciplinary approach (Hjorth, 2011;Anderson, 2014) is ill suited to teaching entrepreneurship, but yet this is the typical Chinese pedagogy (Fan et al, 2013).…”