Improving International Business Practicum Education: Entrepreneurial Experiential Goal Setting, Weekly Goal Tracking, and Environmental
Sustainability Focus
Paul Wilson and Jeff Christensen
Brigham Young University – Hawaii, USA
Jared M. Hansen
Utah State University, USA
Alison E. Orton and Brian S. O. Tejada (Students)
Brigham Young University – Hawaii, USA
Volume 19: 2024, pp. 00-00; ABSTRACT
An alarm has been raised that university students are now more disengaged, disinterested,
and dispassionate due to digital distractions. Goal setting and experiential practicum classes have
each been argued to be a part of a solution. But existing results are mixed. We propose that
combining masterly-focused student entrepreneurial experiential project goal setting with weekly
goal-tracking reports results in a greater likelihood of student goal attainment. We also propose that
this result is more likely when the project is related to environmental sustainability. We test these
hypotheses using a practicum class in a business school at a four-year university located in the
Pacific Isles that has students enrolled from many countries. Analysis indicates the tracking
percentage significantly increases goal achievement probability. The results do not support gains
due to SMART goal aspects of being measurable, attainable, and relevant. However, a focus on
sustainability-related goals does have a statistically significant effect.
Keywords: environmental sustainability business education, mastery goal setting, goal tracking,
student entrepreneurship, experiential learning, growth mindset, digital distraction, quality
education.
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