TEACHING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING: PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE IN THE BUSINESS ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Abstract

This paper introduces the social entrepreneurship project currently incorporated in English for Business course offered by the Centre for Preparatory Studies at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, in which students identify real world ill-structured problems and acquire knowledge by working together in groups to develop, fund (both through grants/donations and through selling goods and services) and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. In more detail, in addition to discussing the concept of social entrepreneurship and its application in student project work and English learning practice, it also explores the effectiveness of a problem based learning approach that relies on the constructive learning principle when teaching social entrepreneurship. Practical recommendations on anchoring social entrepreneurship teaching in problem-based learning and constructing social entrepreneurship projects are also considered.