Abstract
There has been considerable attention on the role of entrepreneurship education and outcomes from students’ sustainable development, predominantly entrepreneurial intentions. However, research has tended to overlook novel and promising, yet under-examined areas, such as the entrepreneurial mindset (EM), its link with entrepreneurship education, and the contextual factor. Drawing on social cognitive and teaching model theory, we aimed at addressing these gaps by examining the impact of entrepreneurship curriculum (EC) with different teaching models (supply, demand, competence) on EM, as well as the moderating role of the entrepreneurial climate of the higher education institution. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected in 15 higher education institutions in China. A sample of 739 students were used to test our hypotheses. The results suggest that all the entrepreneurial teaching models and mindset are positively related (though the demand model is the strongest predictor). Furthermore, the results establish that the entrepreneurial climate at the institution plays a moderating role between EC and EM, though it is the strongest for the competence teaching model. This paper contributes to the theoretical conceptualization of the EC–EM relationship and the deep understanding on “how” and “when” the teaching models in EC influence EM. Our study also expanded social cognitive theory (SCT) application in the context of higher entrepreneurship education by combining and confirming educational (specific teaching models), cognitive (EM), and institutional factors (entrepreneurial climate). Our research implies that universities and entrepreneurial program developers should pay attention to the selection of the right teaching models and provide a supportive entrepreneurial climate to optimize students’ EM, thus promoting their sustainable development.
Highlights
There has been a global growth in the field of entrepreneurship education (EE) in higher education with increasing focus on the design, development, and delivery of EE programs
Drawing on social cognitive theory and a teaching model framework, this study suggested a significant link between entrepreneurship curriculum (EC) and entrepreneurial mindset (EM)
From the three teaching models, the demand model proved to be the strongest predictor of EM, rather than the competence model
Summary
There has been a global growth in the field of entrepreneurship education (EE) in higher education with increasing focus on the design, development, and delivery of EE programs. The broad premise here is that university-based EE programs have the potential for facilitating a range of entrepreneurial outcomes including subjective ones, such as entrepreneurial attitudes, skills and knowledge, feasibility, and entrepreneurial intentions, and objective ones like entrepreneurial start-up behavior and business performance [1]. While there is a huge preponderance of research on one outcome, namely entrepreneurial intentions, there is a lack of research examining the relationship between. 290, concluded that a ‘key knowledge gap centres on impact measures focusing on the development of the Sustainability 2021, 13, 7950. EM refers to cognitive structures deeper than entrepreneurial intent and different from surface-level learning of knowledge [3,4]. The foundation of EM lies in cognitive adaptability defined as the ability to be flexible and self-regulating in one’s cognitions given dynamic and uncertain task environments [5]
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