THE SOURCES AND DYNAMICS OF EMOTIONS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION LEARNING PROCESS

Journal article, 2013

The study investigates student experiences of entrepreneurship education and focuses on gaining a better understanding of the main sources of emotions as well as the role and dynamics of emotions in learning. Data was collected in three entrepreneurship education settings in Estonia, Finland and Namibia using in-depth interviews (N = 79) and was analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. As a result, three themes highlighting the main sources of emotions were identified: 1) new kind of learning environment, 2) collaborative learning, and 3) challenging tasks. The learning environment sub-categories were: 1a) uncertainty and confusion, 1b) theory versus practice and 1c) support from outside. The collaborative learning sub-categories consist of: 2a) teamwork, 2b) time pressure and 2c) individual differences. Challenging tasks had the sub-categories: 3a) overcoming knowledge and skills gaps, 3b) interacting with the outside world and 3c) leadership and managing people. In addition, dynamic patterns of emotions in the course of learning processes were identified.