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ERIC Number: EJ1090562
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1941-1766
EISSN: N/A
Faculty and Student Perceptions of the Content of Entrepreneurship Courses in Engineering Education
Besterfield-Sacre, Mary; Zappe, Sarah; Shartrand, Angela; Hochstedt, Kirsten
Advances in Engineering Education, v5 n1 Win 2016
Entrepreneurship programs and courses in engineering education have steadily increased in the United States over the past two decades. However, the nature of these entrepreneurship courses and programs and the characteristics of the instructors who teach them are not yet well understood. The paper explores three research questions: 1) What content is typically included in engineering entrepreneurship courses and how is this content taught?; 2) What are instructors' beliefs about how entrepreneurship should be taught in the engineering context; and 3) How are instructors' beliefs actuated within a particular class related to students' self-reported perceptions of their entrepreneurial knowledge and abilities? The study shows that content associated with different course types, such as "Becoming an Entrepreneur," "New Venture Development," and "Product Ideation and Development," often overlaps substantially, suggesting a lack of clarity in how these types of courses are defined. Second, instructors who teach entrepreneurship to engineering students believe that programs and courses should focus equally on both teaching skills and developing values and attitudes; and instructors feel confident in their ability to focus on both of these in their courses. Finally, at the end of the entrepreneurship course, students' perceptions of their own abilities were found to be similar to their instructors' intentions for the courses, particularly for students with less entrepreneurial experience as measured by their coursework, involvement in entrepreneurship-related activities (e.g., clubs, competitions). As students' prior experience with entrepreneurship increased, they reported greater familiarity with concepts than expected given their instructors' intentions.
American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 412-624-6815; Fax: 412-624-1108; Web site: http://advances.asee.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: EEC0835992; DUE0817394