Abstract:

The development of entrepreneurial capacity is one of the key policy objectives for the EU and Member states. In order to provide shared definition of the entrepreneurship as a competence, as well as to raise consensus among all stakeholders and to establish a bridge between the worlds of education and work, the EntreComp framework was developed and established. However, of a great importance for the quality and success of the development of entrepreneurial capacities in the EU is the level of entrepreneurial development of the teachers and other educators in both, formal and informal educational sectors.

This research aimed to investigate the needs and requirements among the teachers and educators, which will serve for the development of a competence-based framework outlining the skills that teachers can use to facilitate entrepreneurial learning in the classroom, supporting by extensive user testing with learners, teachers, leaders, community and business. For this purpose, the quantitative research methodology consisted of online questionnaire was designed and implemented among the educators from primary and secondary schools in four European countries: United Kingdom, Belgium, Republic of Macedonia and Spain. The focus of the survey was targeted to assessing different factors/options for continuing professional development and the current level of development of the entrepreneurial competences listed in the EntreComp framework among the respondents’ learners.

The collected dataset was analysed from two perspectives. Firstly, the country-specific responses were observed separately and comparatively among different countries. Secondly, the answers were classified according to the role of the respondents in the educational systems, and relevant role-specific findings were brought to light for the role categories that were represented with significant number of respondents.

The results revealed interesting country-specific and sector-specific conclusions that will provide useful recommendations and advices in the transformation of the EntreComp framework to the EntreCompEdu professional entrepreneurial skills framework. The application of the EntreCompEdu framework to the educational sector in the European modern societies will drive them in their strategic exertions for building creative and entrepreneurial mindsets and bridging in real-life context with the teaching.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial educators, primary and secondary education entrepreneurial competences.