University-based social innovation and entrepreneurship education in Hong Kong: a curriculum analysis

ABSTRACT

Amidst the intensified discourse surrounding universities’ societal impact, social innovation and entrepreneurship (SIE) has emerged as a way to refocus universities’ engagement in sustainable development, particularly through their core mission of teaching and learning. Growing interest in SIE education over the decades has led to a proliferation of courses and programs offered in various disciplines by universities worldwide. Nevertheless, scholarly research unpacking the SIE educational processes remains scant and lacks multidisciplinary perspectives. Educators of SIE continue to face challenges in designing curricula and adopting appropriate teaching approaches. This study fills this gap by offering ample empirical evidence based on a documentary analysis of 53 syllabi from 43 distinctive courses accompanied by interviews with the academics responsible for the design of these courses across all eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong. The analysis identifies multiple patterns within two major themes: the changing scope and positioning of SIE education and the varying orientations of SIE curricula. The findings provide valuable insights and identify areas for further exploration for the design of impactful SIE learning experiences for students. Furthermore, by situating the examination of SIE teaching and learning within the lens of curriculum theory, this study establishes a foundation for future research to undertake systematic and rigorous comparative analyses of curricula in diverse contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurship education
• social entrepreneurship
• social innovation
• curriculum theory
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).