Abstract:
Social entrepreneurship has become a global trend. In Egypt, the discourse of social entrepreneurship has started to attract attention of national and international development arms. With the increase in the numbers of social enterprises that work on offering educational services in Egypt, there was a need to explore their educational impact to better estimate their potentials as emerging kinds of social organizations. This study critically examines the issue of education-oriented social enterprises in Egypt. Methodologically, a qualitative embedded research design was employed; semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with six social entrepreneurs representing different enterprises, as well as three representatives from intermediary support organizations; and focus group discussions were conducted with a total of thirty students who were enrolled in three different enterprises. Findings of this research document the positive perceptions and potentials of social enterprises to enhance educational quality. However, in relation to educational equality in Egypt, the results suggest that profitable social enterprises may promote educational stratification among Egyptian students. The study also sheds light on the challenges facing social entrepreneurs and presents a critique of several methodological issues related to the entrepreneurial approach in providing social services.
