Teaching learning methods of an entrepreneurship curriculum

Abstract

Introduction: One of the most significant elements of entrepreneurshipcurriculum design is teaching-learning methods, which plays a key rolein studies and researches related to such a curriculum. It is the teachingmethod, and systematic, organized and logical ways of providing lessonsthat should be consistent with entrepreneurship goals and contents, andshould also be developed according to the learners’ needs. Therefore,the current study aimed to introduce appropriate, modern, and effectivemethods of teaching entrepreneurship and their validationMethods: This is a mixed method research of a sequential exploratorykind conducted through two stages: a) developing teaching methods ofentrepreneurship curriculum, and b) validating developed framework. Datawere collected through “triangulation” (study of documents, investigatingtheoretical basics and the literature, and semi-structured interviews withkey experts). Since the literature on this topic is very rich, and views ofthe key experts are vast, directed and summative content analysis wasused. In the second stage, qualitative credibility of research findings wasobtained using qualitative validation criteria (credibility, confirmability, andtransferability), and applying various techniques. Moreover, in order to makesure that the qualitative part is reliable, reliability test was used. Moreover,quantitative validation of the developed framework was conducted utilizingexploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods and Cronbach’s alpha.The data were gathered through distributing a three-aspect questionnaire(direct presentation teaching methods, interactive, and practical-operationalaspects) with 29 items among 90 curriculum scholars. Target population wasselected by means of purposive sampling and representative sample.Results: Results obtained from exploratory factor analysis showedthat a three factor structure is an appropriate method for describingelements of teaching-learning methods of entrepreneurship curriculum.Moreover, the value for Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure of samplingadequacy equaled 0.72 and the value for Bartlett’s test of varianceshomogeneity was significant at the 0.0001 level. Except for internshipelement, the rest had a factor load of higher than 0.3. Also, the results ofconfirmatory factor analysis showed the model appropriateness, and thecriteria for qualitative accreditation were acceptable.Conclusion: Developed model can help instructors in selecting anappropriate method of entrepreneurship teaching, and it can also make surethat the teaching is on the right path. Moreover, the model is comprehensiveand includes all the effective teaching methods in entrepreneurshipeducation. It is also based on qualities, conditions, and requirements ofHigher Education Institutions in Iranian cultural environment.Keywords: Teaching; Learning; Curriculum