Entrepreneurship education in HE: are policy makers expecting too much?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore current entrepreneurship and enterprise education policy in the UK. The way is which such education is defined and conceptualised in current policy discourse is discussed. The key question addressed in the paper is whether policy makers are expecting too much from current entrepreneurship provision in UK HE.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual, perspective style paper, drawing mainly on entrepreneurship and enterprise education policy documents in the UK as well as related reports and academic literatures mainly published within the last decade. As such, its main intention is to prompt further debate and research in this area.

Findings

The paper helps further our understanding of entrepreneurship and enterprise education as portrayed in current policy documents, and suggests that expectations of outcomes from its inclusion in higher education (HE) may have spiralled beyond what is both realistic and possible. The author argues for a more realistic and measurable perspective of the expectations of entrepreneurship and enterprise education in HE, particularly in non-traditional discipline areas, and suggests that policy in this regard is in need of realignment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is based mainly on UK entrepreneurship and enterprise education policy documents published within the last decade, as well as related papers.

Practical implications

The paper has implications for educators and policy makers in terms of curriculum design and expectations.

Originality/value

The paper should be of value to researchers, educators and those involved in curricula design in the area of entrepreneurship and enterprise education. The paper should be of particular value to policy makers in the context of helping them to be more realistic in relation to their expectations of such education.

Citation

Henry, C. (2013), "Entrepreneurship education in HE: are policy makers expecting too much?", Education + Training, Vol. 55 No. 8/9, pp. 836-848. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2013-0079