Entrepreneurship as a dynamic system A holistic approach to the development of entrepreneurship education

Entrepreneurship, as an important aspect of modern economic thought, is often described as facilitating innovation, job creation and national prosperity. Given the current economic conditions in Europe, entrepreneurship growth and small business development are seen as synonymous with economic recovery and growth. Consequently, in recent years entrepreneurship has climbed steadily towards the top of political agendas in Eastern, Central and Western Europe. In turn, entrepreneurship education has emerged as the most cost-effective and speedy way to increase both the quality and quantity of entrepreneurs entering an economy. The education and development of entrepreneurial students has become a topical and much debated European issue, despite the conceptual vagueness and controversial aspects highlighted by entrepreneurship education researchers. In this article the authors postulate that entrepreneurship represents more than an accumulation of relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes. Instead, entrepreneurship is envisaged as lifelong learning and conceptualized in terms of the continuous development of an individual's key entrepreneurial competences. Thus, entrepreneurship education emerges as a dynamic system of lifelong learning steps and entrepreneurship components which are to be developed holistically in order to enhance its impact on entrepreneurial outcomes.