Revista
de la
Universidad
del Zulia
Fundada en 1947
por el Dr. Jesús Enrique Lossada
NÚMERO ESPECIAL
DEPÓSITO LEGAL ZU2020000153
Esta publicación científica en formato digital
es continuidad de la revista impresa
ISSN 0041-8811
E-ISSN 2665-0428
Ciencias
de la
Educación
Año 12 N° 35
Noviembre - 2021
Tercera Época
Maracaibo-Venezuela
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Professional training of Economics students in higher educational
institutions through the development of entrepreneurial climate
Nadiia Yu. Pikulina*
Dmytro M. Samoilenko**
Yuliia H. Horiashchenko***
Kostyantin S. Zhadko****
Yuliia S. Nikitchenko*****
ABSTRACT
Professional economic education in Ukraine requires significant reforms because of thriving to
integrate into the world economic space, which is impossible without the education of highly
professional staff. The development of the entrepreneurial climate in the higher educational
institution (HEI) by training the ability to work in a team and the general culture of doing business
is an important task. It is specialized economic education that should lay the foundation for the
dynamic economic development of the country. Methods used: survey, remote collection and
processing of information (GOOGLE Forms), self-actualization test (SAT) (determining the level of
general cultural competencies), study of value orientations (according to M. Rokych), methods of
personal adaptation to a new professional environment (according to L.V. Yankovskyi), cultural and
value orientations test (L.H. Pochebut). According to the study, students are convinced that
entrepreneurial skills can be acquired. Students called self-organization the main competence for
doing business. It was found that 50% of students have a low level of readiness for teamwork. Only
21% of respondents showed a high level of readiness for teamwork. It was found that special
pedagogical conditions for creating an entrepreneurial climate can improve the level of higher
economic education.
KEYWORDS: business education; economics education; professional training; entrepreneurs;
management education.
*
Candidate of Eсоnomics Sciences, Аssociate professor, Department of Economics and Social and Labor Relations,
Faculty of Economics, Business and International Relations, University of Customs and Finance, Dnipro, Ukraine.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2363-3105. E-mail: nadiia.hope.p@gmail.com
**
Postgraduate student, Department of Entrepreneurship and Economy of Enterprise, Faculty of Economics,
Business and International Relations, University of Customs and Finance, Dnipro, Ukraine. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7681-5511. E-mail: kafedre@gmail.com
***
Candidate of Eсоnomics Sciences, Аssociate professor, Department of Entrepreneurship and Economy of
Enterprise, Faculty of Economics, Business and International Relations, University of Customs and Finance,
Dnipro, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7020-1412. E-mail: juliagoryaschenko@gmail.com
****
Doctor of Eсоnomics Sciences, Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship and Economy of Enterprise, Faculty
of Economics, Business and International Relations, University of Customs and Finance, Dnipro, Ukraine. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2650-1431 . E-mail: zhakon@meta.ua
*****
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Management and
Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1487-641X. E-mail: julia_ns@ukr.net
Recibido: 01/07/2021 Aceptado: 03/09/2021
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Formación profesional de estudiantes de Economía en
instituciones de educación superior mediante el desarrollo del
clima emprendedor
RESUMEN
La educación económica profesional en Ucrania requiere reformas significativas debido a la
posibilidad de integrarse en el espacio económico mundial, lo cual es imposible sin la
educación de personal altamente profesional. El desarrollo del clima empresarial en la
institución de educación superior (IES) mediante la formación de la capacidad de trabajar en
equipo y la cultura general de hacer negocios es una tarea importante. Es la educación
económica especializada la que debe sentar las bases del desarrollo económico dinámico del
país. Métodos utilizados: encuesta, recopilación y procesamiento de información a distancia
(GOOGLE Forms), test de autorrealización (SAT) (determinación del nivel de competencias
culturales generales), estudio de orientaciones valorativas (según M. Rokych), métodos de
adaptación personal a un nuevo entorno profesional (según LV Yankovskyi), prueba de
orientaciones culturales y de valores (LH Pochebut). Según el estudio, los estudiantes están
convencidos de que se pueden adquirir habilidades emprendedoras. Los estudiantes llamaron
a la autoorganización la competencia principal para hacer negocios. Se encontró que el 50%
de los estudiantes tiene un bajo nivel de preparación para el trabajo en equipo. Solo el 21% de
los encuestados mostró un alto nivel de preparación para el trabajo en equipo. Se encontró
que las condiciones pedagógicas especiales para crear un clima empresarial pueden mejorar
el nivel de educación económica superior.
