02/06/2015
Entrepreneurship development: Does the teaching method matter?
The role of entrepreneurship is now universally acknowledged. This has led to interest in the development of entrepreneurial values (EVs) for economic transformation through resource productivity driven by superior human capital. EVs drive other factors of production through resource mobilisation, value addition, distribution and wealth regeneration. EVs encompass dynamism, risk propensity, Innovativeness, need for achievement and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. There is an ongoing debate around the “born” versus “made” schools of thought about EVs. The “born” side argues that entrepreneurial values are born while the “made” argues that we can nurture EVs through education. I tend to agree with the “made”.
The question is; how do we teach EVs? Effective teaching styles involve activities that promote individual skills, attitudes, behaviors and capabilities that foster the development of learners’ EVs. Subsequently, learners should be able to acquire knowledge, skills, abilities and positive attitudes towards personal responsibility to succeed in life. In studying the role of teaching methodologies, there are three fundamental questions; what should be taught? (Contents of the curriculum), how should it be taught? (Pedagogy, process and learning stakeholders’ interaction and relationship) and who should facilitate it? (Nature of facilitators, their educational experience and other extra-curricular competencies).
Looking at the question of who to teach entrepreneurship in terms of experience, personality and other human resource specifications, effective entrepreneurship education is delivered by facilitators with an entrepreneurial orientation and experience. Therefore, while education as an independent concept is perceived as a social infrastructure, an entrepreneurial curriculum cannot be effective if the facilitators are not entrepreneurial. In order to develop an entrepreneurial student, the lecturers need to have some level of entrepreneurial experience beyond academic excellence (CGPA).
In teaching entrepreneurship, there is also need to involve students in the business processes so that they interface with reality and successful people. That is how Germany, Singapore, China, Korea, New Zealand, US and Australia have managed to move forward. A call to the authorities in our Ugandan education practice and policy sectors; please do not only focus on supporting institutions with buildings alone but also look at developing the teachers if the purpose of transforming the educational sector must be met.
Let part of the “Bonabagagawale fund” go to business schools and support student startups. This will facilitate experiential learning through new venture creation so as to provide the realism and functional approach towards entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Experiential learning involves activities such as business idea generation, business clinics and startups. We need to move away from the “chalk and talk” teaching method to the “walk and talk” approaches. This way, we can teach for impact not for passing just.
