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Dealing with Critical Incidents in the Postformation Phase: Design and Evaluation of an Entrepreneurship Education Course

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship education is a growing field of research within vocational education. During the last decade, an increasing number of empirical studies have been conducted on the impact of entrepreneurship education courses (EECs). Yet studies on entrepreneurship education still lack evidence on how to prepare entrepreneurs to handle dynamism and risks appropriately as well as how to identify and address entrepreneurial challenges and upcoming crises. This paper presents an EEC that intends to step into these gaps using a case-oriented learning environment that concentrates on critical incidents in the postformation phase. Preliminary studies identified these incidents as entrepreneurial challenges that typically emerge in young start-ups and threaten to lead to severe financial crises. The design of the EEC is systematically based on educational research. The EEC offers future entrepreneurs opportunities to develop entrepreneurial competence by experiencing the critical incidents that occur in the everyday working life of a young entrepreneur of a fictional model company. The participants are encouraged to slip into the entrepreneur’s shoes, to identify emerging problems, and to reflect on solutions. The evaluation shows that the seminar was perceived as fruitful and supportive. Based on self-ratings this EEC is an intervention that women in particular seem to benefit from. The paper provides fruitful ideas to specify aims and to design EECs in the realm of risk management in the postformation phase.

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Notes

  1. EEPs refer to larger entrepreneurship education programs, while entrepreneurship education courses (EECs) refer to single seminars or courses focusing on entrepreneurship education that can be integrated into larger EEPs.

  2. The follow-up was not included in the analyses because only three participants from the experimental group completed this questionnaire and took the opportunity to meet with a start-up consultant. The frequencies in Table 1 display the number of people who completed the questionnaires at the different points of measurement. In contrast, the frequencies presented in Section “Results” refer to the number of valid cases included in the particular analysis.

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Acknowledgments

Preliminary studies were developed by master’s degree students at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Goethe University of Frankfurt. Many thanks to Michael Fretschner, Kathrin Gronbach, and Alexandra Hensel for their participation and good work.

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    Karin Heinrichs

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Heinrichs, K. Dealing with Critical Incidents in the Postformation Phase: Design and Evaluation of an Entrepreneurship Education Course. Vocations and Learning 9, 257–273 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-016-9151-x

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