Purpose – The paradigm “think entrepreneur–think male” continues to prevail in entrepreneurship education(EE). Aiming to explore how EE educators and EE students engage with this paradigm, this paper examines how students’ beliefs about entrepreneurship are shaped within the classroom.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a single case comprising 32 interviews with EE students and educators from a variety of higher education institutions in the Netherlands. Observations were conducted in a learning environment where undergraduate students from a range of EE minors (general, social and tech entrepreneurship) collaborated on projects under the guidance of entrepreneurship educators.Findings – Our findings reveal that gendered constructs are deeply embedded in EE, shaping perceptions of entrepreneurship. However, these constructs are changing and challenging the “think entrepreneur–think male”.Originality/value – This study contributes to gender and entrepreneurship literature by challenging the existence of the prevailing paradigm “think entrepreneur–think male” in EE. We emphasise the importance ofacknowledging individual entrepreneurial motivations while recognising gendered constructs in entrepreneurial support and resource access.
European civic integration programmes claim to provide newcomers with necessary tools for successful participation. Simultaneously, these programmes have been criticised for being restrictive, market-driven and for working towards an implicit goal of limiting migration. Authors have questioned how these programmes discursively construct an offensive image of the Other and how colonial histories are reproduced in the constructions seen today. The Dutch civic integration programme is considered a leading example of a restrictive programme within Europe. Research has critically questioned the discourses within its policies, yet limited research has moved beyond policy to focus on discourse in texts in practice. This study presents a critical discourse analysis of texts used in the civic integration programme and demonstrates that they participate in multiple discursive constructions: the construction of the Dutch nation-state and its citizens as inherently modern, the construction of the Other as Unmodern and thus a threat, and the construction of the hierarchical relationship between the two. The civic integration programme has been left out of discussions on decolonisation to date, contributing to it remaining a core practice of othering. This study applies post-colonial theories to understand the impacts of current discourse, and forwards possibilities for consideration of decolonised alternatives.
In cross-cultural communication and adjunct disciplines such as cross-cultural management and international business, there is a negativity bias of seeing cultural differences as a source of potential issues. The emergence of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) questions this problem-focused approach. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion from neuroscience’s perspectives in several ways. Firstly, it provides a neurological look at this bias. Secondly, it proposes that the problem-focused approach may (1) give us a biased outlook of cross-cultural encounters rather than a reality, (2) hinder creativity, (3) lead to the rebound effect, and (4) turn belief into reality. Finally, based on insight from neuroscience and adopting the POS lens with the connection between POS and creativity, it’s recommended that future research takes three directions: (1) Using similarity as the starting point; (2) strategize body language, context and theories; and (3) develop a multicultural mind. In essence, the paper contributes to existing knowledge of the field by employing an interdisciplinary approach, aiming to gain a more holistic view, provoke thoughts, and trigger future empirical studies.
