La competencia emprendedora en la educación obligatoria

Abstract

Introduction. Since the approval of Organic Law 2/2006, of May 3, on Education, key competencies have acquired an essential role in the Spanish educational system. With the publication of the new regulation, eight competencies are established, among which is the entrepreneurial competence. This competence is one of the most unknown due to its disconnection from specific areas or subjects and its marked transversal nature and, at the same time, one of the most important at an international level given the capacity for flexibility and initiative required in the current society. Its multidimensionality supposes a great difficulty to implement it in educational centers. For this reason, teachers must receive the information and training necessary to promote this competence in the classroom, being able to count on the support of the school counselor whose functions include advising schools on methodological innovation. Objective. The doctoral thesis focuses on analyzing the concept of entrepreneurship and the profile of teachers who promote it in the classroom, emphasizing the contribution of the school counselor for its promotion. Methodology. The research design of this doctoral thesis is mixed, combining interdependent studies of a qualitative type (studies 1, 3.1 and 3.2) and of a quantitative type (study 2). In the first study, a systematic review of academic articles on the concept of entrepreneurship and its practical application in educational centers is carried out. In the second study, the profile of teachers that favors entrepreneurial competence is analyzed using the information provided in the TALIS 2018 study on teaching practices. Given the need detected in previous studies for more advice to teachers in skills training, especially in Primary Education, the third study, resorts to the opinion of the counselors of this educational stage as professionals who support centers in educational innovation. Thus, in the third study, firstly, an analysis of the regulations that regulate the organization of educational guidance in Primary Education in Spain is carried out in order to outline the types of services for, in a second phase, select an Autonomous Community characterized by having counselors who attend several schools (Castilla y León), from external bodies to the centers, to find out if this structure affects their counseling capacity. In this context of limited availability of counselors in schools, 7 counselors were interviewed to find out their role and real possibilities in practice to promote the development of entrepreneurial competence in Primary Education. Conclusions. The concept of entrepreneurship covers many contents that can be divided into three groups: generation of ideas and products, the entrepreneurial process and transversal capacities. Entrepreneurship is developed to a greater extent in the Secondary Education stage, in social science subjects, and the main difficulties in its promotion are defined as the lack of teacher training and resources, lack of time, lack of planning and difficulties in its evaluation. The variables that most influence the promotion of entrepreneurship in the classroom would be teacher training, the innovative character of teachers and an adequate disciplinary climate in the classroom. The school counselor is the key figure in advising teachers on methodological innovation. For this reason, the contribution of the school counselors of the Early Childhood and Primary Education centers about the promotion of this competence is deepened. It is concluded that, of the different models of guidance organization in Spain, the model of external services to educational centers makes it difficult for the counselor to be available at the center. The counselors interviewed consider that, together with other members of the educational community and institutions, they are qualified to advise teachers in the development of entrepreneurial competence, but, for this, it would be recommended that they form part of the educational center. In this way, they could develop all the functions assigned to them, being able to implement those more linked to counselling, dynamization and educational innovation. This recommendation has important implications for the management of educational guidance by the regional administrations. In addition, the leadership of the management team in the centers as a facilitator of innovative proposals appears as a key element of a change of model towards competency learning.