Rural Entrepreneurship Education

Abstract

This Special Issue focuses on entrepreneurship education in rural areas and small towns, illuminating the dynamics of entrepreneurship education in these often-neglected contexts. The articles in the Special Issue examine the development and outcomes of entrepreneurship programs and initiatives in different parts of the world and aiming at different kinds of rural students. By doing so, they also raise questions about the effectiveness of applying one-size-fits-all approaches to entrepreneurship education regardless of the context, calling for a more nuanced approach to developing entrepreneurial mindsets, competencies and skills. The findings also identify new opportunities to improve pedagogical methods for entrepreneurship education in rural contexts. Among these, future entrepreneurship education should focus more strongly on the role played by place and community, the interplay between formal and informal pedagogical approaches, and the diverse support needs of rural students of different ages and backgrounds.

Keywords

rural areas rural entrepreneurship rural entrepreneurship education rural development

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barber III

Harris

M. L.

Jones

(2021). An overview of rural entrepreneurship and future directions. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 31(4), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.53703/001c.29468

Dana

L. P.

Kumar

Pandey

Sureka

(2021). The journal of small business management: A bibliometric overview of 1996–2019. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(sup1), S215–S236. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2020.1844492

Deller

Kures

Conroy

(2019). Rural entrepreneurship and migration. Journal of Rural Studies, 66(February), 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.01.026

Dodd

S. L. D.

(2014). Roots radical - place, power and practice in punk entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(1–2), 165–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2013.877986

Dunstan

Henderson

Griffith

Jaeger

Zelna

(2021). Defining rural: The impact of rural definitions on college student success outcomes. Theory & Practice in Rural Education, 11(1), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2021.v11n1p60-75

Elert

Andersson

F. W.

Wennberg

(2015). The impact of entrepreneurship education in high school on long-term entrepreneurial performance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 111(March), 209–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2014.12.020

Fortunato

M. W. P.

(2014). Supporting rural entrepreneurship: A review of conceptual developments from research to practice. Community Development, 45(4), 387–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2014.935795

Gaddefors

Anderson

A. R.

(2019). Romancing the rural: Reconceptualizing rural entrepreneurship as engagement with context(s). The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 20(3), 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750318785545

Galvão

A. R.

Marques

Ferreira

J. J.

Braga

(2020). Stakeholders’ role in entrepreneurship education and training programmes with impacts on regional development. Journal of Rural Studies, 74(January), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.01.013

10.

Galvão

A. R.

Mascarenhas

Marques

(2020). Knowledge spillovers between universities and companies of low-density territories. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 21(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/14778238.2020.1829516

11.

Galvão

A. R.

Mascarenhas

Marques

C. S. E.

Braga

Ferreira

(2020). Mentoring entrepreneurship in a rural territory – a qualitative exploration of an entrepreneurship program for rural areas. Journal of Rural Studies, 78(July), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.038

12.

Glaub

M. E.

Frese

Fischer

Hoppe

(2014). Increasing personal initiative in small business managers or owners leads to entrepreneurial success: A theory-based controlled randomized field intervention for evidence-based management. The Academy of Management Learning and Education, 13(3), 354–379. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2013.0234

13.

Guerrero

Cunningham

J. A.

Urbano

(2015). Economic impact of entrepreneurial universities’ activities: An exploratory study of the United Kingdom. Research Policy, 44(3), 748–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2014.10.008

14.

Hutchinson

Fergie

Fleck

Jouflas

Parry

(2021). Flexing the leadership muscle: An international study of entrepreneurial resilience in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 31(4), 100–112. https://doi.org/10.53703/001c.29484

15.

Johnstone

Lionais

(2004). Depleted communities and community business entrepreneurship: Revaluing space through place. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 16(3), 217–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/0898562042000197117

16.

Kim

Taylor

de Guzman

M. R. T.

(2018). Addressing declining rural communities through youth entrepreneurship education. Journal of Extension, 56(6). https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.56.06.27

17.

Korsgaard

Hunt

R. A.

Townsend

D. M.

Ingstrup

M. B.

(2020). COVID-19 and the importance of space in entrepreneurship research and policy. International Small Business Journal, 38(8), 697–710. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242620963942

18.

Laura

Levkoe

Schumilas

(2018). Categorizing practical training programs for new farmers: A North American scan. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 8(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2018.082.012

19.

