Music Students’ Definitions, Evaluations, and Rationalizations of Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education in higher music education has grown rapidly, yet little is known about what music students think of entrepreneurship. Using a qualitative description approach guided by analytic rigor, we present results from a survey of 114 music students. Respondents most commonly define entrepreneurship as “self-employment” as introduced by McClelland, with a Schumpeterian theme of “innovation and disequilibrium” following behind. Fifty-two percent of respondents value entrepreneurial skills as important for their careers; forty-three percent do not know if entrepreneurial skills are important for their careers. Finally, we discuss how they rationalize these evaluations. Implications for educators and practitioners are discussed.