The Distinctive Challenge of Educating Social Entrepreneurs: A Postscript and Rejoinder to the Special Issue on Entrepreneurship Education

Abstract

In September 2004, Academy of Management Learning and Education published a special issue on the role of management education in the training and development of entrepreneurs. Despite making a significant contribution to current thinking about entrepreneurship education, we consider that the special issue contains an important omission—there is no discussion of social entrepreneurs, individuals who develop economically sustainable solutions to social problems. In this essay we seek to address this omission and to outline the distinctive challenges and issues involved in teaching and developing entrepreneurs that combine social and commercial objectives.