Date of Award
5-1-2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Education Theory and Practice
Dissertation/Thesis Chair
Alex Kumi-Yeboah
Committee Members
Jianwei Zhang, Lijun Ni, Reza Feyzi-Behnagh
Keywords
Critical pedagogy, Entrepreneurship education, Inquiry-based teaching, Mixed method, Teaching practice, Technology integration
Subject Categories
Education
Abstract
Inclusive and effective entrepreneurship education (EE) can significantly contribute to empowering underserved communities. However, EE scholars have highlighted pedagogical concerns including a lack of critical perspectives, the prevalence of lecture-centered teaching, and resistance to technology integration, raising questions about the inclusiveness and effectiveness of EE. Nevertheless, there were few studies comprehensively examining how entrepreneurship instructors employed teaching practices. Thus, this study aimed to: 1) investigate the status of U.S. entrepreneurship instructors’ teaching practices regarding critical pedagogy and innovative teaching (teaching practices endorsed by EE scholars), 2) examine factors influencing their teaching practices, and 3) explore how they have developed these teaching practices. By answering these questions, this dissertation study contributes to understanding the current teaching trends in EE, providing insights into the extent to which traditional pedagogical problems in EE have been addressed or changed. In addition, investigating how and why different teaching practices in EE were developed contributes to devising measures to improve inclusiveness and effectiveness in EE and suggesting future research directions.A mixed method study was employed by surveying 107 U.S. entrepreneurship instructors and interviewing 9 among them. Critical pedagogy included culturally responsive teaching and fostering critical consciousness (critical agency and critical reflection). Innovative teaching encompassed inquiry-based teaching and technology integration (orchestrating technological, pedagogical, content components in teaching; and handling technology issues in a classroom). Learner-centered teaching was conceptualized as included in both critical pedagogy and innovative teaching. Clustering analysis was utilized to find a meaningful pattern from various data, considering the heterogeneity in EE, and to bridge the quantitative and qualitative studies by focusing on the differences and similarities between clusters. Quantitative results showed that inquiry-based teaching, learner-centered teaching, fostering psychological empowerment (a newly generated component from critical consciousness), and orchestrating technological, pedagogical, content components in teaching were moderately or slightly matched with the teaching practices of U.S. entrepreneurship instructors. Other practices were neither matched nor unmatched. Latent Profile analysis provided Harmonious-Actively Critical Pedagogy and Discordant-Passive Critical Pedagogy groups regarding critical pedagogy; and Innovative Teaching, Technology-Separated Innovative Teaching, and Technology-Integrated Innovative Teaching groups for innovative teaching. Logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of the professional development program in fostering sociocritical and structural reflection. Furthermore, there was a predictive relationship of racial identity to the implementation of Harmonious-Actively Critical Pedagogy and that of the endorsement of education about entrepreneurship in the implementation of Technology-Separated Innovative Teaching. Qualitative results revealed the significance of entrepreneurial identity and passion in the development of learner-centered and inquiry-based teaching. In addition, interview data provided elaborated details on the structure of the EE ecosystem that influences the realization of authentic entrepreneurial projects in higher education. The idea of entrepreneurship also supported the implementation of critical pedagogy; however, several instructors raised concerns about the disempowering effect of simplified critical pedagogy. In addition, the conception of entrepreneurship was vague in guiding technology integration, justifying both passive and active use of technologies. This study mapped the current landscape of teaching practices in EE, investigating its progress towards inclusive and innovative pedagogies. The widespread adoption of inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches signals a departure from traditional lecture-centric tendencies, potentially driven by instructors' entrepreneurial identities and passions. However, further research is warranted to gauge the depth of alignment between these practices and the unique contexts of EE. Notably, the study uncovered a tension between fostering learner empowerment and cultivating critical consciousness among EE instructors. While this tension holds productive potential for teaching social problem-solving through entrepreneurial processes, discursive refinement to guide a complementary approach is needed. Currently, teaching for fostering critical consciousness receives comparatively passive and inconsistent implementation, highlighting the necessity for expanded professional development programs that promote sociocritical reflection. Moreover, while technology integration has advanced in EE, closer examination reveals inconsistencies that necessitate developing context-specific strategies. This includes providing technological support tailored to the preparation, orchestration, and evaluation phases of inquiry-based teaching in EE settings.
Recommended Citation
Kim, Yanghyun, "Investigating U.S. Entrepreneurship Instructors' Critical Pedagogy And Innovative Teaching Practice: A Mixed Method Approach" (2024). Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024). 3331.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/legacy-etd/3331
