Digital tools in shaping entrepreneurial competence of teachers: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Entrepreneurial competence is one of the key competencies for teachers in the 21st century. In the context of Ukraine’s post-war economic recovery, its development is particularly relevant, as teachers play a leading role in implementing economic strategies into the educational system and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in the younger generation. Entrepreneurial competence entails a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the successful implementation of innovative ideas, initiation of positive changes, and effective management of educational projects. Teachers with well-developed entrepreneurial competencies can create curricula that promote students’ acquisition of innovative approaches to solving economic problems, preparing them for future professional activities and enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the labor market. At the European level, several key documents have been adopted that define the importance of entrepreneurial competence for teachers and provide recommendations for its development. In particular, in 2015, the UN adopted the “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” with global goals for entrepreneurship development. The European Commission issued the report “Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe” (2022) with recommendations to integrate entrepreneurial education into curricula and develop teachers’ entrepreneurial competencies. In 2016, the “EntreComp: The European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework” was developed, detailing its components for creating curricula. The EU Council’s recommendations “Key Competences for Lifelong Learning” (2018) identify entrepreneurial competence as one of the eight key competencies for modern individuals. In Ukraine, there are no separate documents directly addressing teachers’ entrepreneurial competence yet, but it is mentioned as necessary for pedagogical staff in several key documents. In particular, in the Law “On Education”, the Concept “New Ukrainian School”, and the Professional Standards for the professions “Primary School Teacher”, “Teacher of General Secondary Education Institution”, and “Head of General Secondary Education Institution”. An important challenge is the implementation of practical measures at all levels of education for the development of digital tools for fostering entrepreneurial competence in both teachers and students.