PALABRAS CLAVE: educación empresarial; educación económica; formación de
economistas; clima empresarial; cultura empresarial.
Introduction
The study is topical in the modern society, which is actually a transitional state from
industrial to post-industrial one, where the education in general and higher education in
particular has become a factor in the dynamic socio-economic development of the country.
The mechanism of higher education is developing and transforming under the new
conditions of globalization and democracy (Logosha et al., 2019). Higher education is
becoming a very important social institution, so its whole system needs new
approaches (Marques et al., 2018). On the one hand, it is necessary to theoretically
substantiate the essence, functions, role of higher education as an institution in the modern
economy and society, on the other — to improve the mechanism of higher education.
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Indeed, education is one of the most effective and intensive ways for a person to enter
the world of science and culture. A person learns cultural values in the course of education.
The world educational space is also developing impetuously. Education is a process of
translating culturally designed patterns of behaviour and activities, as well as permanent
forms of social life at the same time. In this regard, the dependence of the development of
individual countries on the level and quality of education, culture and qualifications of
citizens is becoming increasingly clear (Hazen et al., 2017).
The spiritual in a person is manifested through his/her “rooting into” culture. It is in
the process of teaching and education that it acquires socio-cultural norms that have
historical significance for the development of civilization, society and humanity. Therefore,
the urgent needs of social demands must be taken into account in determining the goals and
objectives of economic education. In turn, the content of economic education may be limited
by the standards of the region, country, the entire world, that take into account the nature of
human interaction with cultural values, the extent and degree of their assimilation and
creation (Mukesh et al., 2020).
Education manifests itself as a practice of socialization and unity of generations. In
different socio-political conditions (and in the period of reforms), a quality economic
education is a stabilizing factor between the new social ideas and ideals of previous
generations embodied in the historical tradition. The modern economic education performs
a stabilizing function and promotes human adaptation to new conditions in the context of
radical changes in ideological beliefs, social ideas, ideals and the existence of people in general
(Annan-Diab and Molinari, 2017).
In the critical moments of history, it is necessary to ensure the consistency of cultural
and historical tradition, preserving the identity of the people and the system of established
values. Preservation of the above components facilitates their integration into the system of
labour values as elements of the macro-society. At the same time, tradition plays a decisive
role in the processes of education of the new generation. The system of economic education
embodies the state of trends and prospects for society. So, the economic education is, on the
one hand, characterized as preparing the generation for independent living, while on the
other hand it lays the foundations for future society and forms the image of a man in the
future. Preparation for life means the development of socially accepted way of life, mastering
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various forms of life, the development of human spiritual potential for creation and creativity
(European Commission, 2018).
The development of a system of market relations requires a transformation of
thinking. Education as a social institution solves the problem of training members of society
with economic thinking, requiring new approaches to learning. It applies best pedagogical
experience and determines the use of non-traditional forms, methods and tools of teaching
and education, as well as the new forms of activity of the subjects of the educational process,
which carry the features of both learning and work (Bergmann et al., 2018).
The most effective form of activity is based on the model of interactive learning, which
assumes that the subject of learning in the educational process acts as its object, too.
Interactive methods contribute to the development of competence, teach democracy,
communication, critical thinking and decision-making. Interactive learning technologies are
based on cognitive (or traditional), socio-role and behavioural approaches (Table 1).
