Experiential entrepreneurship education : Reflective thinking as a counterbalance to action for developing entrepreneurial knowledge

Abstract in English

This dissertation has sought to explain the importance of reflective thinking as a counterbalance to the basic assumption of action orientation when educating student entrepreneurs. To achieve this purpose a conceptual framework of the process of entrepreneurial inquiry was developed through the empirical insights gained in the course of the research process. The conceptual framework combines theory on how humans store and develop knowledge from a cognitive perspective with research on how to tailor education based on learning through experience. Together, these two theoretical streams provided a platform for the empirical studies conducted and the findings that emerged. Based on the empirical findings, the development of entrepreneurial knowledge in an educational context is dependent on the stimulation of different types of knowledge including declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge as well as contextual awareness. In addition, guidance related to the proficiency of the student, and the directional process of entrepreneurial inquiry are important elements for understanding the development of entrepreneurial knowledge in experiential entrepreneurship education. From
the empirical studies it has been established that reflective thinking is the means of transforming experience into knowledge. However, the empirical studies also provided insights on how the three pedagogical methods play different roles when student entrepreneurs develop reflective thinking ability, described as a transactive educational process, termed the process of entrepreneurial inquiry. To conclude this dissertation that has sought to develop, and to some extent challenge, an implicit assumption of action when teaching and learning entrepreneurship, I find it appropriate to relate back to an early dialectic suggested by Dewey, in which he argued, “learn to do by knowing and to know by doing” (McLellan & Dewey, 1889), which in many ways has guided the inquiry in this dissertation