Search Results (16)

Educational systems are increasingly required not only to innovate but to sustain innovation over time. While research on Change Laboratory (CL) interventions has extensively examined the development of new models and the emergence of transformative agency, less is known about how such agency is enacted through concrete actions in everyday practice. This study addresses this gap by examining consequential actions as expressions of entrepreneurial agency in the implementation of open work in a kindergarten following a CL intervention. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 17 staff members, the study adopts a theoretically informed inductive approach to identify types of agentive actions and interpret them in relation to EntreComp competences and activity system components. The findings show that entrepreneurial agency is a distributed and situated process enacted through coordinated material, relational, and organizational actions toward the tools and community, highlighting the importance of environmental reconfiguration and collaboration in sustaining change. The study also shows that agency is unevenly distributed across roles and that newcomers participate differently in the implementation process. Overall, sustaining educational innovation appears to depend less on the design of models than on the collective capacity to continuously enact and transform them in practice. Full article

Makerspaces are increasingly integrated into educational activities in both formal and nonformal contexts, from primary to higher education, particularly as interdisciplinary learning spaces that foster creativity and the “do-it-yourself” approach. Their hands-on approach stimulates agency, critical thinking, and innovation—competences closely tied to the entrepreneurship competence. However, empirical studies exploring the relationship between makerspaces and the development of entrepreneurship competence remain limited, often addressing only specific types of makerspaces or partial aspects of entrepreneurial competence. The aim of this study is to identify, based on a systematic literature review, if/how makerspaces contribute to developing entrepreneurial competences of students in secondary education. In total, 35 articles published in the last 10 years, indexed in ERIC, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, selected according to the PRISMA guidelines, met the inclusion criteria. The selected databases ensure both quality and broad coverage. The studies were analyzed using a structured framework based on four thematic categories: identity (makerspace as learning space influencing entrepreneurial competences), competence (focus on entrepreneurial competences), program (educational initiatives fostering entrepreneurial competences), environment (contextual factors shaping entrepreneurial competences in makerspaces). The findings reveal that the identity of makerspaces, characterized by values such as collaboration, valuing ideas, and hands-on learning, converges with the intentional design of learning environments and the structure of educational programs to foster entrepreneurial competences. Makerspaces were found to cultivate dimensions such as creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, initiative, and ethical thinking, all of which are listed as units of the entrepreneurial competence by EntreComp. The study concludes that makerspaces can act as effective pedagogical means for supporting entrepreneurial competence development. The results provide valuable insights and examples that can inform the design of future educational strategies and programs to promote entrepreneurship education and develop entrepreneurial competences in nonformal and formal learning settings acting as makerspaces. Full article

As the European Union advances its bioeconomy strategy, the agricultural sector emerges as a key domain requiring targeted upskilling in digital and entrepreneurial competencies. This study examines how agricultural professionals perceive the importance of these competencies and identifies related training needs, drawing on the European Commission’s Digital Competence Framework (DigComp) and Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp). Using a quantitative survey methodology, data were collected from 140 respondents, including farmers, agronomists, consultants, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, in four European countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden. Descriptive and non-parametric analyses (Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests) revealed strong recognition of digital competencies across all groups, with significant variation by country, while perceptions of entrepreneurial competencies differed mainly by professional role. Moreover, a significant lack of formal bioeconomy-related education was identified. The findings underscore the need for targeted, competence-based education and policy interventions to equip professionals with the skills required for a sustainable and innovation-driven agricultural sector. Full article

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Sibiu Impact Makers program, a 14-week social entrepreneurship initiative at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, which integrates Design Thinking to develop entrepreneurial competencies among students from the faculties of Economic Sciences, Engineering, as well as Social Sciences and Humanities. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study employed a pre-and-post-analysis based on the EntreComp Framework to assess changes in entrepreneurial competencies, revealing significant post-program improvements. To situate this research within the broader academic landscape, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify trends linking Design Thinking and entrepreneurial education. The findings indicate that the program enhances entrepreneurial skills, with impact variations tied to students’ learning styles, as classified by the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire. However, as a case study with a sample size of 58, findings may have limited generalizability. This research contributes to the discourse on personalized and experiential education, suggesting that integrating Design Thinking with tailored learning strategies can play a vital role in entrepreneurship education. Full article

