International enterprise education in Sri Lanka: a blended approach

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore how enterprise education was adapted from a UK higher education institution (HEI) setting into an international context through collaboration with two Sri Lankan universities. It demonstrates the value of enterprise education in different cultures, and presents learning from the challenges faced by both staff and students in moving away from a traditional delivery method. Design/methodology/approach -Adopting a case study approach, the paper describes a blended, incremental implementation strategy aimed at developing staff and students' understanding of enterprise education in a gradual, supportive and culturally-sensitive manner. Evaluation is conducted through an analysis of formal assessment performance and qualitative module review. Findings -The paper demonstrates the impact of enterprise education in an international context and a capability amongst most students to engage with it successfully, whilst also highlighting the challenges of delivery in a different culture. Practical implications -The adaptation of enterprise education to an international setting can be shown to add value in various ways, including the development of soft skills and building confidence in team working and communication. It can also be shown to empower staff in delivering teaching using non-traditional techniques. However, consideration of context is essential to effective delivery. Originality/value -This study makes a contribution to the fields of transnational education and enterprise education in international contexts. It shows the value of enterprise education in challenging traditional delivery methods and the acceptance of such by both staff and students.

Entrepreneurial learning – a social context perspective: evidence from Kenya and Tanzania

“…The work of Gibb (2002Gibb ( , 2005 provides a template for EE, distinctively introducing action-based practice as a means to develop knowledge of the life-world and forge entrepreneurial behaviour. It has informed studies on action learning (Lackeus and Williams Middleton, 2015;Collins et al, 2014;Kasturiratne et al, 2012;Jones, 2010). The template has two objectives: stakeholders develop a shared understanding of learning outcomes, and educators have measurement standards.…”

Fostering an entrepreneurial attitude – challenging in principal leadership

“…To build trust and facilitate the introduction of new ways of thinking and doing in a "traditional" school culture, Kasturiratne et al (2012) suggest a blended approach where traditional methods work interchangeably with the new ones. Building trust and improving teachers' qualities, building a vision and setting directions are, together with understanding and developing people, redesigning the organization and managing the teaching and learning programme, leadership qualities and practices that Leithwood et al (2008) highlight as characteristic of successful leaders.…”

A systematic literature analysis on entrepreneurial orientation and business performance

“…Although EO studies have been conducted in various business settings and environments it is evident that there exist a scarcity of studies conducted in the Asian countries such as Sri Lanka when compared with the rest of the world. (Wijesekara, Kumara & Gunawardana, 2014;Priyanath & Prematatne, 2014;Wedathanthrige, 2014;Nath, 2013;Kasturiratne, 2012).…”

“…Alongside, different perspectives of theories have been considered by many authors to highlight the relationship between EO and its numerous dimensions (Taatila, 2012) in building up the business environment. However, in the Sri Lankan context only a limited number of studies had been done earlier to examine this important aspect of EO using several dimensions within specific theoretical backgrounds (Kasturiratne, 2012;Ranasinghe, 2008). In spite of the many empirical studies carried out on the subject of EO during the last several decades, still there are research gaps which need to be tackled (Miller 2011;Wales, Gupta, & Mousa.…”