Education Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Journal
Entrepreneurship Education
Volume
3
Issue
4
First Page
363
Last Page
391
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41959-020-00030-8
Abstract
Teacher entrepreneurship is a new and growing area of study which has gained much attention over the past 15 years. However, more research is required to better understand how teacher entrepreneurs act, what challenges they face, and how they can be properly supported. In this study, we carry out a qualitative study of an aspiring teacher entrepreneur’s journey in designing and holding their first STEM course, in a non-profit informal STEM Center to investigate the teacher’s entrepreneurial competencies and the effects of their environment on their work. Our findings show how the exhibited competencies of the teacher participant differed compared to existing literature on teacher entrepreneurs and which competencies were not seen and why. Length of program and stakeholder expectations were seen as challenges specifically arising from the nature of the non-profit informal STEM setting the teacher worked in. Possible solutions to such challenges are presented and implications for supporting and educating teacher entrepreneurs are also explained. Our study contributes to literature on teacher entrepreneurship, novice teacher progress, and informal STEM learning environments.
Notes
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41959-020-00030-8
This work was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant [435-2017-0179] and Internal Grant from University of Western Ontario.