Discussions about sustainability and entrepreneurship are often an “either/or” discourse. Many higher-education institutions offer sustainability education programs with the aim of enabling students to think and act sustainably without concrete tools for change. Similarly, many offerings in entrepreneurship fail to address sustainability issues. This article assumes a qualitative, constructivist, systems thinking approach to theorize and analyze the relationships between entrepreneurship and sustainability competencies and makes three contributions to theory and practice. First, it provides a thematic analysis of two important European competence frameworks—for sustainability (GreenComp) and entrepreneurial competencies (EntreComp)—and delineates their relationships. Second, through a case study of an experiential educational format, it offers three educational tools that integrate sustainability and entrepreneurial competencies. Third, it contributes to the growing field of research that combines sustainability and entrepreneurship education. The results of this paper are relevant for policymakers who want to combine sustainability and entrepreneurship in education, as well as for educators looking for methods to combine both competence frameworks. Full article

The objective of this study is to explore the interconnections among three pertinent topics in contemporary public policy, particularly within the European context: employability, entrepreneurship, and regional development. Initially, we conduct a bibliometric analysis to identify the primary trends in this field. Subsequently, we present and analyze a case study, namely the Innovation and Talent Retour Program (PIRT 2022), which is a public initiative aimed at attracting university graduates with prior international experience. This program is part of the Entrepreneurial Culture Programs offered by the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, located in Spain. By employing a questionnaire based on the EntreComp framework and involving a sample of university graduates’ beneficiaries of the program, we validate the measurement scale and investigate whether this project contributes to the development of entrepreneurial competencies among the participants. The insights gained from the obtained results inform future programs within the region, as well as other regions undergoing similar processes. This study delves into the theoretical and practical aspects of the role played by universities as key agents in fostering the sustainability of their respective territories. It is concluded that higher education must even assume a more proactive role in the future concerning the employability of its graduates and the overall development of the surrounding region in which it is located. Full article

The essence of Chinese entrepreneurship education is to build an “upgraded” version of higher education that can enable China’s modernization through innovations and the sustainable development of the planet, in order to comprehensively and scientifically measure the magnitude of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education for training the innovative talent, investigate the influencing factors of efficiency, and uncover the existing problems. This study was based on The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), conducting quantitative research on 606 typical students from 211 undergraduate universities in China who achieved recognition for entrepreneurship achievements at the provincial level or above. This study found that entrepreneurship education has a significant effect on students’ innovation and entrepreneurship literacy, and in descending order of effectiveness, it improves 15 literacies, such as initiative; these are categorized into three domains: innovative action, innovative resources, and innovative thinking. Meanwhile, the more in-depth the entrepreneurship education reform, the more significant the efficiency. Second, there are significant differences in efficacy against the background of different durations of participation, score rankings, and numbers of achievements. There are no significant differences in efficacy between different disciplines and educational backgrounds. Third, the experience of the project leader has a significantly positive effect on efficiency. The current lack of innovative team building is the main factor affecting the effectiveness of innovative talent training in China. Full article

