Introducing student co-created mastery experiences: actionable insights from a multi-year study of an entrepreneurial small business course in rural USA

Abstract Entrepreneurship education (EE) has traditionally been designed for students in urban areas who have relatively higher educational attainments and belong to higher-income households. Urban areas also provide easier access to a well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystem and support infrastructure, funding sources, economic opportunities, mentorship networks, and a favorable business environment. Consequently, EE has overlooked the needs of first-generation college students in economically distressed and resource-disadvantaged rural regions. Applying urban-centric entrepreneurship education models in rural areas without considering their unique context leads to sub-optimal learning outcomes for rural students. The study addresses the gap by examining the learning innovation of student co-created mastery experiences in an entrepreneurial small business course designed for first-generation students in one of the most economically distressed rural regions in the USA. The student co-creation approach of mastery experiences emphasizes ownership of the learning experience, reflection, comprehension (compared to memorization-based testing), and collaborative design, leading to increased engagement and beneficial learning outcomes. Using a multi-year dataset (2018–2024), the study incorporates student teaching evaluations and comments, and other course design and implementation information to validate the effectiveness of the approach. The learning innovation presents a viable alternative to the dominant template of standardized urban-centric entrepreneurship education and examines the challenges and considerations in scaling it for larger student populations in urban settings. The study contributes to the field of entrepreneurship education by providing a structured implementation guide for educators, offering actionable insights into designing mastery experiences that empower students. The research underscores the need for context-specific EE models and calls for further application of the approach in other educational environments and disciplines.