Abstract
Entrepreneurship education (EE) helps provide a creative space for students to explore the viability of launching and managing their own businesses as a career choice. Drawing on inspiration theory, this empirical study examines the role of pedagogical approaches in inspiring students to pursue their entrepreneurial intentions. Examining data from a survey of entrepreneurship and leadership undergraduate students, multiple regression analysis shows that for entrepreneurship students, EE as a course, and entrepreneurship as a topic, impact the possibility of students becoming entrepreneurs. Content analysis of qualitative data suggests that a pedagogical approach that is interactive, requiring students to be action-oriented and to interact with others as part of their learning, provides inspiration for students’ learning. This interactive approach applies to lectures, tutorials and assessments. We contribute to current discourse on pedagogical approaches that inspire students’ learning in ways that reinforce their entrepreneurial intention. Findings of this research have implications for entrepreneurship educators, demonstrating that pedagogical design needs to incorporate an activity-based approach that mirrors real-world practice and that faculty policies in recruitment and training programs need to meet students’ needs for contemporary pedagogical approaches.