Different studies highlight the importance of developing entrepreneurial competence (EC) from the earliest educational levels, as well as during the teacher training stages, as they are considered to be facilitating and transforming agents in the integral development of students. The purpose of this research is to analyse the self-perceived level of knowledge and implementation of EC among active teachers from non-university centres managed by the Sagrada Familia Foundation, Spain. After designing a questionnaire based, among others sources, on EntreComp and EntreCompEdu frameworks, an expert judgement was carried out. A total of 326 participants answered the questionnaire. The result show that more than 70% of respondents had not heard about EntreComp and EntreCompEdu; more than 50% had no knowledge of entrepreneurial education (EE); and the respondents as a whole stand out in terms of perseverance, motivation, autonomy, decision-making and teamwork; only 14–18% of respondents plan subjects that pay attention to ECs. Moreover, almost 50% of respondents state that they use participatory learning methodologies, while only 13% believe that when evaluating pupils’ performance, it is necessary to support sharing achievements and progress with internal and external agents; only a further 15% involve students in the assessment process. We must advocate and work for the development of ‘teacherpreneurs’, and start developing EC in all stages of teacher training. Full article

Entrepreneurship education is a recent field in education. From a field mainly related to small business, it is extended towards enhancement of students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and skills. It can support students in developing an independent and versatile way by growing the spirit of entrepreneurship. Developing entrepreneurship competence among students requires the mastery of concepts by teachers. Training teachers in entrepreneurship education helps them apply specific competences, methods, and tools to encourage confidence in learners’ own capabilities and to stimulate flexibility, leadership, and initiative. To understand the teachers’ entrepreneurial competence, an online survey was developed to assess the level of mastery of such competence in Albanian teachers. The survey was designed to analyze the development of entrepreneurial competence of teachers, and their entrepreneurship education and training. The research goal of the survey is to evaluate the influence mechanisms of gaining entrepreneurship education competence and the way of implementing this competence in pre-university education schools. Results from the questionnaire highlighted the teachers’ need for the acquisition of entrepreneurial competence at every professional level, starting from initial teacher education. The findings from the survey are analyzed by taking into consideration the European policies regarding entrepreneurship education, such as the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), and their implementation in the Albanian educational sector. Full article

The European Entrepreneurship Competence (EntreComp) framework has been proposed by the European Commission in order to build consensus around a common understanding of entrepreneurship competence (knowledge, skills, and attitude). This study reports a bibliometric review of the research to date, addressing the EntreComp framework, based on documents published during the period from 2016 to June 2022. The research dataset was collected from Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) and included 37 articles. The bibliometric analysis includes citation, cooccurence and network analysis to represent the between countries and interorganizational collaboration, to identify relationships between documents topics. Along with the bibliometric analysis, a detailed description of characteristics for each article (study design and objectives, instruments, research findings, etc.) was also presented. Overall, this study provides insights regarding research addressing EntreComp framework, that could guide future research directions of practitioners/policy makers/researchers/etc. in the entrepreneurial competencies field and other interconnected domains. Full article

The European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) offers a comprehensive description of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that people need to develop for an entrepreneurial mindset. The use of the framework as a self-assessment tool has garnered attention, but there is scarce presence of instruments that address the whole set of competencies proposed by Entrecomp. In view of the lack of specific tools, the objective of this research was to assess the evidence of validity and reliability of a new questionnaire. The sample was composed of 742 college students from several Spanish universities between 17- and 64-years-old, with 34.6% being men and 65.4% being women. To evaluate the validity based on relationships with other measures, the Entrepreneurial Intention and Entrepreneurial Self-Capital scales were also administered. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an internal structure made up of four dimensions: Ideas and Opportunities, Personal Resources, Specific Knowledge, and Into Action. The results showed satisfactory evidence of validity based on relationships with Entrepreneurial Intention and Entrepreneurial Self-Capital and good reliability. The questionnaire has good psychometric properties and can be an easy and useful tool for the self-assessment of entrepreneurial competencies within the EntreComp framework. Full article

