Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Developing Entrepreneurial Thinking in an International Learning Environment During COVID-19

Background/purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges and opportunities for students' learning worldwide and changed the environments in which students learn. An international learning environment was designed to “bridge the distance”, address pre-service teachers' socio-emotional needs and develop their entrepreneurial thinking (ET), a learned process of practicing behaviors and acquiring competencies that equip individuals with entrepreneurial skills, which may serve to improve oneself and society in times of uncertainty. In a design-based study, we aimed (1) to identify pre-service teachers' perceptions of ET emerging within an international learning environment and (2) to characterize a learning environment that supports the development of their ET.

Materials/methods. Twenty-four pre-service teachers from two countries participated in six online sessions. The learning design included "looking inward" at the challenges students faced through an artistic task and an "outward-looking" entrepreneurship task that involved finding opportunities to address the challenges and proposing educational initiatives. Data was collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, reflections, and students' outcomes tasks.

Findings. Pre-service teachers' perceptions of their ET development were expressed in three different contexts: in relation to time, future-oriented, in relation to life, individual, society, and the world, and in relation to cognitive competencies, breaking boundaries, and developing creativity. Furthermore, we identified four learning environment characteristics that played a role in the development of ET: learning by doing through collaboration, authentic challenge related to COVID-19, international aspect, and socio-emotional aspects.

Conclusion. This study highlights the importance of integrating entrepreneurial activities and socio-emotional support within innovative learning designs for pre-service teachers.

Keywords: entrepreneurial thinking, learning environment, innovative pedagogy, international courses, COVID-19 pandemic

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