Social entrepreneurship education is promising to foster entrepreneurial intentions and inspire vocational learners to tackle societal challenges by applying sustainable business models. Challenge-based Learning is an innovative approach for social entrepreneurship education as it encourages learning while working on real-world challenges addressing societal issues. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence for Challenge-based Learning in the context of vocational education and training. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the design of Challenge-based Learning courses for social entrepreneurship education in vocational education and evaluate their potential to contribute to changing entrepreneurial intentions. N = 44 vocational students in three Challenge-based Learning-oriented social entrepreneurship courses were surveyed using standardized scales in a longitudinal design. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, a mixed ANOVA, and hierarchical linear regressions. Differences in Challenge-based Learning implementation mainly concern the authenticity and complexity of the challenge as well as external stakeholder involvement. Differences in entrepreneurial intentions between courses were only significant after the course. Only participants in course 3 reported a statistically significant increase in entrepreneurial intentions. Beyond course membership, only previous entrepreneurial intentions explained incremental variance. To sum up, Challenge-based Learning shows potential to foster entrepreneurial intentions, but more research on the design of interventions and specific adaptations for the vocational education context is needed. © The Author(s) 2025.
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