Table 1. Basic didactic concepts of modern educational technologies
Approach
The main point of the approach
Ways to implement the
approach
Cognitive
(or
traditional)
It is aimed at the development of
theoretical thinking; acquisition of
knowledge of the basic economic and
professional concepts and theories by
students; development of basic skills of
analysis, generalization, classification
and characteristics of phenomena and
patterns of economic life of society
Forms and methods of
work, the subject of which
is the reproduction of the
studied material with
different methods of
adding impetus to
traditional classes
Socio-role
It is aimed at mastering the role positions
of the subjects in the structure of socio-
economic relations, professional self-
determination and the formation of
business qualities of the individual. All
economic phenomena and patterns are
considered from the point of view of
certain subjects of economic processes
Various active teaching
methods and changes in
traditional roles and
behaviours in the audience
Behavioural
It is aimed at the development of
students’ competencies for adequate
response and decision-making in
problematic situations
Solving practical problems;
simulation modelling of the
organization of joint
professional activity;
presentation of projects
Source: developed by the authors based on Skinner (2018).
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Cognitive (or traditional) approach is aimed at the development of theoretical
thinking and cannot provide a high level of motivation to study the material of the subject
and effective interaction of participants in the educational process. In professional training,
it is effective only for students with high self-motivation and conscious professional self-
determination (Cohen and Robinson, 2018).
The socio-role approach is aimed at mastering the role positions of the subject in the
structure of socio-economic relations, and creates conditions for professional self-
determination and the development of business qualities of the individual. Its effectiveness
is based on the student’s at least general idea of the essence and content of particular role
functions (Ciliberto et al., 2021).
Behavioural approach is aimed at the development of students’ decision-making
competencies, and the use of game forms creates the opportunity to master the relevant
activities and at the same time gain expertise of “experiencing” it, forming their own attitude
to it (Kahu, 2013). Behavioural approach allows implementing the principle of conscious
learning and forming a practical experience of their own professional activities, it disciplines,
increases self-esteem, creates a positive emotional background (Cui, 2021).
So, recourse to the analysis of the process of economic education (as a process of
accumulation of knowledge, training) is evidence of attention, which indicates a desire to
take into account objective economic phenomena — real economic processes caused by
scientific and technological revolution, and expressed in modern social production
(Siswanto et al., 2021).
There are two groups of entrepreneurial competencies depending on the level of their
implementation and impact on the competitiveness of the individual:
- Staff competencies necessary for the business entity to implement the strategy and
to achieve the main objectives. Corporate development of competencies (caused by the
coherent and common private socio-economic interests of all actors, the willingness of the
organization to commit to creating the necessary conditions to maintain competitive
advantage in the market in order to achieve goals and fulfil the mission;
- Professional characteristics of a particular individual (autonomous, private level)
(Cui et al., 2021).
Autonomous development of competencies is the satisfaction of private interests of
individual labour units in the development and improvement of their competitive advantages
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in the labour market by increasing knowledge, skills, abilities (Bratianu et al., 2020). A
number of researchers also distinguish informational, communicative and project
competencies among entrepreneurial competencies, which are expressed in the following
characteristics: readiness for effective communication; readiness to use information
resources; readiness and ability to apply design methods in practical life; the ability to
independently identify the problem, find ways and means to solve it; readiness to self-
organize one’s own activities; the ability to control oneself in an extraordinary, extreme
situation and effectively manage this situation (Elorinne et al., 2017).
Requirements for the structure of entrepreneurial competencies and the general
perception of entrepreneurship in society are volatile and change over time. For example, the
perception of entrepreneurship depends on the availability of favourable conditions for
starting a business, the general level of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, as well as the
level of so-called “fear of failure” (Table 2).
Table 2. Ten important skills needed for business to thrive
Name of skills
In 2015
In 2021
Solving complex problems
1
1
Ability to coordinate actions with other
employees
2
5
Human resource management
3
4
Critical thinking
4
2
Ability to negotiate
5
9
Quality control
6
-
Emotional intelligence
-
6
Focus on service delivery
7
9
Ability to make decisions based on analytics
8
7
Ability to listen
9
-
Creativity
9
3
Cognitive flexibility
-
10
Source: developed by the authors based on Skinner (2018).
