An Andragogic Perspective on Women Entrepreneurial e-Learning: Styles and Methods.

As a result of the increasing role of technologies for learning, e-learning became an essential tool for Women Entrepreneurs. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs are adult learners with specific methods and styles of learning. They are significant contributors to the national and global economy, and therefore, it is important to have an andragogic perspective in approaching women entrepreneurs for training and learning delivery. Entrepreneurship Education (EED) is the main competence acquired by women entrepreneurs, in view to achieve entrepreneurial success, and e-learning is a component of EED. This study undertakes an andragogic perspective on Entrepreneurship Education, with its specific styles and methods of learning and investigates its impact on success. The objectives of the study are the following: (1) To investigate the impact of Entrepreneurship Education upon Women Entrepreneurs' Success; (2) To find out the methods and styles women entrepreneurs use for entrepreneurial e-learning from an andragogic perspective, in order to achieve success. The main Research Question of the study is "What is the impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Women Entrepreneurs' Success?", and the subsidiary question is "What are the methods and styles of entrepreneurial e-learning that women entrepreneurs use in order to achieve success?" Entrepreneurship Education helps learners to understand the meaning of entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial responsibilities, and provides them with the entrepreneurial capabilities to achieve success. This is an exploratory research with the hypothesis tested and the prediction of the impact of Entrepreneurship Education upon Women Entrepreneurs' Success. Further, the study involves a survey with 450 questionnaires distributed both by email and face-to-face to women entrepreneurs in SE Wales. The results indicates that elearning is an essential component of Entrepreneurship Education and this is a significant predictor of Women Entrepreneurs' Success. The study demonstrates the importance of e-learning within Entrepreneurship Education and for Women Entrepreneurs' Success, and constitutes a contribution to theory. By adding to the literature on entrepreneurial e-learning, this study is a contribution to knowledge. The study constitutes also a contribution to practice by advising the policy makers to place accent on a training adapted to women entrepreneurs as adult learners, in the context of new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]