Entrepreneurship education practices in VET: The roles of the teacher and the local region

Piia Kolho; Elena Oikkonen; Timo Pihkala

doi:10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2212250

Authors

Piia Kolho HAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8222-526X
Elena Oikkonen Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4769-1446
Timo Pihkala Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0320-2217

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2212250

Keywords:

entrepreneurship education, vocational teacher, vocational education and training (VET), teaching practices, region

Abstract

This study focuses on entrepreneurship in vocational education and training (VET). Generally, teachers’ operations in entrepreneurship education (EE) have been researched widely from the perspective of teaching and working practices and pedagogy. However, there are only a few studies of EE from the VET teacher’s perspective. As a practice-oriented school, EE in VET is supposed to benefit from the hands-on experience of teachers as well as from the tight relationships with local businesses. The study applies quantitative methodology (n=795) and analyses the versatility of EE practices in VET and the roles that the teacher and the region play in determining EE practices. The findings indicate interesting new results especially on how the regional context influences practices. The research raises important topics for discussion concerning the teacher’s role in regional development.

References

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.

Arasti, Z., Kiani Falavarjani, M., & Imanipour, N. (2012). A study of teaching methods in entrepreneurship education for graduate students. Higher Educa-tion Studies, 2(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v2n1p2

Arpiainen, R.-L., & Tynjälä, P. (2017). Introducing team learning in a develop-ing economy: Students’ experiences of experiential entrepreneurship educa-tion in Namibia. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 25(2), 179–210. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218495817500078

Axelsson, K. (2017). Entrepreneurship in a school setting: Introducing a business concept in a public context. [Doctoral dissertation, Mälardalen University].

Bennett, R. (2006). Business lecturers’ perceptions of the nature of entrepre-neurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 12(3), 165–188. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550610667440

Birdthistle, N., Hynes, B., & Fleming, P. (2007). Enterprise education pro-grammes in secondary schools in Ireland: A multi?stakeholder perspective. Education + Training, 49(4), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910710754426

Birley, S. (1986). The role of new firms: Births, deaths and job generation. Stra-tegic Management Journal, 7(4), 361–376. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070406

Blenker, P., Korsgaard, S., Neergaard, H., & Thrane, C. (2011). The questions we care about: Paradigms and progression in entrepreneurship education. Industry and Higher Education, 25(6), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.5367/ihe.2011.0065

Bosma, N., Hessels, J., Schutjens, V., Praag, M., & Verheul, I. (2012). Entrepre-neurship and role models. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(2), 410–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.03.004

Boyd, N., & Vozikis, G. (1994). The influence of self-efficacy on the develop-ment of entrepreneurial intentions and actions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(4), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879401800404

Cedefop. (n.d.). VET-in-Europe country reports. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/country-reports/vet-in-europe-country-reports

Chen, S.-C., Hsiao, H.-C., Chang, J.-C., Chou, C.-M., Chen, C.-P., & Shen, C.-H. (2015). Can the entrepreneurship course improve the entrepreneurial inten-tions of students? International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 11(3), 557–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-013-0293-0

Cooper, S., Bottomley, C., & Gordon, J. (2004). Stepping out of the classroom and up the ladder of learning: An experiential learning approach to entre-preneurship education. Industry and Higher Education, 18(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.5367/000000004773040924

Davidsson, P., Lindmark, L., & Olofsson, C. (1995). Small firms, business dy-namics and differential development of economic well-being. Small Business Economics, 7(4), 301–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01108619

Davidsson, P., & Wiklund, J. (1997). Values, beliefs and regional variations in new firm formation rates. Journal of Economic Psychology, 18(2–3), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(97)00004-4

Diegoli, R., San Martin Gutierrez, H., & del Mar Garcia-De los Salmones, M. (2018). Teachers as entrepreneurial role models: The impact of a teacher’s entrepreneurial experience and student learning styles in entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 21(1), 1–11.

Dodd, S., & Hynes, B. (2012). The impact of regional entrepreneurial contexts upon enterprise education. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(9–10), 741–766. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2011.566376

eRequirements. (n.d.a). Vocational education. https://eperusteet.opintopolku.fi/#/en/selaus/kooste/ammatillinenkoulutus?hakutyyppi=perusteet

eRequirements. (n.d.b). Key competences for lifelong learning in vocational education and training. https://eperusteet.opintopolku.fi/#/fi/opas/5975580/tekstikappale/6029956

European Commission. (n.d.) Eurostat. Firm demography (Birth and death rate). Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

European Commission. (2016). Entrepreneurship education at school in Europe: Eurydice report. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/301610

Fayolle, A., & Gailly, B. (2008). From craft to science: Teaching models and learning processes in entrepreneurship education. Journal of European Indus-trial Training, 32(7), 569–593. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590810899838

