Motives of Social Entrepreneurship in the EU’s Education and Enlightenment Field

This study examines the motives (reasons) of social entrepreneurship in the field of education and enlightenment of the European Union. We used the methodology of collective case study to answer the research questions. Our final sample includes seven social enterprises which work at different levels (from European to local) and in different EU countries. We identified the following motives of social entrepreneurship in the field of education in the EU: 1) the desire to change society; 2) self-realization; 3) networking; 4) personal life situation; 5) access to funding and grant support. These motives in general (without details) are identical to the well-known motives of social entrepreneurship. A detailed analysis of the motives of social entrepreneurship in the field of education and enlightenment of the EU allowed us to identify its distinctive features (that are determined by the field of activity), namely: the motive to change society by means of education and art; the motive of self-realization by means of the acquisition or implementation of professional experience in the field of education and enlightenment; the motive of networking by means of the inclusion of educational institutions, students, pupils, teachers; the motive of networking by means of the involvement of children and youth as key participants and volunteers; personal life situation as a motive was often associated with obtaining education and new knowledge in difficult socioeconomic circumstances in the past. The studied social enterprises belong to the EU that has an influence on the studied motives: the desire to change society by means of education and introduction of the European Union’s fundamental values; the motive of state funding and grant support by means of access to the European funds. This study has its limitations being a collective case of seven non-profit organizations engaged in social and entrepreneurial activities in the field of education and enlightenment. These organizations operate at different levels (from European to local), but the case does not cover all the EU countries and at the same time does not show the specifics of particular countries that may become directions for future research. This study also has limitations imposed by the qualitative approach methodology. The obtained results can be used to conduct a quantitative study in the future with a survey of social entrepreneurs in the field of education and enlightenment in the EU. *The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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