The role of information literacy in promoting “discovery” to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset

Abstract

Purpose Accessibility to entrepreneurial education can be very restrictive because of associated barriers (e.g. add-on course/credit cost and prolonged duration) that prevent students from gaining entry into learning experiences. This study aims to provide an approach to address the gap of inaccessibility. This study proposes the integration of entrepreneurially minded coursework into aviation coursework using information literacy (IL) exercises by incorporating readings, videos, student-centered online discussions and student-facilitated presentations. Design/methodology/approach Students participated in an intervention consisting of five entrepreneurially minded online discussions where they watched a video or read an article and then responded to a series of questions. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a survey related to student learning outcomes and satisfaction. Findings The results from this study provide insight into changes in student perceptions after engaging in IL exercises designed to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. There is evidence that online discussions, journal article critiques and student-facilitated presentations are effective ways to integrate IL into aviation courses to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets among students. Originality/value Several university-based approaches currently exist to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, including majors and minors in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship coursework and centers for entrepreneurship that offer extracurricular learning experiences. Although these approaches offer a great foundation, they are typically viewed as “extra” with high barriers to entry. The limited focus on integration into coursework (whereby everyone gets an opportunity) prevents equitable access to a larger contingent of students. Therefore, in this study, we propose one approach to integrating the entrepreneurial mindset into coursework.