Entrepreneurial Skills – a Pathway to Sustainable Social Innovations?

Abstract

Along with globalization processes and adjustments – social and environmental problems that are challenging global sustainability in the labor market and society, it’s essential to ask whether the demand for education is also changing? Having regard to the fact that in 2015 United Nations (UN) member states adopted the 17th Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) to address global challenges and emphasized the importance of quality education in Sustainable Development Goal 4 and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries have long recognized the need to develop skilled people through education. As they strive to find new sources of growth to underpin a solid and sustainable future, it is crucial to understand the best ways to advance social innovation, which is key to solving these increasing demands in the entrepreneurial process. It can manifest itself in various elements of pedagogical work. The study conducted content analysis to find out how social innovations and entrepreneurial skills show in the experience of four academic representatives of educational sciences to analyze various perspectives and opportunities of social innovation implementation by promoting entrepreneurial skills. To reach the aim of the research, three following questions were asked: How has the meaning of social innovation in the educational sciences changed since 2015, when UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development goals (SDGs)? What entrepreneurial skills help implement social innovation in the educational sciences? What are the most critical factors for the sustainable social innovations implemented in the educational sciences? The study results reveal diverse and ordinary comprehensions depending on professional academic experience, which has been listed and analyzed through the theories of social innovation.