The aim of the article was to study the essence of the institution of higher economic
education, to develop theoretical and methodological background of its transformation and
strategic development priorities in the context of knowledge economy, and substantiation of
practical recommendations on effective economic education through the development of
entrepreneurial climate in Ukraine.
The aim involved the following research objectives:
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1. Research of the level of readiness of economics students for team work.
2. Identifying the level of general cultural business competencies and research of
important elements of doing business for students.
1. Literature Review
Over the last 6 years, the priorities of entrepreneurial skills have changed, with the
ability to solve complex problems coming first in importance, which certainly means that
businesses need support from the state, because they face a fairly large pool of problems that
require a solution (Drobyazko et al., 2019).
A number of domestic and foreign scientists deal with the issue of training economics
students. Sutia et al. (2020) consider the issue of the advantages of methods of comparative
analysis in several areas in their works. Sherkat and Chenari (2020) evaluate the effectiveness
of entrepreneurship education in the universities of Tehran province based on the model of
entrepreneurial intentions Shah et al. (2020) deal with the deterrent role of entrepreneurship
education in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Rubinstein (2017) identifies the
problem of remarks on the economic rules of Danny Rodrick. The problem of professional
training of economics students for the development of the national economy in the context
of European integration is covered in the article by Pokatayeva et al. (2020). The interaction
of entrepreneurship education and national cultures in entrepreneurship is the subject of an
article by Oo et al. (2018). In her article, Novytska (2021) studies the formation of
professional competence of economics students in studying mathematical subjects. Nabi et
al. (2017) consider the impact of entrepreneurship education on higher education in their
article. The work of Maula and Stam (2020) dealt with improving the accuracy of qualitative
research of entrepreneurship. The impact of corporate education in Sweden’s three leading
compulsory schools is studied in Lackéus and Sävetun (2018).
2. Methods
2.1 Research Design
Research on the professional training of economics students through the application
of personal-activity approach to the professional culture for the development of
entrepreneurial activity was conducted in 3 stages:
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1. The choice of methods that allow identifying the effective way of the development
of professional culture of economics students in HEIs, and determining its real state.
2. Conducting research in four HEIs of Kyiv.
3. Collection and processing of the data obtained, their analysis, identification of the
dependence between the phenomena of interest. Drawing conclusions about the existing
relationship between a high level of professional culture of economics students in
universities, stages and the development of a system of general cultural and professional
competencies of students involved in research.
2.2. Sample
Students of higher educational institutions were considered as a general population.
The study involved 944 students of HEIs of Kyiv: Ukrainian State University of Finance and
International Trade (HEI 1), Ukrainian State University of Finance and International Trade),
National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (HEI 2),
Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (HEI 3), Kyiv University of
Management and Entrepreneurship (HEI 4)) of the 3
rd
and 4
th
years of bachelor’s degree and
2
nd
year of master’s degree. The respondents involved 624women (66.1%) and 320 men
(33.9%). The distribution my majors was as follows: there were 491 students majoring in
Management, 405 students majoring in Economics, and 48 students majoring in Business
Informatics. Such a sample allows analysing the issue under study more carefully. A high level
of representativeness of the obtained results is achieved.
A statistical study poses a requirement that the error of representativeness with a
probability of 0.95 does not exceed 10%, so the coefficient of variation is 0.3. An online survey
was conducted to ensure the safety of respondents in connection with quarantine
restrictions. The survey was conducted electronically (Singleton et al., 2017).
The following methods were selected to identify and evaluate indicators that indicate
the level of professional culture of economics students in HEIs:
- self-actualization test (SAT) (determining the level of general cultural
competencies);
- study of value orientations (according to M. Rokych);
- methods of personal adaptation to a new professional environment (according to
L.V. Yankovskyi);
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- cultural and value orientations test (L.H. Pochebut).
