Re-thinking Content: Teaching Students About Entrepreneurship Versus How to Be an Entrepreneur

Abstract

The discipline of entrepreneurship has witnessed significant progress over the past 25 years in terms of the introduction of new courses and degree programmes in universities across the globe. At the same time, the question of what should be taught in basic or foundational entrepreneurship courses remains an open issue. As a result, it is unclear how such topics as the entrepreneurial mindset or the development of entrepreneurial competencies should be approached, and whether topics such as the lean start up or the business plan should be included. Without clear direction on what should be taught, pedagogical discussions regarding how these courses are delivered, such as the relative emphasis on experiential learning, are problematic. This article suggests the question of content in foundational courses in entrepreneurship rests upon the question of whether the educator seeks to teach students about entrepreneurship, or rather, how to become an entrepreneur. A framework is introduced for determining priorities when deciding upon course content. Attention is devoted to seven decision variables for use in determining what to include in a foundational course, and guidance is provided for how one might approach each of these variables. Using this framework, educators can address a number of other issues surrounding foundational courses, including treatments of different contexts for entrepreneurship and the employment of different pedagogical approaches to content delivery.