Abstract

Entrepreneurship education is of increasing importance for the economy as well as for the field of education and training (Holmgren& From, 2005). Despite the growing awareness that entrepreneurship should be fostered already in an early stage of education (Peterman & Kennedy, 2003), the educational system traditionally has too little encouragement of the spirit of entrepreneurship (Holmgren& From, 2005).

When trying to establish a learning environment which stimulates future entrepreneurs, indications could be retrieved from the way in which entrepreneurs learn (Kupper et al., 2003) as well as from more general characteristics of powerful learning environments (Pieters et al.,1990; Simons, 1999). Overall, it is important to place the learning environments in the context of competence based education which is a leading paradigm for innovation on system level and on the level of learning environments (Biemans et al., 2004)

This research aims to investigate the relationship between characteristics of different innovative learning environments and the competence development of students who are intending to become an entrepreneur in the Agri-food sector. Also, the effect of the learning environments on the perception and motivation of the students will be analysed.

Methodology or methods/research instruments or sources used:

As a starting point for this research a description of learning environments for entrepreneurs in horticulture from Kupper et al. (2003) is used. This concept consists of 12 different prototypes of learning environments which capture the ways of learning in the field of entrepreneurship and which is offered to four educational institutes which provide agricultural entrepreneurship courses. Two of these pilots are conducted on vocational education and training institutes and two pilots on higher agricultural educational institutes, all four situated in The Netherlands.

Following, three aspects will be investigated:

1. In which way the learning environments are implemented. This will be done by observing the learning activities within the learning environments and by comparing the observations with the main characteristics of the prototypical learning environments. These characteristics are derived from applying a set of criteria to the learning environments, like degree of authenticity, coaching, reflection, facilities, etc.
2. Which effect the learning environments have on the competence development of the learner. There will be done a pre and post measurement by an on line competence test which intends to give an indication for the development in six competence clusters: opportunity competences, relationship competences, conceptual competences, organising competences, strategic competences and commitment competences (Man et al., 2002).
3. How learners experience the learning environment and in which way it stimulates and motivates them. This will be done by a questionnaire and an additional group interview.

Conclusions or expected outcomes or findings:

The relation between the characteristics of the learning environments on one hand and the students' competence development and perception on the other will be analysed and the exact results will be reported in the full paper. Moreover, based on the results of the study, recommendations will be formulated for future research and educational practice.

References (including own publications):

• Biemans, H., L. Nieuwenhuis, R. Poell, M. Mulder & R. Wesselink (2004). Competencebased VET in The Netherlands: backgrounds, pitfalls and implications. Journal ofVocational Education and Training, 56, 4, 523-538. ISSN 1363-6820.
• Holmgren, C., From, J. (2005). Taylorism of the Mind: entrepreneurship education from a perspective of educational research. European Educational Research Journal, 4(4): 382-390
• Kupper, H.A.E.,Lans, T.,Mulder, M., & Biemans, H.J.A. (2003). Inspirerende leeromgevingen voor ondernemers (Inspiring learning environments for entrepreneurs). InnovatieNetwerk Groene Ruimte en Agrocluster (Innovation Network), The Hague
• Man, T. W. Y., Lau, T. and Chan, K. F. (2002). The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises- A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competences. Journal of Business Venturing 17, 123-142.
• Peterman N.E., Kennedy J. (2003). Enterprise Education: Influencing students' perceptions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28 (2):129-144
• Pieters, J.M., Breuer, K., Simons, P.R.J. (1999) Learning environments: contributions from Dutch and German research. Berlin, Springer.
• Simons, P.R.J. (1999). Krachtige leeromgevingen (Powerfull learning envrironments). Gids voor onderwijsmanagement. IVLOS, Utrecht

This content is expected to appear:

We intend to submit the full paper as an article to an international peer-reviewed scientific journal.