(L)earning project
(L)earning started in 2006 as a project funded by the Dutch Ministry of
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Within this project there is a
cooperation between all Dutch higher agricultural educational
institutes: the Professional Universities:
CAH Dronten,
Has Den Bosch,
Stoas Hogeschool,
Van Hall/Larenstein,
InHolland Delft and the
University of Wageningen.
The goal of the project is to improve the
entrepreneurship programs of the Dutch agricultural education as well as
the training for teachers and coaches within these programs. Therefore,
we found inspiration at foreign countries which have a lot of experience
with entrepreneurship education.
Out of our research we distracted 12 interesting activities which could
be used in giving shape to entrepreneurship education. In order to
support teachers in choosing which of these activities fit most within
their specific context and situation, we currently are developing a
Decision Tool. Via a series of questions, a teacher or developer will
get advise which activity to chose given a certain educational context.
As soon as this Tool is finished, it will be placed on this website.
Entrepreneurship & Education
The increasing globalisation and structural changes currently taking place in the economy ask for a growing need of entrepreneurship in order to meet the needs of the market (Leffler&Svedberg, 2005). Especially in The Netherlands, there are concerns about the competitiveness of the Dutch economy, mainly caused by a lack of enterprising spirit (Onstenk, 2003). Economically, entrepreneurship is seen as a source of flexibility and innovation and a key factor in job creation. But on an individual level, entrepreneurship can also serve to fulfil individual needs for personal development. The efforts of improving the status of entrepreneurship also influence the educational field and the awareness has grown that entrepreneurship should be fostered already in early stages of education (Holmgren & From, 2005, Peterman & Kennedy, 2003). Recent years there is growing attention on investigating which elements are important in entrepreneurial learning processes and how these processes could be supported. This can be seen as a reaction to several economical developments like the growing orientation towards a free market economy and privat ownership and the increasing complexity of the economy, which requires innovations on system level. A high level of entrepreneurship is also important to stand up with the international competition. Even though the awareness education should pay attention to developing entrepreneurial and entrepreneurship competences amongst students, developing teaching strategies and learning environments to enhance this process seems difficult.
Many studies, theories and opinions are developed on which competences are important when it comes to entrepreneurship education. Man et al. (2002) divided sets of entrepreneurial competencies found in different empirical studies into six competence clusters:
- 1. Opportunity competencies
Competencies related to recognizing and developing market opportunities through various means. - 2. Relationship competencies
Competencies related to person-to-person or individual-to-group-based interactions, e.g., building a context of cooperation and trust, using contacts and connections, persuasive ability, communication and interpersonal skill. - 3. Conceptual competencies
Competencies related to different conceptual abilities, which are reflected in the behaviors of the entrepreneur, e.g., decision skills, absorbing and understanding complex information, and risk-taking, and innovativeness. - 4. Organizing competencies
Competencies related to the organization of different internal and external human, physical, financial and technological resources, including team-building, leading employees, training, and controlling. - 5. Strategic competencies
Competencies related to setting, evaluating and implementing the strategies of the firm. - 6. Commitment competencies
Competencies that drive the entrepreneur to move ahead with the business.
Within our project we use this division in competences for defining a general context to work with.
References:
- Holmgren, C.& From, J. (2005). Taylorism of the Mind: entrepreneurship education from a perspective of educational research. European Educational Research Journal, 4(4): 382-390
- Lefler E. & Svedberg, G. (2005). Enterprise Learning: a challenge to education? European Educational Research Journal, 4(3)
- Man, T.W.Y., Lau, T. and Chan, K.F. (2002). The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises- A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies. Journal of Business Venturing 17, 123-142.
- Onstenk, J. (2003). Entrepreneurship and vocational education. European Educational Research Journal, 2 (1), 74-89)
- Peterman, N.E.& Kennedy J. (2003). Enterprise Education: Influencing students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28(2):129-144
