Initiating consensus: stakeholders define entrepreneurship in education

Abstract

While the concept of entrepreneurship in the field of education has received growing scholarly attention in recent years, no consensual definition exists regarding what exactly educational entrepreneurship involves. A clear definition will promote research progress on this subject, as well as its accessibility in the general discourse. The present study aims to fill this gap in the academic discourse on entrepreneurship in education and propose an operational definition for this term. In the quest of such a definition, we applied a Delphi process involving scholars, school principals, and educational entrepreneurs. We found that relevant experts perceive entrepreneurship in education as a process whereby a vision of the entrepreneur based on the identification of a need or problem within the education system alongside an opportunity to resolve it innovatively leads to formulating goals and working to attain them in a manner that adds value, thereby influencing the immediate surroundings and the broader education system. This study provides a comprehensive conceptualisation of this term, enabling future research and the development of this emerging field of study.

Keywords:

• Entrepreneurship
• agency
• schools
• Delphi methodology