Impactful social entrepreneurship education: A US-Spanish service learning collaborative online international learning (COIL) project

Abstract

Social Entrepreneurship Education (SEE) is becoming ubiquitous across geographical and institutional contexts. Although service learning (SL) and global learning (GL) are high-impact practices frequently used in SEE, the implementation of SL Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL) in this context is less explored. This study borrows from the literature on SE competencies, SL and GL to address this gap by critically describing a US-Spain seven-week SL COIL project, and, through an exploratory multi-sourced qualitative "researcher-participants" study, generating findings related to the effect of this pedagogical tool on the students' competencies. Mixed teams of students had to solve a challenge posed by four social enterprises in the US and Spain. The findings confirm increased personal, social, and cognitive skills, reinforcing the relevance of this pedagogy to increasing intercultural competencies, and reducing the inequities of traditional study-abroad experiences. As an exploratory study, it is limited in its scope, but it provides the foundation for further research into COIL practices in SEE.