From Pedagogy to Mindset: Entrepreneurial Learning and Mindset Development in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper explores how entrepreneurship instructors foster an entrepreneurial mindset (EM). There is a growing demand across campus for graduates who can navigate increasingly dynamic and uncertain contexts. However, how to cultivate an EM remains unclear, posing design challenges and legitimacy issues. Therefore, a real-time case study of a rare, extended entrepreneurship course at a Danish university was conducted. The case-study database consists of a unique combination of pre-post surveys, observations, and semi-structured interviews. The study uses learning and educational psychology to explore how learning experiences facilitated the fostering of specific psychological attributes of EM. Findings suggest that the applied pedagogy enhances some attributes of EM, such as entrepreneurial passion, self-efficacy, and perceived controllability, while other attributes did not appear to change equally. Many studies attempt to establish a causal link between educational intervention and EM development. This paper goes further by exploring the role of pedagogy in fostering specific EM attributes. By studying a non-business setting, the paper builds on insights from a context where students have not previously been encouraged to think and act entrepreneurially. With this knowledge, researchers gain a more nuanced perspective on how pedagogies shape EM development and instructors gain guidance to design entrepreneurship courses.