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After analyzing the effectiveness of the course, the study made recommendations to improve some aspects of the course curriculum that may hinder the development of entrepreneurial skills. Based on survey results, most students underlined that their intention to become entrepreneurs remains significant, reflecting the positive impact of the course on their entrepreneurship skills, and emphasized that the entrepreneurship course supported their experiences from previous courses.
Introduction
- Background of Entrepreneurship Education Concept
- Statement of the Problem
- Purpose of the Study
- The Research Questions
- Significance of the Study
- Outline of the Research
- Summary
Similar to global trends, in the national strategy Kazakhstan-2050, Nazarbayev (2013) emphasized the role of entrepreneurship education in promoting economic growth and self-employment. This qualitative case study aims to understand the impact of entrepreneurship education in the form of an elective course on undergraduate students' entrepreneurial competencies and any changes in their skills after completing the course. This chapter explained the rationale behind considering the impact of entrepreneurship education as a research topic.
The chapter identifies the research questions that guided this study, such as how entrepreneurship education develops students' entrepreneurial skills and potential meaningful changes in students. In the next chapter, a critical analysis of the literature on entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial competences is provided.
Literature Review
- Introduction
- The Classification of Entrepreneurship Education
- The Course Curriculum, Methodology, and Content
- The Influence of COVID-19 on Course Delivery
- The Relation between Entrepreneurship Education and Competencies
- Conceptual Framework
- Summary
Although researchers' definitions of entrepreneurship education vary, they all share some common characteristics. For example, entrepreneurship education is perceived as an interdisciplinary program that develops the specific skills and knowledge needed to run a business. Thus, entrepreneurship education has attracted public interest due to its focus on practical skills, new ventures, commercialization aspects and new business entities (Barr et al., 2009).
Depending on the target audience's needs, Valerio et al. 2014) offers a classification of entrepreneurship education: entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship education (ET). Accordingly, entrepreneurship education specifies the entry-level entrepreneurs, secondary education and higher education students, while. entrepreneurship training focuses on more experienced practitioners. Researchers have specifically highlighted the consideration of the following components in the provision of entrepreneurship education: program objectives, target audience, course methodology and context (Ghina et al., 2014; Valerio et al., 2014).
Entrepreneurship education continues to undergo conceptual transformations under the influence of technological development and the promotion of global networks (Zhu et al., 2017). On the other hand, the classification used by Valerio et al. 2014) illustrates that entrepreneurship education is provided to foundation-level entrepreneurs (high school and university students), and this program usually builds basic knowledge and skills that any entrepreneur should possess. Thus, entrepreneurship education allows students to be exposed to different models and types of entrepreneurs and develop the necessary skills and attributes.
In particular, when evaluating the impact of entrepreneurship education on students, the analysis of previous classifications of competencies pointed to its development. Since the central phenomenon of the research is the impact of entrepreneurship education on students' entrepreneurial competencies, the framework focuses on the complex learning process and improving specific skills. Finally, the chapter introduced the conceptual framework, which visualized the key elements linking entrepreneurship education and its impact on students' skills.
Methodology 3.1. Introduction
- Research Design
- Research Sample
- Data Collection Tools
- Data Collection Procedures and Data Analysis
- Ethical Considerations
- Summary
Based on the research objective, the current study explores the case of a private university in Almaty, which offered the Entrepreneurship course in the fall 2020 term to undergraduate students majoring in Information Systems (IS). The study addresses the abductive stance as a research logic to elaborate the research objective. Since this university offered entrepreneurship courses to graduate students in the Information Systems program, the selection of the research site applied purposive sampling.
The research recruited research participants by sending an invitation email to students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship course. Initially, pilot respondents tested the interview questions and evaluated their relevance to the research purpose. Next, the research's consent was taken at two levels: gatekeeper consent (instructor) and participants' consent.
Consequently, the researcher identified possible connections between the categories by following the research purpose and the research questions. Therefore, before starting the data collection phase, the GSE Research Ethics Committee approved the research. Next, the researcher specified the convenient time and date for online meetings with students who agreed to participate in the research.
The researcher reiterated the purpose of the research and the participants' rights during participation in the research. Finally, the research findings, interview recordings and transcriptions were stored on the researcher's laptop, protected by two-step verification. This chapter explained the reasons for using a qualitative case study design and addressed the reasons for choosing the research site.
