LEARNING ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCES: PARADOXES IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

Resumo

 The purpose of the longitudinal study was to ascertain to what extent students’ entrepreneurial competences developed on the degree programme. The study examined the perceptions of the students by mixing different research methods. The findings indicated that the learning objectives of the degree programme are realistic for the first-year students to be achieved. There lies the first paradox: self-regulation in learning is expected, yet the students may lack the abilities for self-directed learning and meta-cognitive learning strategies. Secondly, use of creativity is expected to some extent, yet the students are not sufficiently encouraged and supported by teachers. Thirdly, the entrepreneurial attitudes of the students were quite positive, yet the attitudes remained stable or declined during studies. Forthly, the programme had a positive influence on the development of business competences, but not on entrepreneurial intention. It can be concluded that there is a need for changes in pedagogy and learning environment, if the aim is to promote the entrepreneurial competences of students more and increase their new business creation.