Economic and Entrepreneurial Education in Romania in the European context

Abstract

Economic and entrepreneurial education in Romania represents both an absolute necessity at individual level, and an opportunity which requires to be followed in the present European context of an increasingly important role attributed to entrepreneurship. Economic education, if started at young ages, could contribute to better preparing the individual for an autonomous life, by endowing him or her with knowledge and abilities related to personal budget administration, better understanding of financial mechanisms, role and opportunity of credit and lending, efficiency of personal expenditure etc. Meanwhile, it is an opportunity in the present conditions, when a strong discussion of new curricular architecture has emerged. We strongly consider that economic and entrepreneurial education should be a mandatory study object. This opportunity is also a challenge, given the actual trend of global economic development, when the knowledge of the economic and entrepreneurial environment should become an activity of modelling individuals through different economic and entrepreneurial game scenarios, starting from the school age, as to eventually become a successful entrepreneur. We argue in this paper why Romania should benefit from this opportunity and align its curriculum to European standards and finally recognise the importance of economic education for promoting the welfare of our future society and educate individuals who are responsible for their decisions.

Keywords: Economic developmententrepreneurshipEurope 2020European Commissioncreative economic education

Introduction

The concept of education must be based upon a strong cooperation between educators and students,

by providing an academic mentorship able to come forward with new forms of education. Therefore we

strongly consider that economic and entrepreneurial education in the 21st century must not be an

optional subject in the secondary school curriculum, but rather a compulsory one from the earlier

possible level (i.e. secondary school) (Hatos & Saveanu, 2016), (Badulescu & Badulescu, 2014). In

Romanian present educational system, optional subjects are perceived as not necessary and redundant.

Therefore, we must consider the curriculum reform as a present opportunity, as something that we are

doing today for the future. What we are learning today at theoretical and educational level will act as a

strong foundation meant to lead to the creation of new entrepreneurs, whose role is to generate

economic growth and development. Economic and entrepreneurial education assimilated within the

educational system becomes at individual level, a possibility for self-management, for understanding

economic and financial mechanisms, from winning to losing and from winning to paying taxes.

Through the perspective of life lived in society, as Galbraith stated, “education makes democracy to

be possible and, together with the economic development, to become necessary, even unavoidable”

(Tasnadi et al., 2010). Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1981, p. 166) had a similar view: “a good education could

also solve another important problem that man has: what to do with himself once he starts produces

more than he consumes” or “education is one of the most important activities of humankind” (Szent-

Györgyi, 1981). Education is “neither mine, nor yours”, it belongs to the past, present and future, it is

within ourselves, from behaviour to solidarity. Therefore, education has to manifest itself permanently

and theory must be put into practice. There’s nothing more clear and appropriate nowadays in order to

become a compulsory subject than economic and entrepreneurial education taught in secondary school.

Today’s economy cannot be viewed without entrepreneurship, economy, marketing or management.

Besides the fact that it is crucial to economic growth and development, it contributes to the

development of self-consciousness and self-esteem, it encourages independence and leads to the

development of the abilities of taking decisions and it enables a proper climate for integration in a

successful business.

The content and role of the “Economic and Entrepreneurial Education” as subject in secondary school

Economy must not be seen as a simple notion over which we stumble daily. It is present in our

personal as well as social life. But we must focus on it in the future in order for it to have a well-

defined presence in the educational system, since it is a known fact that economy profoundly

influences our life ever since childhood. In order for the economic environment to be better understood

and supported, the deciding factors must tackle economy in the educational system. We define

education as a continuous process of education which contributes to the education of a person, to the

development of the society thanks to the work carried out, assimilated by some form of education.

Thinking about economy, savings, economical, we tend to think about money, remuneration, making

profit or calculating savings. From this perspective, we coined the notion of “economic education” and

we defined it as follows: “the educational institutional place called school where money should be

known under its virtual aspect, through different practical activities taking place in the classroom in

order for the pupils to better understand financial mechanisms in the future”. Through economic

education we create the conditions that young people to realize the value of money and the necessity of

respecting every amount of money obtained. Consequently, economic education plays an important

role in the development of the pupils’ way of thinking issues which depend on certain financial

mechanisms (e.g. selling, buying, earning, losing). Pupils must discover within themselves certain

economic skills that can be put into practice through different role plays, ever since the first level of

education (preparatory class). The educational economic project must be considered as a form of early

education, which will enable children to contribute to their own financial and economic support.