Such a sample allows covering a sufficient number of respondents to ensure a high
level of validity of the results. The main limitations of the study can be the sample consisting
of students of HEIs of Kyiv only. This, in turn, does not distort the reliability of the results
obtained because the sample is formed in such a way as to cover all the strata of students
studying in the average HEI of Ukraine.
2.3. Methods
1. The study was conducted using the following diagnostic methods: questionnaires,
surveys, interviews.
2. The method of finding the average level of teamwork in students was determined
by Formula 1.
AL = (l + 2m + 3h) / 100, (1)
where l, m, h is the percentage of students who have low, medium and high levels of
readiness for teamwork, respectively.
3. The difference between the averages at the end and beginning of the experiment G
shows the absolute increase in AL, which was calculated by Formula 2.
G (AL) = AL (final) — AL (initial), (2)
where AL (initial) — the initial AL value;
SP (final) — the final AL value.
4. The efficiency ratio (ER) shows the efficiency of the experimental work, calculated
by Formula 3.
ER = AL (experimental_group) / AL (control_group), (3)
where AL (experimental_group) — the average level in the experimental group;
AL (control_group) — the average level in the control group;
5. Qualitative increase in the level of readiness of students for teamwork, the statistical
significance of the experiment is assessed using Pearson’s chi-squared test:
χ
2
=
(4)
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where N
1
– the number of students in the experimental group;
N
2
— the number of students in the control group;
O
1i
— the number of students in the experimental group who are at the i
th
level of
readiness for teamwork;
O
2i
— the number of students in the control group who have the i
th
level of readiness
for teamwork;
C — the number of levels (“i”) (Stevenson and Josefy, 2019).
2.4. Instruments
Google Forms were used for the survey. Data entry and processing was performed in
SPSS Statistics 17.0. All data are given in relative (% of the number of respondents) values.
3. Results
The capabilities of one person in performing any work are limited. Thus, a team of
like-minded people is always able to interact more and more effectively, but there are risks
of interpersonal conflicts, which can be avoided if team members have a high level of
readiness for teamwork. The ability to carefully and attentively treat the feelings of team
members is the most important factor for teamwork and making informed and correct
decisions aimed at determining the common opinion of all team members. These decisions
are often difficult because of the heterogeneity of the team, its members have different
temperaments and emotional states, which can lead to misunderstandings and conflict
situations. To avoid such acute moments, students must be able to feel the moods, desires
and opinions of their colleagues, thus increasing the effectiveness of the student team.
According to the results of the survey among students, there is a clear understanding
that they will definitely need business skills and relevant entrepreneurial competencies (86%
of students) in order to carry out professional activities (Figure 1).
At the same time, students generally believe that entrepreneurial abilities are those
abilities that can be assimilated in the learning process, which confirms the need to develop
this area and create special educational programmes for students (Figure 2).
When assessing the importance of competencies for doing business (Figure 3), it was
found that students consider IT competencies, the ability to negotiate, generate ideas and
create presentations the most important competencies for doing business.
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Figure 1. Opinion of potential entrepreneurs about the need for entrepreneurial competencies
in employment.
Source: authors
Figure 2. Opinion of potential entrepreneurs about the development of entrepreneurial
abilities
Source: developed by the authors based on the survey results
Some students distinguished self-organization within the additional competencies.
Respondents considered competencies related to solving problems through professional and
social interaction, creativity, leadership, idea generation, and innovation to be of little
55%
31%
14%
The need to acquire entrepreneurial
skills
Entrepreneurial skills will
be needed
Entrepreneurial skills will
be partially needed
Entrepreneurial skills will
not be needed
30%
70%
Entrepreneurial abilities
The are innate qualities
They are acquired qualities
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importance (Table 3). This is due to the fact that students do not have the skills to start their
own business, underestimate the skills that contribute to business development (especially
creativity), distinguishing more organizational issues: how and what to do to implement a
business project. At the same time, all respondents in one way or another recognize the need
for business programmes of subjects in the field of management. Marketing and Sales
Management (96), Economics and Business Security (154) obtained the largest number of
answers among the basic subjects.
