This study aims to analyze and compare students’ perceived mastery of their reasoning-for-complexity competency (sometimes called complex thinking or complex reasoning) and its sub-competencies in entrepreneurship and engineering programs in a higher education institution. The objective of this analysis was to prove that entrepreneurship is a valid discipline for developing scientific thinking in its training programs, on par with its development in STEM areas, particularly engineering education.
This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional analysis of the responses of 230 students of entrepreneurship and engineering at a private university in Mexico concerning their perceived achievement of reasoning-for-complexity competency and its sub-competencies (systemic thinking, critical thinking and scientific thinking). This study used a structured questionnaire instrument. This study compared the differences between the means of two independent groups, validated through a statistical Student’s t-test.
The results indicated that reasoning for complexity is a relevant component in entrepreneurship and engineering education. Students perceived mastery of scientific thinking sub-competency higher in entrepreneurship than in engineering, particularly regarding skills and attitudes. The results for critical and systemic thinking showed no significant differences.
This study suggests that developing scientific thinking in entrepreneurship training could strengthen the capacities and skills of students in educational institutions in countries like Mexico. Furthermore, entrepreneurship with the scientific method in the training processes may enable students to approach complex scenarios and devise scientifically validated solutions.
By addressing scientific thinking as a sub-competency of reasoning-for-complexity in entrepreneurship education, this paper advances the concept that scientific thinking can be a strength in entrepreneurship education. This study provides a basis for scaling the reasoning-for-complexity competency, especially scientific thinking in various disciplines, particularly in a cross-disciplinary setting like entrepreneurship education.
