Online entrepreneurship teaching and learning approaches: A South African conceptual perspective

Abstract

In this conceptual paper, we review literature on entrepreneurship education with the aim of determining viable approaches for teaching entrepreneurship using online platforms. We discuss existing studies on constructivism as a theoretical framework and examine how entrepreneurship education can be offered through online teaching, as well as the effectiveness and the design of online teaching for entrepreneurship education. We used a conceptual analysis methodology and also conducted a library search to examine previous pertinent literature on online entrepreneurship education. Our findings indicate that online entrepreneurship education should be grounded in constructivism as a learning theory. Additionally, during online entrepreneurship learning, lecturers should introduce and explain new concepts by using students' prior knowledge and should assign practical and experiential tasks. Our findings also show that online activities should allow students to interpret and assimilate new knowledge, and that online entrepreneurship modules should incorporate learning by doing and experiential learning. Lecturers should also provide feedback as part of online entrepreneurship learning and, at the end of such learning, lecturers should assign online questions that provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and knowledge.