Literacia empreendedora

: impacto da implementação de um programa de empreendedorismo na escola

Abstract

This research aims at analyzing and evaluating the impact of implementing, among secondary school students, a program to promote entrepreneurial skills developed in school context - “Empreendedorismo e capacitação de jovens” - particularly in relation to the dimensions of entrepreneurial literacy and the construction of meanings about entrepreneurship. The study involved 346 secondary school students who were attending the 10th form of regular and professional education in four schools in the district of Porto. It was used a quasi-experimental methodology, and both the experimental group and the control group, were assessed before and after the implementation of the program. The results show that the implementation of the program has many significant effects on the level of the entrepreneurial literacy of these young students, acting at the same time at the level of construction of the meaning of entrepreneurship, making it more elaborated and associated to personal and social characteristics. In the pre-test we realized that in what concerns the entrepreneurial literacy there were significant differences between those students whose parents run a business and those who don’t and in the pos-test we realized that there were differences between boys and girls and those who have a bank account of their own and those who haven’t. The main conclusions of this study lead us to the identification of a new concept, the entrepreneurial literacy, which should be included in future programs of entrepreneurship in schools. On the other hand, we stress the importance of replication of these programs in schools in order to enable young people to develop skills and, above all, a true entrepreneurial attitude in today's society, ensuring, thus, a better adaptation and integration.

Date of Award	8 Jul 2013
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Lurdes Veríssimo (Supervisor)