Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Final-year Social Area Students’ Intervention Initiatives Intentions

Abstract

Education for social entrepreneurship in higher education is an area in consolidation. However, social innovation is a labour market requirement to which students in the social field should not be oblivious. We sought to explore the interests in the field of social entrepreneurship - type of proposal, target audience, theme/social issue to be solved - of 94 final year students of a Social Education degree, 96% of whom were female. An ad hoc questionnaire was used. In analysing the content of the answers, the intention to develop a social project after graduation or to create a social support product/material prevailed, 32% and 31% respectively. Less expressive were the intention to innovate an existing organisation or to create a company/organisation, 17% and 16%, in that order - the latter perhaps due to the greater risk it entails. In terms of the proposals target population, there was a variety of groups covered (to be expected in this social area), with children and young people/school community and the elderly standing out (27% and 26%), as well as people with disabilities (19%) and children and young people at risk (15%). Other groups in vulnerable situations, such as the unemployed, immigrants and refugees, prisoners, informal carers and the homeless (between 2 and 6%) were mentioned to a lesser extent. Ideas included, above all, the implementation of skills training programmes (33%). This was followed by the distribution of essential goods/access to services (19%), artistic activities to promote inclusion (17%) and support services at home (14%). Other possibilities included leisure initiatives, intergenerational activities, support to promote employability, infoinclusion actions and the development of support materials (between 3 and 8%). Despite the relevance of the proposals, the majority (69%) did not anticipate any source of funding (public funds or corporate/organisational social responsibility). These students training should provide for the development of entrepreneurial skills centred on creativity and social innovation and, in a structured way, knowledge of financing options and business plans design using management skills, which are equally fundamental in the social area.