Short-Term Transformative Learning Activation in Higher Education: The Impact of an Intensive Social Entrepreneurship Program on an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus

Abstract

This study examines outcomes associated with a short-term intensive pedagogical experience aimed at developing social entrepreneurship competencies among university students at an Ashoka U–affiliated institution in Mexico. The program, Semana Tec de Agencia de Cambio, is a five-day experiential learning experience grounded in the SEL4C (Social Entrepreneurship Learning for Complexity) framework and designed to promote changemaking through interdisciplinary collaboration, reflection, and action. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental pre–post design (n = 210), data were collected through the validated Social Entrepreneur Profile (SEP), which assesses four dimensions: self-control, leadership, social awareness and social value, and social innovation and financial sustainability. Paired-samples t-tests indicated statistically significant increases (p < 0.001) across all dimensions, with small to medium effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.40–0.63). Multiple regression analysis showed that changes in social awareness and social value (β = 0.33, p < 0.001), leadership (β = 0.27, p = 0.004), and innovation and sustainability (β = 0.24, p = 0.006) were most strongly associated with overall changes in self-perceived competencies, explaining 58% of the variance (R2 = 0.58). Overall, the findings suggest that short-term intensive educational experiences grounded in active and interdisciplinary pedagogical approaches may contribute to measurable changes in students’ self-perceived social entrepreneurship competencies. Rather than evidencing consolidated transformation, the results are best interpreted as early indicators of competency activation within changemaker-oriented learning environments. The study contributes empirical insight into the use of intensive formats in social entrepreneurship education and situates the SEL4C framework as a coherent pedagogical reference within the Ashoka U context, without implying causal validation.