Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Training in Technical and Vocational Education.

Overview & Synopsis

The increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship and self-employment training in vocational education and training (VET) worldwide was examined. Special attention was paid to the following themes: (1) the content and various concepts of entrepreneurship, including the distinction between external and internal entrepreneurship; (2) trends in entrepreneurship education in different countries, the implications of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, and the necessity of broad occupational skills and occupational mastery to education and learning in general; (3) the societal and education system contexts of entrepreneurship education; (4) problems of access to training and entrepreneurship as exemplified by the position of women; and (5) the future of entrepreneurship education in light of a critical examination of the emphases, contents, and goals of entrepreneurship education and a brief consideration of the challenge that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education present to educational institutions and the operation and organization of the public sector. It was concluded that, in general, the existing goals of entrepreneurship training place too much emphasis on the instrumental value of learning and knowledge and economic and material values. It was recommended that pedagogical approaches in VET be adjusted so as to enable teaching and learning fostering creative and innovative citizens who are able to employ themselves. (Contains 21 references.) (MN)