Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to explore business and, more specifically, entrepreneurship educationwithin veterinary medicine and discuss the perceptions of veterinary students and veterinaryemployers in relation to its teaching within veterinary medicine. Some challenges for veterinarybusiness and entrepreneurship educators are highlighted.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a small exploratory pilot study, which includedstudent focus groups and an employer survey, the paper highlights the differences between employers’and students’ perceptions of the value of business-related education. Students’ preferred programmecontent and expected pedagogical approaches are also discussed.Findings – The paper finds that veterinary students do not place the same value on entrepreneurshipand business-related education as employers, not perceiving it as a “priority” within their veterinarystudies. This poses a number of challenges for educators in terms of: seeking to integrateentrepreneurship and business-related topics within an already crowded programme of study,determining relevant content and delivery methods, and designing appropriate assessment methods.Research limitations/implications – The paper explores a relatively new concept (i.e. businessand entrepreneurship) within veterinary education and, as such, the authors fully recognise thatfurther empirical research – beyond this exploratory study – is needed.Originality/value – The paper highlights the discrepancy between veterinary employers’ andveterinary students’ perception of the overall value of business and entrepreneurship education.Findings relating to students’ expectations of programme content and their preferred pedagogicalapproaches should be of value to educators in helping them to reshape their current offerings or, at thevery least, manage students’ expectations.Keywords Business and entrepreneurship education, Veterinary medicine, Pedagogy, Teaching,Learning, EntrepreneurialismPaper type Research paper
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 484-499 |
| Journal | Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 2012 |
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