Abstract:

This study attempted to explore and understand the extent to which 21st-century skills becomes an integral part of entrepreneurship education (EE) with the aim of producing graduates who are not just primarily driven to start new ventures but also empowered and enabled to create entrepreneurial impact within organizations. The core of 21st-century skills is to transform individuals who can ‘use’ and ‘apply’ knowledge beyond the norms in the given authentic context. Entrepreneurship education embedded in 21st-century skills has become the focus of discussion in academia and public policy circle due to the evolving nature of the workplace. Entrepreneurship education that accelerates entrepreneurial activities in the community reflects the economic view of point (with entrepreneurship seen as a panacea to a range of economic problems, especially job creation). The later argument prevails in the policy and practices of entrepreneurship education. Furthermore, the convergence between the two highlights the debate on the development of indicators and benchmarks that aid the definition of entrepreneurship education.

This study undertook qualitative approach to investigate an extent to which 21st-century skills are developed particularly through entrepreneurship education from the viewpoint and experiences of students studying innovation & entrepreneurship major program in the business division at a Higher Education Institute. Due to a limited number of primary date resources, this study deployed purposive sampling whereby respondents were deliberately selected with a specific purpose in mind. In order to ensure right balance and breadth in terms of the type of respondents, only those students with CGPA 3.0 or above and currently in their third year of innovation & entrepreneurship major program were selected for this study. The aim of this study was not to provide a statistical analysis but to cast fresh light on the convergence between 21st-century skills and entrepreneurship education – a considerable topic that is in much need of exploration.

The findings of this study advocate that the students going through the process of experiential learning quickly realise and embark upon developing 21st-century skills. Creativity, critical thinking, leadership skills, empowerment and social relationship are the important themes emerged from this study that is conducive to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students and thus require experiential learning curriculum. In doing so, this study provides avenues for further development of entrepreneurship education, particularly the integration of 21st-century skills.

Keywords:

21st Century Skills, Entrepreneurship Education, Creativity, Human Capital.