Legitimizing new constructivist entrepreneurship education practice in China

What is it about?

The paper explores the challenges and processes involved in implementing constructivist teaching methods in entrepreneurship education within the Chinese context. The introduction of constructivist teaching contrasts with the traditional didactic teaching styles prevalent in China. The research adopts a legitimacy framework, including the concept of self-legitimacy, to analyze how educators in China adopt and justify these innovative teaching practices. This framework helps in understanding the acceptance and integration of new pedagogical methods in educational institutions. The study provides insights into the experiences of Chinese educators as they navigate the complexities of introducing constructivist approaches in entrepreneurship education. It examines the issues encountered during implementation and offers perspectives on how these challenges can be addressed to enhance educational practices.

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Why is it important?

Using legitimacy as an approach, the research adds to an understanding of how and why entrepreneurship educators adopt practice and how they are empowered to change practice within their existing institutional structures. It brings different legitimacy theories into one framework to examine changes to entrepreneurship education practice and it applies self-legitimacy to education, an area previously only examined in high power distance situations like law enforcement, but which is appropriate for high power distance educational cultures like China.