Acquisition of Entrepreneurial Skills and Competences: Curriculum Development and Evaluation for Higher Education

Abstract

Entrepreneurship higher education is aimed both at providing the students with knowledge bases and stimulating their entrepreneurial thinking. There is a need to rather develop the students’ general cognitions than their personal qualities. This is what forms the specialists who are ready for professional activity. In order to develop the education programs that fit actual economic requirements, the feedback needs to be obtained that includes the students’ self-evaluation of their entrepreneurial thinking level basing on the results of higher learning. The participants of the research were 513 fourth-year students in “Economy” and “Management” specialties from 5 universities of Kazan, Cheboksary, Ioshkar-Ola and Elabuga. The reasons for this choice include the following: high level of readiness for labor market; interest to practical tasks; attendance/desire to attend special courses. Through the preliminary questioning, the focus-groups were divided into two main categories: the students that already have practical experience and those ones that do not have the experience of professional activity. The participants were asked to fill in the questionnaires. The survey was carried out in a written form. The main purpose of the questionnaire was to compare the formation level of the qualities that were needed for entrepreneurial thinking among the students with/without practical experience. The working students are critical in relation to educational program and environment of their university as a formative factor of entrepreneurial thinking. More than 50% of the participants who work in their specialty believe that the new subjects need to be introduced into curriculum, 32% out of them combine learning with work and additional courses (trainings, seminars, etc.). Only 23% of the non-working students make similar decision, 54% view their knowledge and skills as sufficient, whereas 23% of the working students view their entrepreneurial thinking level as insufficient for a successful start. In the participants’ opinion, education programs that are used in universities where the research was carried out do not meet the students’ needs in the formation of entrepreneurial thinking. This point is the necessity to create and introduce a course that would serve as a coaching for the future entrepreneurs. The results of the research can be used by universities that train the specialists in “Economy” and “Management” specialties in order to develop the programs of the students’ entrepreneurial thinking formation.

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