Figure 3. Outline of the importance of entrepreneurial competencies
Source: developed by the authors based on the survey results
Table 3. Indicators of the level of professionally significant personality traits in students of
experimental and control groups at the beginning and at the end of the experiment
Personality
traits
Summative stage
Formative stage
Experimental
group
Control
group
Experimental
group
Control
group
Sociability
50%
49%
90%
54%
Goodwill
62%
68%
85%
71%
Authenticity
61%
56%
77%
68%
Openness
67%
61%
92%
71%
Initiative
71%
43%
89%
53%
Tact
50%
66%
92%
72%
Flexibility
50%
43%
86%
55%
Source: authors.
0
1
2
3
4
5
Ability to sell
Customer…
Ability to negotiate
Leadership
Responsibility
Solving complex…
Self-efficacy
CreativityWillingness to…
Generation of…
Resistance to loads
Creation and…
Cognitive flexibility
Creating…
IT competencies
indicator
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Obviously, we can speak about the development of professional culture only when
there is an effective interaction between teachers, social partners and students. Analysis of
activities conducted with students who have undergone an experimental system of
education, showed that many of them have developed a fairly high level of professionally
significant personality traits necessary for successful performance of the entrepreneur’s role.
The index of general satisfaction with communication between students and
representatives of social partners increased (a colour test was conducted) as a result of the
application of modelling the real business environment. Comparative analysis of the obtained
data revealed a higher increase in indicators in the experimental group (total increase by 3-4
conventional units). The differences between the initial and final measurements in the
experimental group are significant — 30 - 40%, and in the control group — statistically
insignificant.
This fact allows us to conclude about the more intensive development of
professionally significant personality traits of students in the experimental group. As the
data in Table 4 show, there is a certain relationship between the process of the development
of professionally significant personality traits of a future entrepreneur and a high level of
professional culture.
Table 4. Indicators of the scope of practical application of professionally significant
personality traits of students of experimental groups
TRAITS
AREAS OF PRECTICE
In studies
In practice
With friends
At home
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Sociability
87%
13%
100%
-
96%
7%
100%
-
Goodwill
100%
-
100%
-
71%
27%
94%
4%
Authenticity
79%
22%
100%
-
94%
9%
100%
-
Openness
76%
22%
73%
26%
90%
8%
71%
23%
Initiative
74%
25%
96%
-
95%
5%
81%
17%
Tact
90%
8%
100%
4%
81%
17%
90%
9%
Flexibility
95%
6%
90%
8%
75%
22%
81%
16%
Source: authors.
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A significant increase in the level of professionally significant qualities in students was
recorded in the analysis of their professional activity during the internship. The supervisors
of the internship, who conducted the analysis, noted the high initiative, friendliness,
sociability, tact of students in communicating with staff; pointed to the ability of students to
understand and respond quickly to changing situations of professional communication; drew
attention to the ability of students to show authenticity, openness and frankness. These data
show that the professionally significant personality traits of students were developed in the
process of their interpersonal relationships with teachers and other participants in the
process of developing a professional culture. These qualities go beyond the professionally
significant environment of HEIs and are applied in other spheres of their activity.
Such qualities as sociability, initiative, empathy, tact, friendliness and flexibility are
the most pronounced in different situations of interaction in the process of professional
activity and training. According to students, authenticity, immediacy, frankness are better
manifested in informal communication than in the relationship with the teacher and in
practice. This indicates that students, in relation to other participants in the pedagogical
process, still retain role stereotypes of behaviour, while in other situations they go beyond
the usual communication. It is likely that they simply change their social status (teacher,
student, internship supervisor, friend, family member), on which a greater or lesser
manifestation of certain personality traits qualities depends. Facing with such problems in
research makes realize that the teacher and the student is the interconnected system in
which the state of one determines the state of the other.
