DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORKS: TRAINING GAPS, IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS, AND ALIGNMENT WITH PUBLIC POLICIES
Entrepreneurship education; Entrepreneurial competencies; Active learning methodologies; Educational public policies; Public education system.
The contemporary Brazilian labor market, characterized by high levels of informality, youth unemployment, and increasingly uncertain career transitions, has revealed limitations of the traditional educational model in preparing students to להתמודד complex economic, social, and professional challenges. In this context, entrepreneurship education emerges as a central strategy to foster protagonism, autonomy, and lifelong problem-solving skills. Accordingly, this study analyzes the development of entrepreneurial competencies within the public education systems of the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, identifying training gaps, implementation barriers, and the degree of alignment between educational practices and national public policies as well as international frameworks. The study adopts a qualitative–quantitative approach of an exploratory and descriptive nature, grounded in a convergent/triangulated mixed-methods research design. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected during training events conducted within the scope of entrepreneurship education programs promoted by the public education networks of the respective states, involving teachers, administrators, and students from basic and higher education. Data collection instruments include structured questionnaires based on the EntreComp Competence Framework, as well as semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and documentary analysis of guidelines such as the Brazilian National Common Curricular Base (BNCC). Preliminary analysis indicates the existence of misalignments between normative guidelines and everyday pedagogical practice, with a predominance of isolated initiatives dependent on external projects and structural limitations related to teacher training, school culture, and curricular integration. Active learning methodologies—such as workshops, challenges, educational games, hackathons, and ideathons—demonstrate high potential for developing competencies such as creativity, initiative, collaboration, and decision-making. However, their implementation still faces institutional and operational barriers. Overall, the findings highlight the need to systematize key training gaps, identify replicable best practices, and propose guidelines to strengthen public policies and pedagogical strategies aimed at entrepreneurship education in public schools. Such efforts contribute to students’ holistic development and to aligning Brazilian education with contemporary agendas of innovation, work, and sustainable development.