Social entrepreneurship competences for the development of complex thinking: a comparative study by gender in postgraduate students

Abstract

In the context of complexity and opportunities for the future of education, promoting social entrepreneurship brings new possibilities for education and development in society. In this sense, the study of entrepreneurship in the educational context is of high value for educational institutions. This paper aims to contribute to the academic literature in understanding the differences in the development of social entrepreneurship competences among men and women pursuing postgraduate studies. The study used mixed methods and a concurrent triangulation design. Three instruments were applied: two semi-structured questionnaires and a validated Likert scale. The sample consisted of 89 students(31 men and 58 women) from 11 countries who were studying for a postgraduate degree in Humanities and Education. The question that triggered the present study was: Are there differences in the development of social entrepreneurship competences between men and women in a graduate program in the humanities and education? The overall results show that women scored higher than men, but the difference is not significant. The findings indicate that the horizon architecture model is a suitable method for deploying social entrepreneurship competences without gender barriers in the entrepreneur formation. Multidisciplinarity and long-range perspective in projects stand out as drivers of social entrepreneurship. This study can be of value to teachers, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers interested in innovative educational environments.