Innovation and entrepreneurship education and its implications for human capital development in China

Education plays a fundamental role, through human capital development, in building the innovation capability and ultimately sustainable economic performance and competitiveness of a nation. In its effort to catch up and increase China’s global competitiveness, the Chinese government has embarked on an ambitious development program in recent decades and treats the educational transformation as part of China’s broader development strategy underpinned by innovation. This chapter examines the role of the state in education reform to raise the creativity and innovation capacity of the nation. It discusses characteristics and pitfalls of creativity/innovation education and entrepreneurship education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels with reference to teaching objectives, mechanisms/techniques, and effectiveness. It also proposes a number of suggestions for key stakeholders to develop an integrated and effective system of innovation and entrepreneurship education to meet various needs of individuals, communities, and society.