Impact of experiential learning and case study immersion on the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and opportunity recognition among engineering students

Abstract

The ‘how’ of teaching method varies in its effectiveness with ‘what’ learning outcome it intends to achieve, and for ‘whom’ the course is targeted. We employed a longitudinal research design to examine the effectiveness of experiential learning and case study immersion to develop entrepreneurial self-efficacy and opportunity recognition among engineering students. Data were collected from two undergraduate cohorts who undertook an entrepreneurship course with different pedagogical approaches. The t-test results showed no statistically significant difference in self-efficacy. However, there was a statistically significant difference in opportunity recognition. The effectiveness of the two approaches differed when a paired t-test was conducted. Educators should adopt an approach that is constructively aligned to a specific learning outcome. Whilst teaching ‘about’ entrepreneurship through case study immersion is effective to develop the cognitive ability of non-business students to recognize opportunity, in contrast, experiential learning or teaching ‘through’ entrepreneurship is more effective to develop their self-efficacies.