Abstract
Although government financial support for education is dwindling in many African countries, not many educational institutions have succeeded in devising internal mechanisms to enable them to continuously deliver quality education in quantity. Might the application of certain entrepreneurial strategies in educational management perhaps help to make a difference? What is educational entrepreneurship (EE)? How feasible is EE in a developing world education landscape like that of Uganda? Which challenges must EE surmount before it can envisage success? Using literature review methodology, this study attempted to find answers to such questions. Its aim was to delineate the EE domain and to highlight both its importance and feasibility in Uganda’s context. The study makes two key revelations; first, indeed EE is clouded in conceptual mishmash, hence need for more scholarly attention; second, however salvaging EE can be to struggling educational institutions, it is not without serious challenges–even apparent contradictions-hence preference for a “moderate risk” approach to entrepreneurship within educational institutions.
Highlights
Educational Entrepreneurship (EE)–entrepreneurship carried out in education institutions–has received growing scholarly attention in recent years, in the Western World [1]
In keeping with the fundamentals of ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCES (ECs), the current study proposes the following model of an entrepreneurial school system; the model is adopted from [21] as RESPO–Responsive to changes in the needs of students, families and communities; Espouses meritocracy as “the fastest learner wins”; Studentoriented–addressing the unique learning needs of different learners; Open to constant learning since operational environments are dynamic and keep evolving; Performance-driven–is effective without forgetting efficiency (“efficiently effective”)
DELINEATING THE DOMAIN OF EE After examining EE and the competences that characterise it, the paper turns to the domain of EE by answering the following questions: How can one tell that one has crossed the boundary of EE to mainstream business entrepreneurship (BE) or other territories? What are the different shades of EE? Is EE largely a pedagogic move–in view of enhancing teaching and learning–or is it a for-profit strategy–in view of economic gain?
Summary
Educational Entrepreneurship (EE)–entrepreneurship carried out in education institutions–has received growing scholarly attention in recent years, in the Western World [1]. Other studies focus on applying innovative practices to solving educational problems, which, according to [25], concern four issues, namely: education distribution (kind of individuals to give education); curricula (skill, knowledge, attitude and value types to promote); pedagogy (how to go about teaching and learning); and resource mobilisation (which financial, human and other resources to use, and how to raise them). Lavaroni and Leisey [26] recently coined a term “edupreneurship” in reference to entrepreneurship within the realm of education (EE) They define an “edupreneur” as: “A person within the public schools who takes hands on responsibility in creating and developing a program, product, service, and/or technology for the enhancement of learning consistent with the stated goals of and supported by that organisation” [26]. In keeping with the fundamentals of ECs, the current study proposes the following model of an entrepreneurial school system; the model is adopted from [21] as RESPO–Responsive to changes in the needs of students, families and communities; Espouses meritocracy as “the fastest learner wins”; Studentoriented–addressing the unique learning needs of different learners; Open to constant learning since operational environments are dynamic and keep evolving; Performance-driven–is effective without forgetting efficiency (“efficiently effective”)
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