Students’ Responses to Teachers’ Epistemological Frames in Entrepreneurship education in Higher Education




Ilonen, Sanna; Heinonen, Jarna

PublisherSage

2025

 Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy

2515-1274

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/25151274251386432

https://doi.org/10.1177/25151274251386432

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/505257120



The focus of this study is on the epistemological frames that teachers employ to facilitate student learning in entrepreneurship education (EE). Drawing on three epistemological frames that teachers exhibit in teaching—delivering knowledge, guiding knowledge construction, and making space for collaborative and iterative knowledge construction —this study investigates what and how students learn about entrepreneurial behavior in response to teachers’ epistemological frames. Our qualitative study focuses on a bachelor’s-level EE course investigating the learning reflections of 12 students from six different teams, all of whom provided a report on a team exercise The Entrepreneurial Movement. AnchorFor the students, the course was experienced as a relational activity that, through their responses and reflection, produced a learning journey with various knowledge-related and affective learning outcomes on entrepreneurial behavior. Our study introduces “through” competition as an applicable mode of learning in EE and shows how the suggested epistemological frames stimulate different student responses and complement each other in students’ holistic learning about entrepreneurial behavior. We identify potential future research directions and provide implications for educators and students in EE.


Last updated on 13/11/2025 09:06:09 AM