Thus, the actualization and stimulation of interaction of teachers, social partners and
economics students determines their own professional and personal development, as well as
harmonizes their relationship with a professionally significant environment and,
consequently, increase the impact on professional culture. The considered tendencies explain
influence of various kinds of interpersonal relations on actualization and development of the
personality that, in turn, influences process of adaptation of students to mastering of a
profession and to professional activity of the economist in graduates (Figure 4).
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Figure 4. The results of the summative experiment in groups by the level of readiness for
teamwork of students of different HEIs
Source: authors.
In the course of the research, answering the questions of diagnostic tests, students
agreed with the relevance of knowledge about this type of interaction and noted the need for
teamwork in the current labour market. It was found that 50% of students have a low level
of readiness for teamwork. They note the lack of experience of teamwork, fear of teamwork
due to difficulties in establishing contact with their peers and lack of flexibility in
communication.
In a student group, some students can do their job alone, they are closed and not
talkative, they are difficult to rely on in matters that require teamwork. There were 29% of
respondents with an average level of readiness for teamwork, which indicates that the
students are able to engage in a teamwork only under the teacher’s control, who sets the rules
for each student — a team member? and controls the course of teamwork. Such a team can
work effectively only if these conditions are met. Only 21% of respondents showed a high
level of readiness for teamwork. These students understand the peculiarities of this
interaction and can easily use teamwork in professional training.
Analysis of the results of the chi-squared test showed that the summative experiment
confirms the null hypothesis, according to which all groups (three experimental and one
control) had no significant differences, as the value of χ2
studied
is smaller than χ2
critical
.
(P=0.9996) (Table 5).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
HEI 1 HEI 2 HEI 3 HEI 4
Low
Medium
High
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Table 5. The value of the χ
2
when comparing groups by level of students’ readiness for
teamwork
HEIs
Value of χ
2
studied
Value of χ
2
critical
Number of the
degrees of freedom
Р
1, 2, 3, 4
0.28
12.58
6
0.9996
Source: authors.
The analysis of the results obtained in the formative experiment to increase the
students’ level of readiness for teamwork showed the following results shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 shows that the largest increase in the number of students with a high level of
readiness for teamwork in HEI 3 (24%). This is 7% more than in HEI 1, 6% more than in
HEI 2, and 20% more than the increase obtained in HEI 4. Comparison of the obtained data
on the low level of readiness for teamwork shows that the highest values are also observed in
the third experimental group (HEI 3) at 28%.
Figure 5. Increase in the level of readiness for teamwork of students of technical universities
(in %) in groups: a formative experiment
Source: authors.
According to the results of the calculation presented in Table 6, the null hypothesis
(H
0
) was proved in the first and second experimental groups,. This suggests that the
implementation of individual combinations of pedagogical conditions is not statistically
HEI 1 HEI 2 HEI 3 HEI 4
Low
-25% -26% -28% -4%
Medium
8% 9% -4% 0%
High
17% 18% 24% 4%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
Increase in %
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significant. The alternative hypothesis (H
i
) was confirmed in the third experimental group,
because
χ
2studied
> χ2
critical
(6.35> 5.99,), P <0.05 (P = 0.042), which indicates a non-accidental
phenomenon of changing the level of readiness of students of technical university for
teamwork in the implementation of the structural-functional model and set of pedagogical
conditions.
Table 6. The value of the χ
2
when verifying H
o
HEI
Value of χ
2
studied
Value of χ
2
critical
Р
Statistical significance
1 and 2
2.58
5.99
0.274
Not significant
2 and 3
2.41
0.296
Not significant
3 and 4
6.35
0.043*
Significant
Source: authors.
These results can be re-obtained in similar circumstances. The study and the results
obtained during the experiment allow concluding about the achievement of the aim of the
study.
