Theoretical Basis for Creation of a Model of Potential for Entrepreneurship Competencies

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical basis for a model of potential for entrepreneurship competencies. Recently more stress has been put on a support of entrepreneurship during the school age in the context of the effort to educate “new wave of entrepreneurs” through supporting entrepreneurship competencies of young people. Entrepreneurship education is nowadays understood as an indispensable part of many government actions of EU countries. However, there exist no precise definition of current practice in entrepreneurship education and there can be found a wide range of different methodologies which differ between individual countries as well as within them, where they differ in relation to individual educational facilities. So-called entrepreneurship competencies have become a key term and they can be defined as knowledge, skills and attitudes which influence willingness and ability to carry out business activities and creating new value, and which can be measured directly or indirectly and improved through education. Currently, there exists a range of concepts of entrepreneurship competencies focusing predominantly on adult (already self-employed) population and they fall within one of the two main trends in understanding these competencies—as innate personal characteristics and as skills which can be acquired through education and experience. Based on the current knowledge we defined our own modified theoretical model of potential for entrepreneurship competencies. The model includes three main dimensions with a range of sub-factors—attitudinal competencies (e.g. self-esteem, ability to tolerate ambiguity instead of control), behavioural competencies (e.g. persistence, initiative, creativity, risk capacity) and management skills (e.g. systematic planning, communication skills, ability to solve problems). The focus is mainly on the question of potential for entrepreneurship competencies, which are developmentally adequate for pupils of a lower-secondary level, and which create space for the development of entrepreneurship competencies as such later in life.