What is it about?

This research investigates the perceived challenges that Chinese vocational college educators face in developing and delivering constructivist active and experiential entrepreneurship education. A range of concerns were identified from the research, these could be divided into five main challenges. These were the role of the educator in the constructivist learning process and their ability to control the process; the educators’ perceived student reaction to the constructivist learning process and their engagement with it; the time and technology required to deliver the constructivist learning process; the link between constructivist learning and industry; and the educators’ perception of the requirements to meet internal expectations.

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Why is it important?

Encouragement by the Chinese government to shift educational delivery from an over-emphasis on passive learning to activity based learning underpinned by constructivist educational philosophy, has resulted in a number of tensions and challenges. Constructivist education has been highlighted as particularly suitable for the development of entrepreneurial skills and an entrepreneurial mind-set. Entrepreneurship education in China is still relatively young and under researched and this research contributes to the literature by exploring the challenges that educators face in developing and delivering constructivist entrepreneurship education in Chinese vocational colleges.

Perspectives

The use of active and experiential entrepreneurship education in Chinese vocational higher education is particularly relevant to vocational education goals and vocational students. The focus of teaching in vocational education is on the development of practical skills and enterprising skills and experiential entrepreneurship pedagogical approaches can help to develop practical skills and entrepreneurial behaviours. The development of practical entrepreneurial skills and behaviours within such cohorts could help to further open up entrepreneurial potential across a wider population.

Professor Robin Bell
University of Worcester

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This page is a summary of: Educator challenges in the development and delivery of constructivist active and experiential entrepreneurship classrooms in Chinese vocational higher education, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, October 2018, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/jsbed-01-2018-0025.
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