Entrepreneurship competence is one of the eight key competences for promoting lifelong learning, employability, and ensuring success in the knowledge society. The main objective of this study is to analyse to what extent entrepreneurship competence, as contemplated in the main European reference frameworks (EntreComp and EntreCompEdu), is incorporated into the competences that make up pre-service teachers training degrees offered by Spanish Jesuit universities. A content analysis of 631 competences was carried out by means of an expert judgement. The results of the study allow us to conclude, among others, that: with the exception of Assessment (EntreCompEdu), the remaining areas of both frameworks are covered by 30% of the competences proposed by the universities; none of the universities incorporate the competences Motivation and perseverance, Financial and economic literacy and Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk of EntreComp, nor Checking and reporting on progress, Share feedback and Recognising progress and achievement of EntreCompEdu; the EntreComp competences Mobilising others, Planning and managing, and Working with others, and the EntreCompEdu Creating an empowering entrepreneurial learning environment are recognised the most; it is in the specific and general competences of the University of Deusto and Ramon LLull University that the above-mentioned competences are most frequently recognised. In conclusion, although there is still much to be done, entrepreneurship competence is included in initial teacher training at Jesuit universities in Spain. Full article

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals promote entrepreneurial competences as a means of supporting young people to innovate, start businesses, and create jobs. Furthermore, the European Union considers entrepreneurial skills to be essential in creating welfare and economic sustainability. Empowering individuals with entrepreneurship education, an entrepreneurial mindset and behaviors, are tools to develop human capital. This article explores how European policies can drive development of entrepreneurial competences by examining the case of the European Framework for Entrepreneurial Competences (EntreComp) and its integration into education and training development in different countries. With this research, we contribute education development from the practical point of view by analyzing how a cross section of actors, using EntreComp as a European framework for entrepreneurial competences, see that entrepreneurial learning has been realized and could be further supported in transnational education contexts. We will also expand the theoretical discussion of entrepreneurship education from the perspective of education sciences, as we have not previously obtained clarifying results or conclusions on how, for example, the educational change related to the development of entrepreneurship education should be implemented. The research data was collected through a case study, for which an online survey including both quantitative and qualitative approaches was conducted in 2020. Responses from 348 respondents from 47 countries were analyzed through an extended model for learning originally conceptualized by Shulman and Shulman (2004). The findings suggest that EntreComp has been widely recognized as a critical driver of competence in entrepreneurial education. However, a lack of shared vision and development of practice in the use of EntreComp can hinder the effective implementation of the framework. Thus, further support and guidance are needed in promoting the learning process of policymakers, educators, trainers, and other stakeholders, on both micro- and macro-level education design, to support successful adoption and adaptation of the policy-driven frameworks. Full article

Entrepreneurial intentions have been extensively studied, but little is known about the intended mode of entry into entrepreneurship and its antecedents. This study tests the utility of the theory of planned behavior in a new, more specific context, namely business takeover intentions. The impact of entrepreneurship competence on antecedents of takeover intentions is explored. Entrepreneurship competence is measured using a scale based on the EntreComp framework. Data (N = 1373) were gathered from two institutes of higher education in Finland and analyzed using logistic regression. The results show that the TPB can be useful in investigating takeover intentions. The subjective norm has a notable and direct effect on takeover intentions, but the effect of entrepreneurship competence is mediated by attitudes and perceived behavioral control. The effect of parental role models on takeover intentions is significant, although the study is not limited to family successions; gender is also significant. The results show that the relationship between takeover intentions, entrepreneurship competence, and family role models is a complex one. Future studies on entrepreneurial intentions should pay attention to the differences in antecedents of entry modes. Full article

Entrepreneurial skills and digital competence are two basic competences in people’s education in the 21st century. They are also transversal competences in university degrees. We carried out an analysis of European models, which suggest areas and indicators within these two competencies (entrepreneurial and digital), with the ultimate goal of elaborating an original model of digital entrepreneurship competence, which we have named EmDigital. This analysis was performed by means of a qualitative approach and the combination of documentary analysis techniques, focus-group discussion and expert judgement through the Delphi method in a sequence of four consecutive phases. The proposed EmDigital model encompasses 4 areas, 15 sub-competences and 45 indicators. This model will be useful for the design of descriptive types of tests and certification tests, as well as for the design of formative proposals both for professors and for students of higher studies. Furthermore, the model will lead to new lines of research in the area of competence-based training. Full article