Lee

Kreiser

P. M.

Wrede

A. H.

Kogelen

(2018). University-based education and the formation of entrepreneurial capabilities. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 1(4), 304–329. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127418788893

20.

Leitch

Hazlett

S. A.

Pittaway

(2012). Entrepreneurship education and context. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(9–10), 733–740. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2012.733613

21.

Westlund

Liu

(2019). Why some rural areas decline while some others not: An overview of rural evolution in the world. Journal of Rural Studies, 68(May), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.03.003

22.

Liguori

Winkler

Winkel

Marvel

M. R.

Keels

J. K.

van Gelderen

Noyes

(2018). The entrepreneurship education imperative: Introducing EE&P. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 1(1), 5–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127417737290

23.

Lindh

Thorgren

(2016). Entrepreneurship education: The role of local business. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 28(5–6), 313–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2015.1134678

24.

Lopez

Pastor

(2015). Development in rural areas through capacity building and education for business. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197(July), 1882–1888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.250

25.

Mayer

Motoyama

(2020). Entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized towns. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 32(7–8), 467–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2020.1798556

26.

Morris

M. H.

Liguori

(2016). Preface: Teaching reason and the unreasonable. Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy - 2016 (pp. 14–22). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784719166

27.

Newbery

Siwale

Henley

(2017). Rural entrepreneurship theory in the developing and developed world. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 18(1), 3–4. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750316686232

28.

Niehm

Fiore

A. M.

Hurst

Lee

Sadachar

(2015). Bridging the gap between entrepreneurship education and small rural businesses: An experiential service-learning approach. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 26(3), 129.

29.

O’Brien

M Cooney

Blenker

(2019). Expanding university entrepreneurial ecosystems to under-represented communities. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 8(3), 384–407. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-03-2019-0025

30.

Pato

M. L.

Teixeira

A. A. C.

(2016). Twenty years of rural entrepreneurship: A bibliometric survey. Sociologia Ruralis, 56(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12058

31.

Pett

T. L.

Francis

Veatch

(2021). Developing a small business educational program for growing rural businesses. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 31(4), 50–56. https://doi.org/10.53703/001c.29476

32.

Phillipson

Tiwasing

Gorton

Maioli

Newbery

Turner

(2019). Shining a spotlight on small rural businesses: How does their performance compare with urban. Journal of Rural Studies, 68(May), 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.09.017

33.

Zollet

(2023). Neo-endogenous revitalisation: Enhancing community resilience through art tourism and rural entrepreneurship. Journal of Rural Studies, 97(January), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.11.016

34.

Roundy

P. T.

(2019). “It takes a village” to support entrepreneurship: Intersecting economic and community dynamics in small town entrepreneurial ecosystems. The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 15(4), 1443–1475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-018-0537-0

35.

Siemens

(2012). Embedding small business and entrepreneurship training within the rural context. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 13(3), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.5367/ijei.2012.0085

36.

Thomassen

M. L.

Williams Middleton

Ramsgaard

M. B.

Neergaard

Warren

(2020). Conceptualizing context in entrepreneurship education: A literature review. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(5), 863–886. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2018-0258

37.

Tingey

Larzelere

Goklish

Rosenstock

Mayo-Wilson

L. J.

Pablo

Goklish

Grass

Sprengeler

Parker

Ingalls

Craig

Barlow

(2020). Entrepreneurial, economic, and social well-being outcomes from an RCT of a youth entrepreneurship education intervention among native American adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2383–2418. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072383

38.

Walter

S. G.

Dohse

(2012). Why mode and regional context matter for entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(9–10), 807–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2012.721009

39.

Welter

Baker

(2021). Moving contexts onto new roads: Clues from other disciplines. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 45(5), 1154–1175. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258720930996

40.

Woods

(2011). Rural Geography: Processes, Responses and Experiences in Rural Restructuring. Sage Publications Ltd.

41.

Duval-Couetil

(2021). Interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education: Exploring 10-year trends in student Enrollment, interest and motivation. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 4(2), 100–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127420979195

42.

Zhu

Bischoff

K. M.

Kaap

Schmidt

Gielnik

M. M.

Frese

(nd). The effectiveness of an effectuation approach on opportunity identification and pursuit: Evidence from a randomized controlled field experiment. Academy of Management Learning & Education. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2017.0092

43.

Zollet

Simona

Meng

(2024). Revitalising Rural Areas through Counterurbanisation: Community-Oriented Policies for the Settlement of Urban Newcomers. Habitat International, 145(March), 103022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103022