Project-Based Learning in Mini-Companies. Student Perceptions of "Young Enterprise Switzerland"

Abstract

This paper analyzes how involved students retrospectively evaluate the participation in mini-companies in Swiss higher secondary schools. These mini-companies are entrepreneurial projects situated in the field of business education, which require real investments and active marketing measures on a small scale. The cross-sectional study is based on a survey concerning the Company Program of "Young Enterprise Switzerland" (YES). The theoretical framework has been derived from a discussion of different pedagogical concepts of project learning. The analysis is guided by a structural equation modelling approach. Overall, the data show a high level of expected benefits. These expectations correspond with a positive assessment of cooperative efforts during the project and with positive views concerning the social function of entrepreneurship for the public weal.