Paradoxes in entrepreneurship education: chalk and talk or chalk and cheese?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to present the challenges raised within a UK HEI between business and non‐business educationalists engaged in the provision and integration of entrepreneurship education.Design/methodology/approachShows a single case experience with biology science undergraduates and educators at an English university.FindingsClearly more institutions are making more entrepreneurship education offers to their students. Embedded within these offers are fundamental and diverse beliefs about the meaning of enterprise and entrepreneurship. Such differences create a number of key issues concerning what should be offered, where it should be positioned institutionally, to whom it should be offered and by whom, and how it should be delivered. Such issues relate to conceptual and philosophical challenges, design options, and institutional capacity and capability factors.Research limitations/implicationsA single case approach is contextually bounded. However such contexts are likely to apply across other UK HEIs and hence the findings have relevance and utility.Practical implicationsThere are numerous challenges faced by entrepreneurship educators and there is a need for enhancing learning from experiences and for exploring how the learning modes that are embedded within the practice offered within many entrepreneurship education activities are adopted.Originality/valueNo other published UK study has explored the relationships between educators across different disciplines in embedding entrepreneurship education with university students.