Economic education, declared by UNESCO as one of the new forms of education, makes the pupil

understand daily problems, identify solutions and evaluate the consequences of their personal

decisions, but also those of their parents or those taken by the authority. Economic and entrepreneurial

education constitutes itself in modern dimensions of education which influences the future

entrepreneur. It aims at an early formation of entrepreneurial knowledge which will, at some point,

have an impact on the economic and growth and development.

In this context, the main strategic targets of the economic and entrepreneurial education regard:

introducing economic topics through different role plays, starting with secondary school level, aiming

at the assimilation of information regarding the functioning of market mechanisms; familiarity with key

notions of economy; introductive notions of entrepreneurship as a way of economic support; the role of

work in the familial environment and elsewhere, a way of economic and familial support; an early

economic mentality, an advantage for the future entrepreneur; the development of the spirit of

initiative, encouraging an early entrepreneurial role; a chance for those who cannot continue university

studies, but have the abilities of becoming successful entrepreneurs; understanding the motivation

beneath carrying out a service; assuming the role of the decision maker; supporting a new generation

regarding economic thinking and assuming entrepreneurial roles.

Educating people, generally, and young people, particularly, in the spirit of the market economy, is

beneficial for everyday life, but also for their professional evolution, being an indirect preparation for

work and private initiative, and it helps personal and social development. The need for economic and

entrepreneurial education is a nowadays reality. The syllabuses concerning economic and

methodological education in our countries have been reconsidered and considerably improved from the

qualitative and methodological points of view, but there was no further interdisciplinary direction in the

post/secondary school education system. Not to mention the information content which is not suitable

for the class level intended for or the information is common to other subjects as well. Not lastly we

would like to reiterate the insufficient number of classes allotted for this subject (one hour per week). It

is completely insufficient, considering the importance of the economic subject. For high school and

vocational school, the educational framework mentions, within the “People and society” curricular

area, economic subjects such as: Economics, Entrepreneurial Education, Methods and Techniques of

Economic Analysis.

Therefore, economic and entrepreneurial education is shaped as a system with different components

demanding specific approaches, meant to offer to those with real entrepreneurial abilities, the necessary

information to achieve success. Indeed, even since 2006, the European Parliament and the Council

from 18 December 2006, proposed the Key Competences for Lifelong Learning – a European

Framework (Recommendation 2006/962/EC). It is recommended that the educational system be

centered on key-competences, which include entrepreneurship (the abilities of discovering, of team

work, of creating projects and taking decisions regarding the objectives of the project, risk taking in

different situations). But in order for the economic information to be easily assimilated in the academic

system, the post-secondary school education system must focus on the opportunity of introducing

economic classes in school as early as possible (secondary school).

The economic and entrepreneurship education from the European perspective

With a future perspective of the market economy in particular, economic education must be a

necessary and essential component of the socio-cultural environment, of the formation of all human

personalities and not lastly of their economic responsibilities. In this context, family life, as well as

activities belonging to all fields of the socio-economic life, without exception, must include, to a higher

or lesser degree, economic problems that must be known through some form of education and that must

significantly contribute to economic growth and development. Closely linked to this reality, it is

necessary to have a minimum of economic knowledge that must be taken into account in the

framework of the pupils’ economic educational system, regardless of the profession they will choose

after graduating from school or university. This kind of necessary knowledge belongs to fields such as:

political economy, national economy, economy and entrepreneurship, international economic relations,

economic competition, merchandise, goods and services, trade, marketing etc.

Consequently, several objectives set by the European Commission within the Europe 2020 strategy

(European Commission, 2010) are related with the economic education.

