Creating a learning environment via an entrepreneurial process: The case of Arcada’s “Creating work life skills in an entrepreneurial environment” course

Abstract

The economic significance of entrepreneurship has been widely established by various governmental institutions across the European Union and the United States. In educational institutions the teacher’s perception of entrepreneurship shapes the curriculum and the teaching pedagogy, and ultimately helps the student to determine their future career goals. During the spring semester of 2019, the “Creating work life skills in an entrepreneurial environment” course was launched at Arcada University of Applied Sciences. In this course the students from different background worked together to develop a new learning environment assuming the responsibility and of planning the creation process themselves, thus implementing the entrepreneurial value creation process. The purpose of this thesis was to observe and explain how the entrepreneurship process reflects in the learning experiences of the students (N=12) who participated in the course. The due to the novelty and uniqueness of the case, the study is based on the methodology of grounded theory. The data was collected using reflective diaries, self-assessment scale, participatory observation and a focused interview with the course’s initiator. The theoretical framework of this study was based on scholarly literature related to the theory of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial value creation process, including the theories of entrepreneurial traits and self-directed learning approach.The entrepreneurial process in this case study was divided into three phases – opportunity identification, competence building and prototyping. The main findings of this thesis revealed that the students experienced the feelings of confusion and uncertainty during the opportunity identification phase. Working in a buoyant social environment and applying the “Design Sprint” concept development tool the students managed to successfully complete the entrepreneurial process and create the prototype for the new learning environment. Due to the scope of a bachelor’s thesis and the uniqueness of this study case, this thesis only provides an overview of the entrepreneurial value creation process as a learning experience. The research sample is relatively small and the findings might not be applicable to the general population. Nevertheless, the insights provided by this study can be used as an orientation for a bigger study or as a comparison in a research of a similar case and corresponding a scope.