Fayolle, A., Gailly, B., & Lassas?Clerc, N. (2006). Assessing the impact of entre-preneurship education programmes: A new methodology. Journal of Europe-an Industrial Training, 30(9), 701–720. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590610715022

Fejes, A., Nylund, M., & Wallin, J. (2019). How do teachers interpret and trans-form entrepreneurship education? Journal of Curriculum Studies, 51(4), 554–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2018.1488998

Fiet, J. (2001a). The theoretical side of teaching entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00041-5

Fiet, J. (2001b). The pedagogical side of entrepreneurship theory. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(2), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00041-5

Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI). (2019). Key figures on vocational education and training in Finland. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/key_figures_on_vocational_education_and_training_in_finland_0.pdf

Fletcher, D. (2007). ‘Toy Story’: The narrative world of entrepreneurship and the creation of interpretive communities. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(5), 649–672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.10.001

Frank, A. (2007). Entrepreneurship and enterprise skills: A missing element of planning education? Planning Practice and Research, 22(4), 635–648. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697450701770142

Frank, H., Korunka, C., Lueger, M., & Mugler, J. (2005). Entrepreneurial orien-tation and education in Austrian secondary schools: Status quo and recom-mendations. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(2), 259–273. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000510594647

Gartner, W. (2008). Variations in entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 31(4), 351–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-008-9139-5

Gibb, A. (2002). Creating conducive environments for learning and entrepre-neurship: Living with, dealing with, creating and enjoying uncertainty and complexity. Industry and Higher Education, 16(3), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.5367/000000002101296234

Gibb, A. (2005). The future of entrepreneurship education: Determing the basis for coherent policy and practice? In P. Kyrö, & C. Carrier (Eds.), The dynam-ics of learning entrepreneurship in a cross-cultural university context (pp. 44–66). Entrepreneurship Education Series 2. University of Tampere.

Gibb, A. (2011). Concepts into practice: Meeting the challenge of development of entrepreneurship educators around an innovative paradigm. The case of the International Entrepreneurship Educators’ Programme (Ieep). Interna-tional Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 17(2), 146–165. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551111114914

Haase, H., & Lautenschläger, A. (2011). The ‘teachability dilemma’ of entre-preneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 7(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-010-0150-3

Hahs-Vaughn, D., & Yanowitz, K. (2009). Who is conducting teacher research? The Journal of Educational Research, 102(6), 415–426. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.102.6.415-426

Henderson, R., & Robertson, M. (2000). Who wants to be an entrepreneur? Young adult attitude to entrepreneurship as a career. Career Development In-ternational, 5(6), 279–287. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430010373755

Hocenski, M., Sedlan-König, L., & Turjak, S. (2019). Entrepreneurial education: Exploring teachers’ creativity in 11 counties. Ekonomski Vjesnik, 32(1), 23–35.

Hytti, U., & O’Gorman, C. (2004). What is “enterprise education”? An analysis of the objectives and methods of enterprise education programmes in four European countries. Education + Training, 46(1), 11–23. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910410518188

Ikävalko, M., Ruskovaara, E., & Seikkula-Leino, J. (2009). Rediscovering teacher’s role in entrepreneurship education [conference paper]. The 20th Biannual NFF Conference, Turku, Finland.

Johansen, V., & Schanke, T. (2013). Entrepreneurship education in secondary education and training. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 57(4), 357–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2012.656280

Johansen, V., & Schanke, T. (2014). Entrepreneurship projects and pupils’ aca-demic performance: A study of Norwegian secondary schools. European Ed-ucational Research Journal, 13(2), 155–166. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2014.13.2.155

Jones, B., & Iredale, N. (2008). Case study: International development in Ukraine. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 2(4), 387–401. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506200810913935

Järvi, T. (2012). Teaching entrepreneurship in vocational education viewed from the regional and field perspectives. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 64(3), 365–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2012.691538

Kamakura, W. (2010). Sampling techniques. In J. Sheth, & N. Malhotra (Eds.), Wiley international encyclopedia of marketing (p. wiem02014). John Wiley & Sons.

Kickul, J., Griffiths, M., & Bacq, S. (2010). The boundary?less classroom: Extend-ing social innovation and impact learning to the field. Journal of Small Busi-ness and Enterprise Development, 17(4), 652–663. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626001011088787

Kotey, B. (2006). Entrepreneurship and regional development: A theoretical framework. Small Enterprise Research, 14(2), 20–45. https://doi.org/10.5172/ser.14.2.20

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.77.6.1121

Lombaerts, K., Engels, N., & van Braak, J. (2009). Determinants of teachers’ recognitions of self-regulated learning practices in elementary education. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(3), 163–174.

