Impact of experiential learning and case study immersion on the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and opportunity recognition among engineering students

• Main Authors: Abd. Rahim, Noorlizawati, Mohamed, Zainai, Tasir, Zaidatun, Shariff, Sya Azmeela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor and Francis Ltd. 2022
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/104254/1/NoorlizawatiAbdRahim2022_ImpactofExperientialLearningandCaseStudy.pdf; http://eprints.utm.my/104254/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2022.2109500

The ‘how’ of teaching method varies in its effectiveness with ‘what’ learning outcome it intends to achieve, and for ‘whom’ the course is targeted. We employed a longitudinal research design to examine the effectiveness of experiential learning and case study immersion to develop entrepreneurial self-efficacy and opportunity recognition among engineering students. Data were collected from two undergraduate cohorts who undertook an entrepreneurship course with different pedagogical approaches. The t-test results showed no statistically significant difference in self-efficacy. However, there was a statistically significant difference in opportunity recognition. The effectiveness of the two approaches differed when a paired t-test was conducted. Educators should adopt an approach that is constructively aligned to a specific learning outcome. Whilst teaching ‘about’ entrepreneurship through case study immersion is effective to develop the cognitive ability of non-business students to recognize opportunity, in contrast, experiential learning or teaching ‘through’ entrepreneurship is more effective to develop their self-efficacies.