Can entrepreneurship be taught?

Here is a post by Mallory Hynes. Mallory is one of my graduate assistants and a very valuable student. She asks a very important question. To add to her comments, let me point out that a 2002 study from the University of Arizona found that five years after graduation, the average annual income for MBA's with a concentration in entrepreneurship was 27% higher than students with standard MBA's. From the same study; Entrepreneurship students were three time more likely to form new companies. These companies averaged $50M in sales and employed 200 people. The study of entrepreneurship seems to have some impact. Mallory comments follow:

Can Entrepreneurship be taught?

There are classes on it. Undergraduate institutions and MBA programs are offering concentrations in it. But is entrepreneurship being taught or are we simply learning about it? Learning the processes and the pitfalls. Learning how to develop ideas and where to locate resources. Learning how to write business plans. But in the country of the self-made man and the American dream, can we actually teach people entrepreneurship? Can we really teach people to be - not just how to be - entrepreneurs?
In October of 2007, Richard Goosen, CEO of M&A Capital Corp. and a professor of entrepreneurship at Trinity Western University in Vancouver, B.C., gathered a group of entrepreneurship experts in an attempt to answer this question. He came to the conclusion that several elements of entrepreneurship can be taught to enhance the knowledge and potential success of entrepreneurs. These include general business principles, general entrepreneurial principles, and being alert to entrepreneurial opportunities. In the end, however, Goosen believes that entrepreneurship can really only be learned by doing. Based on his research and conversations, he believes that the ability to understand and see specific niches in a market and recognize whether it will be successful or not is not something that can be taught. In other words, "You can't teach someone how to know what will work and what won't.”
To an extent, I largely agree with him. Yes, you can teach/learn general business and entrepreneurial principles. At least I certainly hope so, otherwise I’ve been wasting the last 2 years of my life pursuing an entrepreneurship concentration. And I also agree that you can’t teach people to know what will and what won’t work. I do believe, however, that you can teach people to be better equipped to recognize opportunities and ideas that will work and those that are destined for disaster. At the very least, you can teach people to recognize signs at various points in the entrepreneurial process that alert people when they are on track and when to abandon ship. If you tell people they can’t learn to be entrepreneurs, then they won’t be; but if you teach people the principles, equip them with the proper tools, and educate them to be more alert and responsive to the environment around them, then they will stand a better chance of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Can you teach people to be a successful entrepreneur without fail? No. But that’s true in any field. Can you teach them to know how to be a successful entrepreneur? Yes. And with proper training, encouragement, and motivation, they likely will be successful at some point and in some capacity of the entrepreneurial process.

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2007/sb20071025_812985.htm