Regarding the entrepreneurship education, many experts agree that promoting entrepreneurship is

very important, as it generates prosperity in the business environment, leading to economic growth and

development, but also to the creation of new jobs. Entrepreneurial education at all levels, i.e. secondary

school, high school, university and long-life learning, has a major role in acquiring key entrepreneurial

competences. According to a recent study of the European Commission, entrepreneurial education has

a positive impact on the entrepreneurial spirit of the young generation, on the attitude and availability

for private initiative and finally on its role in society and economy (European Commission, 2012a).

Entrepreneurial education represents a major topic for the European Union, being sustained by the

policies developed in the last decade. In Europe, an important role in entrepreneurial education is

played by the governments, by the different organizations, institutions, associations. The

entrepreneurial activity is not considered a professional option by the majority of the population, not

being fully aware of the importance of entrepreneurial education. Moreover, there is an entrepreneurial

common action plan in Europe. It proposes three areas of immediate intervention (European

Commission, 2012b): entrepreneurial education and training to support growth and business creation;

strengthening framework conditions for entrepreneurs by removing existing structural barriers and

supporting them in crucial phases of the business lifecycle; dynamising the culture of entrepreneurship

in Europe: nurturing the new generation of entrepreneurs.

The development of entrepreneurial education was one of the key elements of the policy of

entrepreneurial education in the last years, on a legislative level in the European Union, according to

legislative documents. In 2000, the European Charter for Small Enterprises drew attention to the

general and specific modules of business and entrepreneurship which must be taught at all levels of

education.The Lisbon Special European Council (http://www.eso.org/~cmadsen/EiFSPP.pdf) has

identified the necessary components of a knowledge based economy as follows: the technology of

information and communication, the technological culture, entrepreneurship, foreign languages, social

abilities. Moreover, European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and

entrepreneurship stated: “To make it very clear: more entrepreneurs mean more jobs, more innovation

and more competitiveness” (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-12_en.htm.).

With this background, European Commission has undertaken a plan which is mainly aimed at

increasing and encouraging young entrepreneurs, operating in six key areas, i.e.: access to finance,

assistance, taking advantage of the business opportunities of the digital area, the simplified transfer of

ownership, a second chance after bankruptcy, administrative simplification.

As mentioned, entrepreneurship education is considered as an engine for inclusive and sustainable

growth, but it is also being increasingly promoted in most European countries. As revealed by studies

and reports published by the European Commission, eight countries (i.e. Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania,

the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Wales and the Flemish part of Belgium) have launched specific

strategies to promote entrepreneurship education, while 13 others (Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech

Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and

Turkey) include it as part of their national lifelong learning, youth or growth strategies. Moreover, half

of European countries are engaged in a process of educational reforms which include the strengthening

of entrepreneurship education (Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe National Strategies,

Curricula and Learning Outcomes, 2012). Several studies of Eurydice (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-

release_IP-12-365_en.htm.) showed that many countries have already implemented national/regional

strategies and initiatives for integrating the entrepreneurship education within the general education

(ISCED 1-3). Unfortunately, Romania is among the few countries in Europe where entrepreneurship

education is regarded as an activity in phase of initiative, while in some countries entrepreneurship is

part of an educational strategy much larger, and it is even part of the general education.

Entrepreneurship is an essential condition of economic growth and development. The European

Union, under pressure due to the going of the global economy, in order to increase the social dynamism

so it can still remain between communities with a high standard of living initiated major priority

programs for developing entrepreneurship education in all countries including Romania.

Entrepreneurship education in Romania is performed through both formal curriculum/official

curriculum and through informal/non-formal. The current economy cannot be conceived without

entrepreneurship and the future will be marked by a more powerful development of it. Sense for

initiative and entrepreneurship can be formed through education. The study on the impact of the

entrepreneurship education on skills and entrepreneurial intentions is becoming increasingly important

in the curriculum centring on the eight key competences recommended, used and agreed by the Council

and The Parliament of the European Union.

