Making Sense of Entrepreneurial Knowledge in Recognition of Prior Learning and Studification Practices (Esitys 3E ECSB Entrepreneurship Education Conferencessa, Gothenburg, Sweden 8.-10.5. 2019)

Abstract

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</p><p><b>Questions we care about (Objectives) </b>– The paper focuses on how Finnish HE teaching staff make sense of students’ experientially gained entrepreneurial knowledge as part of academic curriculum in entrepreneurship.</p><p><b>Approach </b>– Drawing from a qualitative sense-making methodology, the paper makes use of inductive analysis of personal and group interviews of HE teaching staff regarding practices in recognition of prior learning (RPL) in entrepreneurship and studification of co- and extra-curricular activities that develop students’ entrepreneurship competences.<b> </b></p><p><strong>Results – </strong>The findings highlight that sensemaking of experientially gained entrepreneurial knowledge is multidimensional. The study participants introduce issues working at different levels including: <i>theoretical </i>(denoting entrepreneurship as a discipline), <i>institutional </i>(denoting organizational objectives and requirements),<i> practical</i> (denoting guidelines and administrative processes) and <i>HE</i> <i>political </i>(denoting the role of HEIs in producing entrepreneurial individuals). Especially, the epistemic questions related to control over curriculum are made visible when discussing fitting the entrepreneurial knowledge into the students’ degrees via RPL and studification practices.</p><p> <b>Implications</b> – While Finnish HEIs have taken up the recommendations provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture on providing the HE students with support for self-employment orientations and entrepreneurship in different forms, they partly struggle with adjusting experientially gained and practice-oriented entrepreneurial knowledge with the academic requirements in connection with RPL and studification practices.</p><p>

<b>Value/Originality –</b> Research focuses on generating understanding how HEI teaching staff make sense of entrepreneurial knowledge in RPL and studification that are novel practices in entrepreneurship education and allow the students to fulfill their academic requirements in entrepreneurship outside the academic curriculum. This study enables us to understand the complexities related to these novel practices in the field of EE and, to contribute to the discussion on entrepreneurial knowledge development in HE in the broad sense.</p><p>

</p><p><b>Key Words: </b>Entrepreneurial knowledge, Experiential learning, Recognition of prior learning, Studification, Sensemaking</p><p><br /></p>