Reframing Entrepreneurship Education for South African Youth through the Lens of Ubuntu.

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Research in Education

Year: 2025

[PDF]

Reframing Entrepreneurship Education for South African Youth through the Lens of Ubuntu.

Ademola Olumuyiwa Omotosho, Dr. Andrew Douglas

ABSTRACT:

Globally, universities have adopted different delivery models to adapt Entrepreneurship Education to their social and economic realities, with varying degrees of success. As South Africa celebrates nearly three decades of democracy, many formerly disadvantaged citizens, particularly Black South Africans had hoped for the emergence of a new economic order. However, the country still faces a high unemployment rate. This study is based on a systematic literature review, using the PRISMA protocol and transformative learning theory as its foundation. The chapter reviews the conventional pedagogical approach to entrepreneurship education in South African higher education as a whole and argues that EE reform must be founded on quality assurance as a guiding principle rather than massification. It highlights how the oppressive historical context and pre-colonial conditions have shaped a job-seeking mindset among Black South Africans, an orientation that remains deeply rooted even after thirty years of democracy. The chapter concludes by proposing an apprenticeship training model grounded in Ubuntu values, as a cultural stance for strengthening youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.

Keywords: Youths, Entrepreneurship, Skills, South Africa, Innovation.