4. Discussions
The methodology of research of the need for entrepreneurial education for potential
entrepreneurs was tested on a sample of students of HEIs (944 people). Entrepreneurial
potential was found in 43% of students. The needs of potential entrepreneurs in current
skills, first of all, necessary for work in modern conditions of digitalization and variability of
business environment are determined. These findings confirm the data of the study by Shah
et al. (2020), and differ from the data of the study Novytska (2021), which notes that future
entrepreneurs see the greatest need in the development of communication skills. A number
of social and creative competencies are still underestimated by students because they do not
have the skills to start their own business and business communication experience. This is
confirmed by research of Pokatayeva et al. (2020). Respondents attach more value to
organizational issues: how and what to do to implement a business project. Such conclusions
do not contradict the results of the study by Lackéus and Sävetun (2018), in which IT
competencies are of the greatest value. The study showed that students consider traditional
teaching methods more effective. These data contradict the works of Cui (2021) and
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Siswanto et al. (2021) in which the use of modern non-traditional methods is an important
factor in successful training. This suggests that students who obtain higher education are
focused mainly on lectures and seminars, so they expect practice from business education
programmes. Cui et al. (2021) also cite the high expectation of gaining practical skills from
business education in their study.
The survey method showed its effectiveness in achieving the aim and fulfilling the
objectives. Students as representatives of intellectual potential for entrepreneurship have a
positive attitude to the need to increase entrepreneurial competencies. Such conclusions also
coincide with the data presented in the studies of Bergmann et al. (2018) and Bratianu et al.
(2020). This happens even if they have innate abilities. Students believe that such
competencies can be obtained through training both in the form of inclusion of business
subjects in the main programmes of higher education, and in the form of training in additional
programmes of business education. Maula and Stam (2020) come to such conclusions in their
research.
The importance of basic and specialized business subjects is confirmed. At the same
time, when implementing entrepreneurship education programmes, it is necessary to focus
on traditional forms, as well as modern educational and information technologies, actively
involving them in conducting classes. These results contradict the data of the study by
Sherkat and Chenari (2020), which notes the need to move to non-traditional educational
forms. The needs for current skills are identified: organization of startups, promotion of
business on the Internet, business security, etc., which are required by potential business
entities to work in the modern conditions of digitalization and variability of the business
environment.
The theoretical consequences of the study are the justification of the need to model
the development of the business climate in the training of economics students. The practical
consequences of the study are the formation of a system of educational and cognitive tasks
for developing skills necessary for doing business in economics students. This can help
improve the development of professional competencies of future specialists.
The main limitations of the study are the difficulty of identifying the results of the
study due to the limited ability to involve more HEIs from different regions of Ukraine. It
was difficult to test the research materials in the real educational process because of
quarantine restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Conclusions
The study is topical because of the need to improve modern economic education in
Ukraine. Global processes are creating new and new challenges for developing countries, so
the labour market needs highly qualified specialists in the field of economics and business.
Criteria-diagnostic tools for assessing the level of readiness for teamwork, criteria and
indicators for assessing the level of readiness of students for teamwork have been identified
and tested. Cognitive criterion that determines the level of knowledge of students in the field
of teamwork (indicators: completeness of knowledge about the goals and features of
teamwork, team relationships; completeness of knowledge about team roles and team
building techniques). Operational criterion that determines the level of students’
competencies in teamwork (indicators: empathy in teamwork; tolerance in teamwork;
possession of reflected skills in teamwork; mastery of group cohesion; mastery of team
planning and teamwork skills; skills to work with team members). Axiological criterion that
determines the level of students’ value attitude to teamwork (indicators: the manifestation
of skills to defend the team’s interests; awareness of team role and responsibility for the task;
awareness of the value and common purpose of teamwork).
The reliability of the experimental data was verified through Pearson’s chi-squared
test. The research can be useful for both students and teachers seeking to improve economic
education in Ukraine. Of course, this study does not cover all aspects of this problem. Further
research can focus on the development of the readiness of students of HEIs for teamwork in
other areas of training, as well as the development of electronic educational resources for
teachers of HEIs for diagnostics and organization of teamwork of students to improve
professional training.
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