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This article aims to explore whether and how rural entrepreneurs (REs) navigate the challenges they face to support rural development, with a particular focus on sustainable entrepreneurial development in Jordan.

Drawing on structuration theory (Giddens, 1984), the article is underpinned by the position-practice perspective and its four interrelated elements: praxis, positioning, capabilities and trust. A qualitative methodology is applied to explore the case study of Deserttulip in Jordan and its utilisation of the innovative agricultural Groasis Waterboxx-Technology (GroasisWBT).

Findings indicate that the position-practice of rural entrepreneurs becomes contextualised between enablers and constraints that shape entrepreneurs' praxis, positioning, capabilities and trust. Pervasive constraints are evidenced by limiting external structures and resources. Yet, these are challenged by enablers observed through the agentic roles of REs and the utilisation of innovative tools in ways that minimise the limitations of constrained contexts.

The article has practical implications within countries with extreme constraints – including environmental (drought), financial and institutional constraints – where collective sustainable initiatives, alongside the utilisation of innovative tools, are called for in order to minimise the impact of limited resources and institutional support whilst promoting empowerment, cohesion and sustainable entrepreneurial development.

The article highlights the specificity of constrained entrepreneurship in ways that allow re-interpreting position-practice of rural entrepreneurs around collective social systems rather than individual entrepreneurs. A sustainable ripple is conceptualised, whereby expanding sustainable entrepreneurial development initiatives are observed around collective acts that stress the accountability and mutual dispositions of rural entrepreneurs towards developing and sustaining their contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate implementation of enterprise education (EE) through experiential learning, and its relevance to pharmacy education in the UK Higher Education Institutions.

The paper characterises the state of pharmacy EE using Fayolle’s (2013) generic teaching model in EE and Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory as underlying conceptual and theoretical frameworks. The paper focuses on how EE takes place through approaches employed within experiential learning to develop graduates’ enterprise skills, and investigate the challenges faced within institutional contexts. The paper draws on qualitative empirical approach using the social constructionist paradigm to investigate experiences of pharmacy academics.

The study identifies four Aspects of Experiential Learning in the context of EE (AELEE), which extend both Fayolle’s and Kolb’s frameworks.

The research focuses solely on views of academics in UK pharmacy schools, and is of qualitative nature. This could limit the generalisability of results, yet also offer deeper sector-specific insight into EE.

Findings provide insights into the difficulty of positioning EE in non-business schools and the hurdles academics face. Findings are expected to encourage enterprise educators to design EE programmes that consider the institutional context.

The research makes a significant contribution to existing EE literature with its non-business sector specificity and its focus on academics. Hence, the study responds to Fayolle’s (2013) call for more research into EE with focus on the educator, and deeper connections between EE and education literature.

The field of entrepreneurial education has struggled with fundamental questions in regards to the subject’s nature and purpose – to whom and for what means are educational agendas ultimately directed; these questions have become of central importance to policy makers, practitioners and academics alike in the context of the dynamic nature of the business world. Concerns have been expressed about University Business schools engaging more critically with the lived experiences of practicing entrepreneurs through alternative pedagogical approaches and methods, seeking to account for and highlighting the social, political and moral aspect of management practice. For example, in the United Kingdom where funding in higher education has become increasingly dependent on student fees there are renewed pressures to educate students for management practice as opposed to educate them about management and what it does. This latter point will be the main focus of this workshop and one which demands the inclusion of critique. Government and EU policies are calling on Business Schools to develop and enhance entrepreneurial skill sets, in order to meet these challenges entrepreneurial focused education programs must be more proactive in providing innovative educational practices that helps and facilitates life experiences and experiential learning.

Drawing on the Gestalt approach the purpose of this paper is to propose a holistic framework for enterprise education (EE) research based on Social Constructionism, illustrating how the latter supports research into experiential learning in EE in seven UK Higher Education (HE) pharmacy schools.

This paper is based on a qualitative empirical study involving educators in UK Higher Education Institution pharmacy schools in semi-structured interviews, and investigates the delivery of EE through experiential learning approaches. Social Constructionism is proposed as a suitable underlying philosophical paradigm.

A Social Constructionism paradigm, which adopts relative realism ontology, transactional epistemology, and Gadamer’s hermeneutic phenomenology, offers a relevant, multi-perspectival philosophical foundation for EE research, supporting transactional relationships within contexts of multiple possibilities.

Social Constructionism does not necessarily support the individualistic paradigm, as advocated by constructivists; and the values associated with the former encourage a more collaborative and cooperative approach different from the latter.

The paper supports the understanding that applying experiential learning through inter-disciplinary and inter-professional learning is regarded as an approach beneficial for educators, institutions and learners, within the context of EE.

This paper offers a holistic conceptual framework of Social Constructionism that draws on the “Gestalt Approach”, and highlights the harmony between the ontological, epistemological and methodological underpinnings of Social Constructionism. The paper demonstrates the relevance of the proposed framework in EE research within the context of an empirical study, which is different in that it focuses on the delivery aspect of EE by considering the views of the providers (educators), an hitherto under-researched area.

This study aims to extend the current debate on refugee entrepreneurship in Jordan. It empirically investigates the impact of COVID-19 on refugee women’s entrepreneurship, highlighting their experiences, constraints and opportunities.

The study design is epistemologically grounded in the heuristic 8Ms extended gender-cognisant entrepreneurship framework. An interpretive qualitative approach was used involving 30 semi-structured interviews with refugee women entrepreneurs across Jordan, with manual thematic data analysis.

Some of the main opportunities available to refugee women were linked with high levels of resilience and push and pull factors. The constraints were mainly pandemic induced and included access to funds; mobility restrictions; access to business knowledge, training and online learning platforms; rising xenophobia and discrimination; exhaustion; and stress.

The study findings can be used by non-governmental organisations to support refugees in realising their full potential. They also provide practical insights into refugee women entrepreneurs’ lived experiences for better policymaking.

This empirical study contributes to the existing knowledge on refugee women entrepreneurs’ constraints and opportunities by presenting a sensitive, in-depth analysis of their current trends and dynamics in the context of Jordan. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically test the extended 8Ms entrepreneurship model to capture the voices and shared experiences of Jordanian refugees.