A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF CURRICULUM COURSE CONTENT AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION IN UAE HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates has prioritised entrepreneurship education (EE) to reduce reliance on the public sector and support its transition to a knowledge-based economy. To promote entrepreneurial intention (EI) to students in universities, entrepreneurship programmes have been established. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the existing results are still below national policy expectations. This article maintains that ineffective student motivation or insufficient institutional resources are not the primary challenge. Rather, the issue lies in the lack of alignment between the EI development approaches influenced by the psychological, cultural, and structural contexts of EI in the UAE and the taught entrepreneurship courses reflected in current curricula. This paper critically reviews the UAE-based, theoretically applicable literature to discuss the impact of curriculum design on entrepreneurial intention. It assesses paramount and declarative instruction, growth of self-efficacy, integration with role models, online learning, content that remains gender conscious and compatibility with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The review determines five important conclusions. Instruction that relies on theory constrains the development of self-efficacy. Misaligned culturally controlled curricula undermine the social norms and perceived behavioural control. Equity: Gender-responsive course design is not an equity effort, but a construction requirement. Ineffectiveness of the the curricula and ecosystem support programme due to poor alignment. Last, the disjuncture between the entrepreneurial intention and business creation indicates systemic impediments that cannot be overcome through a reformed curriculum. The article wraps up by providing institution-specific and theoretically grounded recommendations to higher education institutions, policymakers, and educators of entrepreneurship in the UAE.