Purpose In today’s global economy, high in talent but low in growth, the capability and skills mismatch between the output of universities and the demands of business has escalated to a worrying extent for graduates. Increasingly, university students are considering alternatives to a lifetime of employment, including their own start-up, and becoming an entrepreneur. The literature indicates a significant disconnect between the role and value of education and healthy enterprising economies, with many less-educated economies growing faster than more knowledgeable ones. Moreover, theory concerning the entrepreneurial pipeline and entrepreneurial ecosystems is applied to graduate entrepreneurial intentions and aspirations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using a large-scale online quantitative survey, this study explores graduate “entrepreneurial intention” in the UK and France, taking into consideration personal, social and situational factors. The results point to a number of factors that contribute to entrepreneurial intention including social background, parental occupation, gender, subject of study and nationality. The study furthers the understanding of and contributes to the extant literature on graduate entrepreneurship. It provides an original insight into a topical and contemporary issue, raising a number of research questions for future study. Findings For too long, students have been educated to be employees, not entrepreneurs. The study points strongly to the fact that today’s students have both willingness and intention to become entrepreneurs. However, the range of pedagogical and curriculum content does not correspond with the ambition of those who wish to develop entrepreneurial skills. There is an urgent need for directors of higher education and pedagogues to rethink their education offer in order to create a generation of entrepreneurs for tomorrow’s business world. The challenge will be to integrate two key considerations: how to create a business idea and how to make it happen practically and theoretically. Clearly, change in the education product will necessitate change in the HE business model. Research limitations/implications The data set collected was extensive (c3500), with a focus on France and the UK. More business, engineering and technology students completed the survey than others. Further research is being undertaken to look at other countries (and continents) to test the value of extrapolation of findings. Initial results parallel those described in this paper. Practical implications Some things can be taught, others need nurturing. Entrepreneurship involves a complex set of processes which engender individual development, and are highly personalised. Higher Education Enterprise and Teaching and Learning Strategies need to be cognisant of this, and to develop innovative and appropriate curricula, including assessment, which reflects the importance of the process as much as that of the destination. Social implications The global economy, propelled by the push and pull of technology, is changing at a speed never before seen. This is having profound political, social and economic effects which necessitate fundamental change that we organise ourselves and our activities. Current models and modus operandi are proving increasingly unfit for purpose. Nurturing and encouraging agile mindsets, creativity, supporting the testing of new ideas and ways of doing things and adapting/adopting to innovation are all critical future employability factors. Our future prosperity and well-being will be dependent on creating new learning models. Originality/value This work builds on an extensive literature review coupled with original primary research. The authors originate from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, and the result is a very challenging set of thoughts, comments and suggestions that are relevant to all higher education institutions, at policy, strategy and operational levels.
IntroductionAs the role of competition and competitive practice gradually permeates all aspects of society and life, driven apparently inexorably by political philosophy, few, if any providers of goods or services, be they centrally or privately controlled, are exempt or immune from the implications and realities of this cultural change. Where no natural market exists, internal ones have been created, driven by the vision that subjection to market forces should lead to the more effective, efficient and economical use of resources. Implicitly, it is assumed that users will act and react "rationally" when confronted with choice. This logic infers that ultimately, quality thresholds should be driven upwards as consumers become ever more demanding in their expectations, and that providers will have to recognise this and be able to respond positively and innovatively if they are to thrive (or survive).The "new" operating environment of primary schools At a macro level, since 1979, education in the UK has been subject to an ideology that encourages such a consumerist approach. Six key changes have taken place that directly relate to this and are central to all others, embodied in various Education Acts between 1979 and 1996. Many of the key decisionmaking processes relating to the management of schools has been delegated to newly structured Boards of Governors which includes the headteacher and a variety of other interest groups including local authorities, school staff, the local community and perhaps most important, elected parents. Their task is to oversee the efficient and effective operation of a school, and to ensure that legal requirements such as the national curriculum, testing and safety, amongst others, are delivered. This new structure delegates responsibility down to the individual unit level, including financial liability, and they are ultimately held to be responsible for success or failure. The second important change relates to that which is expected to be taught. This is now much more prescriptive, being laid down in the national curriculum with clear attainment targets for all subjects and levels. The third important change concerns the way that schools are funded. This is now on a per capita basis, whereby revenue increases in proportion to the number on the register. Thus, if a school is successful, it might attract more children, which in turn will yield more money. Whilst some of this will have to be spent on the marginal cost of the additional child, a significant proportion could be available for making "whole school" improvements, as
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.