Entrepreneurship education in Indonesian higher education institutions: a phenomenographic approach to understanding students' and faculty members' perceptions, aspirations and expectations

For a variety of socio-economic and educational reasons, Entrepreneurship Education has become a critical aspect of the Indonesian higher education system. Contemporary Indonesia is characterised by high levels of youth and adult unemployment, low rates of business competitiveness, lack of entrepreneurial skills amongst graduates and negative attitudes towards entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Most universities in Indonesia that have adopted entrepreneurship education view it as a traditional subject, lacking innovation in its design, delivery and assessment. As a new phenomenon, entrepreneurship education remains an under-researched topic of academic endeavour. The aim of this study is to understand students' and faculty members' perceptions, aspirations and expectations as a basis for the development of entrepreneurship education models for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Indonesia. Developing models of entrepreneurship education specific to the Indonesian context is of great importance for those who are in charge of establishing this new type of education initiative. It also will benefit the Indonesian government as they can use these informed models to make effective decisions on entrepreneurship education policy. The purpose of this study is to discover the different ways students and faculty members conceptualise entrepreneurship education and the logical relationship between these various conceptions. Focussing on this structural framework has been proven to contribute to new understandings of entrepreneurship education field. The research study upon which this thesis is based has employed a phenomenographic approach to the collection, analysis and interpretation of primary data obtained from seven Indonesian HEIs, including seventy semistructured interviews with students and faculty members. To complement the phenomenographic approach, face-to-face interviews were carried out with a sample of seven members of senior management, one in each institution. Due to the relatively small sample size, interpretive analysis rather than phenomenography was employed to analyse the results of these interviews. There are a number of important results emerging from this research study. Students indicated more variation in the ways in which entrepreneurship education is being experienced. Interestingly, faculty members appear to share with students the ‘dimensions of variation’ upon which the ‘outcome space’ was constituted. Regarding respondents’ aspirations of entrepreneurship education, variations emerged between students and faculty members in relation to 'themes of expanding awareness'. Both sample groups, however, seemed to accept that preparing students to become successful entrepreneurs should be considered a common aspiration of students and staff involved in entrepreneurship education. In terms of expectations, students felt that a market-driven strategy would be the best way to enhance the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education. In contrast, faculty members highlighted the importance of being part of, and contributing to, an entrepreneurial university. Based upon the result of this research study, three models of entrepreneurship education have been identified in relation to Indonesian HEIs: (i) ‘Traditional University’; (ii) ‘Entrepreneurial University’; and, (iii) ‘Transitional University’. Students' and faculty members' perceptions, aspirations and expectations of entrepreneurship education are the basis upon which these models have been developed. These models offer an original and innovative perspective on how entrepreneurship education should be conceptualised in a higher education context, in developing countries in general and Indonesia in particular.