Findings 4.1. Introduction
- Course Characteristics
- The Teaching and Learning Process of the Course
- The Influence of the Course Activities on Students’ Competencies
- Benefits, Challenges, and Suggestions for Improvement Benefits
- Summary
Students were asked to describe the course and reflect on the course materials in order to understand the specifics of the course in the context of a Kazakh university. According to the responses of the participants, the name of the course, which implied a combination of several disciplines and interesting content, first aroused interest. The last section shows that the respondents' intrinsic motivation to become entrepreneurs and the attractive title of the course were the main factors motivating students to join the course.
However, when discussing the actual learning process, most students emphasized the importance of the quality of learning components such as course format, process and activities, content, teacher's role and assessment criteria (Participants 2,3,5). Also, mid-term, our team realized that the product was irrelevant and didn't deliver. According to the interviewee's responses, successful completion of the course required the implementation of various skills.
At the beginning of the academic year, respondents were familiarized with the program plan and evaluation criteria. From the start of the course, students had the opportunity to use their existing networking skills. In the following, the assessment of the product's performance included criteria for its market appeal and quality of work.
Since the course was aimed at students of the IT program and their startups were related to information systems, the students highlighted the role of some programming languages such as JavaScript, Html, Firebase (Participant 5). The findings showed that the impact of the subject .. entrepreneurship can be evaluated within the framework of all learning components. They also drew attention to the positive and negative aspects of the course, which could influence the development of entrepreneurial competences.
Discussion 5.1. Introduction
- Expectations and Reality
- RQ1: How does an Entrepreneurship Education Develop Students' Entrepreneurship Skills?
- RQ2: Is There Any Significant Change in Students' Entrepreneurship Skills after Completing This Course?
- Benefits and Challenges of Entrepreneurship Education
- Summary
However, in the current case, the responses revealed that the course instructor and the curriculum were not prepared for the challenges of the new distance learning. In this regard, the respondents indicated the importance of complex analysis of the course components in the assessment of the influence of entrepreneurship education on their competences. In the current research, the audience of the course was students who differed in their previous experience with entrepreneurial activity.
Consequently, previous literature has highlighted the role of course content and course objectives that must be taken into account when planning the course (Ahmed et al., 2020; Din et al., 2016; Knotts, 2011) and recommended that business plan writing, gas in to close speakers, online resources, and a. sufficient number of authentic activities as the practical components of the course content. Contrary to expectations, this research discovered that the course material did not include any interaction with the guest speakers, while practitioners from the field were only involved as investors.
The teacher failed the facilitator's role, and most students emphasized that the teacher and his attitude towards the course was irresponsible. Respondents indicated that the instructor's experience in business development, teaching method, preparedness for uncertainties and advisory role were essential in the assessment of the course outcomes. In particular, lectures and workshops of the course under research were delivered synchronously as part of the transition to online learning.
First, students who consciously chose this course highlighted the positive changes in their intention to become an entrepreneur and mentioned that the self-learning strategies used helped them learn beyond the course syllabus. However, despite the students reflecting the positive impact of the course on their hard and soft skills, the analysis shows that the course was a scaffold for their existing skills and the changes in skills may have been a result of the students' previous courses and experiences. The interviewee emphasized that the biggest advantage of the course is networking with different people and finding the right team.
Conclusion
Can you introduce yourself and tell me about yourself ? Have you ever had training on entrepreneurship or previous experience in doing business?
In our third year I chose Entrepreneurship in Information Systems, it was just interesting what there could be in general, course program and practical tasks. Well, from the family members, my uncle started doing retail when he was still a student.
What do you think of the course program? How would you describe your experience with the Entrepreneurship course?
We just weren't lucky, we took this course during the pandemic, so it seems to me that it would be much more fun there in life with the team. I think it would be much cooler if we got together in a cafe somewhere and discussed our plans in a real engaging atmosphere.
What benefits did you experience on this course?
How satisfied are you with the amount of knowledge gained?
Describe your role in the team
What conditions does the university provide to support the development of your entrepreneurial skills?
What specific activities and projects did you find useful in developing the final product?
I received a call from them and shared our goal to create an app so that it can scan goods. The company representative answered me that it is very difficult and some critical questions to evaluate the potential of the product and our team.
Skills
However, this experience helped me step out of my comfort zone, communicate with company representatives and negotiate with my team about our future plans. I can say that I am a person who takes a risk in critical moments or out of curiosity. In my case, communication with the company's representatives was a new experience, which gave me a certain confidence.
Now I can text and call the companies directly if I have questions about implementing some of my ideas.
Would you like to continue your development as an entrepreneur?
What specific learning strategies, approaches and tools can be changed in the program structure?
What would you recommend to improve this program?
