Production of entrepreneurship in small business activities of students

Abstract

Purpose

The importance of entrepreneurship education and the lack of studies at the vocational level, have created a need to develop a model of entrepreneurship learning. The purpose of this paper is to determine what vocational college students learn about entrepreneurship from working in a small enterprise, how they learn it and what role the teacher has in the learning process.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used are drawn from discussions between eight students (aged 16-18), where they assessed and developed their business activities conducted over the course of a year. Using qualitative data collection and analysis methods, content connected with entrepreneurship was examined to provide information about activities they undertook and how the learning process occurred.

Findings

The findings indicate that learning in a small enterprise is a continuous process, where content, activities and process are intertwined. The core of learning is reflection-in-action, to develop entrepreneurial skills and behaviour.

Practical implications

This paper may offer a means of applying a small business learning model to entrepreneurship learning. The results can benefit teachers planning entrepreneurship learning.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the understanding of student learning in small enterprises by empirically examining what learning takes place and how.

Citation

Järvi, T. (2015), "Production of entrepreneurship in small business activities of students", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 180-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-02-2012-0023