Conclusions

As it can be deduced from the above context, both the economic education and the entrepreneurship

should be a national priority to education, taking into account the trend of socio-economic development

of the EU. We strongly believe that economics and entrepreneurship must be more than a theoretical

concern, one rather based on its applicability of the theory in practice, from the lowest possible level of

education (ISCED 1 + 2 + 3), having the obligation to continue with the other possible levels that

learners could cope with. We cannot hope to a better future unless we think to the opportunities of the

future, by providing labour force that relies on a creative economic education, by simulating

educational games with undertaking economic and entrepreneurial risk, games in which they could

even be the managers of a company. We almost always hear of solidarity within various actions,

activities, events (desired or undesired). But what should we do to become more sympathetic to

economic education, to lobby for it to become a compulsory subject, to change the trend of the

education system in terms of the subjects, the number of hours allocated, teaching methods, content

etc., to convince political deciders that it the only way of growth and development the economy has

relies in education. The educational system teaches you how read, to reckon, but which should teach

you how to prevent an economic-financial- entrepreneurial failure through various game scenarios,

before making a hasty decision on economy. Of course, the role of the state in economy should be of

encouraging, supporting, monitoring young entrepreneurs, even by providing mentoring opportunities

to start entrepreneurial career, issue which unfortunately in Romania seems not to be, or is really not

promoted, where if in the first month or in early years the young entrepreneur makes a mistake, he or

she “is charged with two hands”, which is taken from the craving of “a second chance”. Certainly, if

within the classes of economic - financial – entrepreneurial education, by the familiarization of some

legislative packages both in terms of rights and obligations of the young entrepreneurs, would come

from the education system, national economy as a whole would be the first beneficiary and would

ensure economic growth and development of that country.

References

  1. Badulescu, D., & Badulescu, A. (2014). Managing Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education Institutions: An Empirical Study-Case on Romanian Master Students in Business Administration. International Scientific Conference Management 2014, Belgrade, 25-26 April 2014, ISBN 978-86-6375-011-1, http://www.mest.meste.org/MEST_2_2014/Sadrzaj_eng.html
  2. Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe National Strategies, Curricula and Learning Outcomes (2012), Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, Brussels, http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/135en.pdf.
  3. European Commission - Press release: Entrepreneurship education on the increase, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-365_en.htm.
  4. European Commission - Press release: Unleashing Europe's entrepreneurial potential to bring back growth, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-12_en.htm.
  5. European Commission (2010). Europe 2020. A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Brussels, 3.3.2010 COM (2010) 2020, http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/COMPLET%20EN%20BARROSO%20%20%20007%20-%20Europe%202020%20-%20EN%20version.pdf.
  6. European Commission (2012a). Effects and impact of entrepreneurship programmes in higher education.
  7. European Commission (2012b). Entrepreneurship 20120 Action Plan. Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe, p. 5, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0795:FIN:en:PDF.
  8. Hatos, R., & Saveanu, T. (2016). Are economic studies graduates under-employed? A skills mismatch study. Oradea Journal of Business and Economics, 1(1), 27-37.
  9. Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning [Official Journal L 394 of 30.12.2006].
  10. Szent-Györgyi, A. (1981). Pledoarie pentru viaţă. Bucureşti: Editura Politică.
  11. Tasnadi, A., et al. (2010). The economical education from the perspective of the fulfilment of life. Annals of the “Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu-Jiu, Letters and Social Sciences Series, 1, 51-66.
  12. Towards a Europe of Knowledge and Innovation World-class research as the centrepiece of the knowledge-based economy Perspectives from the EIRO forum on Europe’s route towards the Lisbon targets, http://www.eso.org/~cmadsen/EiFSPP.pdf.

Copyright information

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

About this article

Publication Date

04 October 2016

eBook ISBN

978-1-80296-014-3

Publisher

Future Academy

Volume

15

Print ISBN (optional)

-

Edition Number

1st Edition

Pages

1-1115

Subjects

Communication, communication studies, social interaction, moral purpose of education, social purpose of education

Cite this article as:

Csaba,  ., Badulescu, A., & Cadar, O. (2016). Economic and Entrepreneurial Education in Romania in the European context. In A. Sandu, T. Ciulei, & A. Frunza (Eds.), Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty, vol 15. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 239-245). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.09.31