Entrepreneurship education – the way to reach active citizenship

Entrepreneurship education – the way to reach active citizenship

One of tourism education's chief objectives must be the ability to bring forth progressive social change. Our economies tend to grow from employee societies to entrepreneurs societies where autonomous and independent business activity is required of the individuals. Universities' fundamental role is to educate and train young generations capable of adapting to the changing world around them and to acquire the attitude of autonomous entrepreneurs. The inclusion of entrepreneurship skills and competencies – namely, autonomy, creativity, the ability to innovate and future orientation - in the curriculum can make a difference in how young people adapt to change.
Entrepreneurs, creating value that is not only economic, but also social - are significant pillars of civil societies. In their role as financiers and organisers they can impersonate the active citizen and therefore become role models for ambitious youth.
Universities' responsibility to society at large is to educate and train generations of active citizens. Active citizenship education is especially important in societies where the practice of democratic participation is unsatisfactory or missing, like in the case of Central and Eastern Europe. Engagement of students can be enhanced by entrepreneurship education in as much as it serves as a tool and method to introduce and spread proactive and autonomous behaviour, future orientation and abandon passivity, so frequent in societies with democratic deficit. 'Proactivity involves taking the initiative to address problems in one's service domain and a commitment to excellence in one's domain of expertise.' (TEFI White Paper 2008, p.16). Active citizenship education could contribute to TEFI objectives by integrating it to stewardship value pillar that incorporates sustainability, responsibility and service to the community.

Before designing an appropriate curriculum incorporating active citizenship, it is worth while exploring the attitude and perception of tourism students. This paper will look at the perception and assessment of active citizenship and of the figure and status of entrepreneur. It is important to understand what the students think about active citizenship, to what extent is this notion familiar to them and for those that are aware of the term – do they practice it? Initially, the pilot survey was carried out among tourism and hospitality undergraduates in the Budapest Business School, but will be extended internationally to cover a wider population of tourism undergraduates.