TRAINING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS: A SELF-GOVERNED OR TUTOR-DRIVEN LEARNING PROCESS?

Abstract

The key features of female entrepreneurs’ learning and its outcomes within the four dimensions of Kirkpatrick model are well documented. At the same time, each training program provides a unique instructional and social framework to be empirically explored. The current paper contributes to the evaluation of the Women Entrepreneurs: The Education and Training for Success Programme, which is a four-year project within the Horizon 2020 European Union initiative. We apply GLS Fixed-Effects and Logistic Regression models for a merged student-tutor log dataset to examine the interaction between participants’ learning and instructors’ direct facilitation levels. Our analysis shows that despite a low share of student-tutor interactions within the course activity, they are the only significant predictor of learners’ engagement with the course content (p<0.001) and dropout probability (p<0.05). This implies that the exclusive application of the constructivist perspective for business education should be revisited, in particular with regard to the female firm owners.