From Student Entrepreneurship to Sustainable Edupreneurship: A Humanistic–Ecosystem Perspective for Preparing Future Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

Background: Higher education institutions increasingly position entrepreneurship as a humanistic learning process that develops creativity, resilience, and social responsibility among future elementary school teachers. Although Student Entrepreneurship Programs are widely implemented, their role in fostering sustainable edupreneurship within teacher education remains insufficiently examined.

Aims: This study critically investigates how Student Entrepreneurship Programs support the transition from student entrepreneurship to sustainable edupreneurship through a humanistic–ecosystem perspective.

Methods: A qualitative critical literature review was conducted by synthesizing Scopus-indexed studies, policy documents, and international reports published between 2020 and 2025. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns related to competence development, motivation, sustainability challenges, and ecosystem support.

Results: The findings indicate that entrepreneurship programs strengthen entrepreneurial competence, creative agency, and self-efficacy among future teachers. However, sustainable edupreneurial practice remains constrained by limited mentoring continuity, weak institutional alignment, and insufficient ecosystem integration beyond short-term program participation.

Conclusion: The study concludes that sustainable edupreneurship emerges when entrepreneurship education is framed as a humanistic developmental process embedded within supportive educational ecosystems. Long-term institutional commitment, pedagogical integration, and ecosystem coherence are essential to transform individual competence into enduring professional practice. Repositioning entrepreneurship within teacher education therefore enables future elementary school teachers to function as socially responsive edupreneurs who sustain innovation beyond university programs.