Ambidexterity: the essence of entrepreneurial competencies and its non-formal learning

Abstract

Despite the worldwide increase in entre­preneurship education offered at univer­sities, there is an ongoing debate whether and under which conditions this type of education contributes to foster students’ entrepreneurial competencies. There is no consensus on what entrepreneurial com­petencies means, neither on the charac­teristics of the pedagogical interventions needed, especially on what refers to the measurement of these interventions. This paper argues that universities need to de­velop learning environments in the context of non-formal education. Non-formal ed­ucation is proposed to fit better with the enhancement of entrepreneurial compe­tencies, as it offers the flexibility required to facilitate experimentation and to allow students to gather entrepreneurial experi­ence. Additionally, in this paper arguments are developed to show how formative evaluation systems suit entrepreneurial pedagogic interventions. Therefore, a com­prehensive proposal that facilitates the ac­quisition of entrepreneurial competencies, the main pedagogical characteristics that should inspire the different educational programs and their relationships with the different types of entrepreneurial compe­tencies are exposed. The article ends with the design of a formative evaluation system that highlights the importance of reflection as an element of the evaluation process and the entrepreneurial learning process.

Keywords

• competencias emprendedoras
• competencias ambidextras
• evaluación de competencias
• educación no formal
• evaluación formativa