Introducing a Learning Ecology Framework for entrepreneurial learning
- Publication Type:
- Conference Proceeding
- Citation:
- 2023
- Issue Date:
- 2023-02-06
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Entrepreneurship and learning are intrinsically linked. Entrepreneurial learning research considers entrepreneurship as a learning process, where it is assumed that within the entrepreneurship process, entrepreneurs learn from their past experiences (Politis, 2005) and failures (Cope, 2011) through experimentation and repetition, which in turn increases their confidence and expertise (Minniti & Bygrave, 2001). A central concept in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning is Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE), as one of the primary outcomes of entrepreneurial learning. However, multiple leaps in logic remain when determining how ESE is developed and measured. For example, many studies employ pre- and post-intervention surveys that lack the texture of how people learn to become entrepreneurial. This paper draws on the education literature to identify two key constructs that help link learning opportunities to the development of ESE: Learning ecologies (e.g. Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and student engagement (e.g., Fredricks et al., 2004; Lawson & Lawson, 2013). We rename the latter to learner engagement to recognise that entrepreneurial learning is not just for students. Drawing on these concepts from education, this paper addresses the growing appeals for better integration between entrepreneurship and educational science to provide theoretical foundations rooted in education and learning (Hagg & Kurczewska, 2019; Pittaway & Cope, 2007).
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