Matlay, H. (2005). Entrepreneurship education in UK business schools: Con-ceptual, contextual and policy considerations. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(4), 627–643. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000510628270

Ministry of Education. (2009). Guidelines for entrepreneurship education. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/78871/opm09.pdf?sequence=1

Ministry of Education and Culture. (2017). Guidelines for entrepreneurship educa-tion 2017. https://minedu.fi/documents/1410845/4363643/Entrepreneurship-for-Education-Guidelines.pdf/ad2a7ecc-ae1b-4460-8fc6-d394e9a0a23a/Entrepreneurship-for-Education-Guidelines.pdf

Moberg, K. (2014). Two approaches to entrepreneurship education: The differ-ent effects of education for and through entrepreneurship at the lower sec-ondary level. The International Journal of Management Education, 12(3), 512–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2014.05.002

Mwasalwiba, E. (2010). Entrepreneurship education: A review of its objectives, teaching methods, and impact indicators. Education + Training, 52(1), 20–47. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2012.6210519

Mårtensson, Å., Andersson, P., & Nyström, S. (2019). A recruiter, a matchmak-er, a firefighter: Swedish vocational teachers’ relational work. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 9(1), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.199189

Nabi, G., Liñán, F., Fayolle, A., Krueger, N., & Walmsley, A. (2017). The impact of entrepreneurship education in higher education: A systematic review and research agenda. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 16(2), 277–299. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2015.0026

Neck, H., & Greene, P. (2011). Entrepreneurship education: Known worlds and new frontiers. Journal of Small Business Management, 49(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2010.00314.x

Oksanen-Ylikoski, E., & Ylikoski, T. (2015). Tensions in creating an innovative community of vocational education and entrepreneurship. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 2(2), 76–82.

Onstenk, J. (2003). Entrepreneurship and vocational education. European Educa-tional Research Journal, 2(1), 74–89. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2003.2.1.12

Pittaway, L., & Cope, J. (2007). Entrepreneurship education: A systematic re-view of the evidence. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entre-preneurship, 25(5), 479–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242607080656

Pittaway, L., & Hannon, P. (2008). Institutional strategies for developing en-terprise education: A review of some concepts and models. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15(1), 202–226. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000810850937

Pittaway, L., Missing, C., Hudson, N., & Maragh, D. (2009). Entrepreneurial learning through action: A case study of the Six-Squared program. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 6(3), 265–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767330903299480

Ruskovaara, E., & Pihkala, T. (2013). Teachers implementing entrepreneurship education: Classroom practices. Education + Training, 55(2), 204–216. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911311304832

Ruskovaara, E., & Pihkala, T. (2015). Entrepreneurship education in schools: Empirical evidence on the teacher’s role. The Journal of Educational Research, 108(3), 236–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2013.878301

Ruskovaara, E., Pihkala, T., Seikkula-Leino, J., & Järvinen, M. R. (2015). Broad-ening the resource base for entrepreneurship education through teachers’ networking activities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 47, 62–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.12.008

Ryökkynen, S., Pirttimaa, R., & Kontu, E. (2020). Interaction between students and class teachers in vocational education and training: ‘Safety distance is needed.’ Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 9(2), 156–174. https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.1992156

San-Martín, P., Fernández-Laviada, A., Pérez, A., & Palazuelos, E. (2019). The teacher of entrepreneurship as a role model: Students’ and teachers’ percep-tions. The International Journal of Management Education, 100358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2019.100358

Shepherd, D. A. (2004). Educating entrepreneurship students about emotion and learning from failure. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 3(3), 274–287.

Solomon, G. (2007). An examination of entrepreneurship education in the United States. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 14(2), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000710746637

Statistics Finland. (2018). Yritykset. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from https://www.stat.fi/

Unwin, L. (2008). Shaping teaching and learning in TVET. In F. Rauner, R. Mac-lean, & N. C. Boreham (Eds.), Handbook of technical and vocational education and training research (pp. 508–511). Springer.

Vainio, L., Oksanen-Ylikoski, E., & Ylikoski, T. (2017). Finland: VET and Omnia. In C. Latchem (Ed.), Using ICTs and blended learning in transforming TVET (pp. 141–151). UNESCO and Commonwealth of learning.

Virtanen, A., Tynjälä, P., & Collin, K. (2009). Characteristics of workplace learning among Finnish vocational students. Vocations and Learning, 2(3), 153–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-009-9022-9

Walter, S., & Dohse, D. (2012). Why mode and regional context matter for en-trepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(9–10), 807–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2012.721009

Winarno, A. (2016). Entrepreneurship education in vocational schools: Charac-teristics of teachers, schools and risk implementation of the curriculum 2013 in Indonesia. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(9), 122–127.

Zozimo, R., Jack, S., & Hamilton, E. (2017). Entrepreneurial learning from ob-serving role models. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 29(9–10), 889–911. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2017.1376518