ABSTRACT
This study investigated the correlation between the entrepreneurial competencies and the entrepreneurial performance of the 150 senior high school students in Tubay District, Division of Agusan del Norte. A descriptive correlational research design was used to ensure the appropriateness of the evidence collected in response to the research questions. Data were collected through a survey and were analyzed using statistical tools. The findings are presented below.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Competencies, Entrepreneurial Performance
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is a powerful catalyst for wealth creation. It will help the educational sector craft responsive curricula, programs, and activities to build a strong economy for the future (Duterte, 2023).
The educational environment is changing, with a growing focus on preparing students for academic success and real-world challenges, such as joining the workforce and advancing economic development. In this regard, developing students' entrepreneurial skills has become a critical component of all-encompassing education. In a larger sense, it refers to changing current affairs by addressing our society's most vital issues and pain points, frequently by launching a novel good or service or opening up new markets.
Entrepreneurship fosters a spirit of innovation and creativity and equips individuals with the ability to navigate the complexities of the modern job market. An entrepreneurial spirit is necessary in any line of work involving the current advancement of technology. Because it plays a significant role in producing skilled and innovative graduates, entrepreneurial education must be implemented at all educational levels (Rina, 2019).
Sheppard (2023) asserts that entrepreneurship has long been recognized as a critical factor in promoting economic expansion and advancement. In recent years, the youth of the Philippines have shown an increasing interest in entrepreneurship, motivated by a genuine love for problem-solving, a desire for financial independence, and a need for creative expression. Even with this enthusiasm, young entrepreneurs in the Philippines encounter several obstacles, such as restricted financial resources, inadequate guidance and assistance, and a societal belief that entrepreneurship is risky and unstable.
Entrepreneurship is developing, organizing, and running a new business to generate profit while taking on financial risk. It has been widely recognized as significant for economic growth, specifically job creation, innovation, and productivity (Memon et al., 2020; Ambad & Damit, 2016). Consequently, senior high school students are expected to become future entrepreneurs as they are exposed to various practical and theoretical knowledge about entrepreneurship and business creation (Alusen, 2016). The Senior High School Program of the Department of Education stipulates that students must be prepared for college, the workforce, the development of technical skills, and entrepreneurship (Philippine Official Gazette, 2024).
The Philippines' Department of Education (DepEd) has incorporated entrepreneurship education into the Senior High School (SHS) curriculum to improve students' entrepreneurial skills and readiness for future business ventures. The Entrepreneurship Curriculum Guide for Senior High School aims to develop students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward entrepreneurship and business management. One aspect of assessing students' entrepreneurial performance is their capacity to create and carry out a business plan. This all-encompassing assessment method aims to gauge how sound knowledge is acquired and how well skills and competencies are used in entrepreneurial settings.
According to Duterte (2023), entrepreneurship nourishes an encouraging environment where young people adopt a creative attitude. It serves as the cornerstone of the Memorandum of Agreement on Youth Entrepreneurship between the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship - Go Negosyo during the 18th Anniversary of Go Negosyo held on November 27, 2023, at Manila Polo Club. Through initiatives like Pampaaralang Taniman ng mga Agribida, which aims to inspire future agricultural leaders, as well as Agribusiness Education, Mentoring Entrepreneurs, and Youthpreneur Mentorship Programs, the Vice President / DepEd Secretary saw this endeavor as an investment for the future.
The Caraga’s Department of Education viewed the advocacy as a revolutionary idea from the Vice-Secretary. Asuncion (2023) thought that teaching an enterprising spirit in students from a young age is essential to enabling them to think creatively, take calculated risks, and make a significant economic contribution.
Caraga's Department of Education, Regional Memorandum No. 0534 s. 2023, an online monitoring system for senior high school graduates from 2017–2018 through 2022–2023, was implemented and released on June 20, 2023. Its goal is to track the graduates' exits from the senior high school program to monitor and assess them. The tracking above system consists of the following primary exits/points for the graduates: (1) College Entry/Enrollment; (2) Vocational/Technical Education Entry/Enrollment; (3) Employment; (4) Business/Entrepreneurship Engagement; and (5) Undecided (not involved in any of the four exits). It was discovered that, precisely, the Tubay District's senior high school graduates—which include the three secondary schools that provide senior high school education, Doña Rosario National High School, Tinigbasan National High School, and Tubay National High School—have graduated a total of 981 students since the program's inception. The data about the graduates' exits was also highlighted. Of the graduates, (1) 410 (41.79%) enrolled in college; (2) 12 (1.22%) enrolled in vocational/technical education; (3) 338 (34.45%) employed; (4) 33 (3.36%) business/entrepreneurship; and (5) 188 (19.16%) undecided or not involved in any of the four exits.
Entrepreneurial intentions have various antecedents. Most studies focus on personality traits, competencies, and education (Reyes et al., 2018). Nonetheless, some researchers attempted to craft a competency-based model to predict entrepreneurial intention (Reyes et al., 2018). The ten personal entrepreneurial competencies (PECs) developed by Management System International, comprised of McClelland and McBer as principal researchers, have been recognized tools to describe entrepreneurial characteristics, knowledge, and skills (Alusen, 2016).
Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) developed by MSI is popular research on human behavior which comprised of 10 personal entrepreneurial competencies known as (1) Opportunity Seeking, (2) Persistence, (3) Commitment to Work Contract, (4) Risk-Taking, (5) Demand for Efficiency and Quality, (6) Goal Setting, (7) Information Seeking, (8) Systematic Planning and monitoring, (9) Persuasion and Networking, and (10) Self-Confidence (Reyes et al., 2018; Alusen, 2016; Duyan, 2019). Despite this measurement's popularity, limited literature uses PECs as the basis for intervention plans for specializations at the senior high school level, specifically in the local setting.
The Department of Education – Tubay District schools have integrated entrepreneurship into its senior high school curriculum to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among students. As part of this effort, the schools conduct an annual pre-assessment using Management System International's Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) tool. For the school year 2023-2024, the assessment results indicated that students from the different specializations or strands excelled in goal-setting, with an average score of 3.94, categorized as High. However, both groups faced challenges in risk-taking, with an average score of 3.31 classified as Average.
On this premise, the researcher conducted a study on the entrepreneurial competencies and performance of Grade 12 senior high school students in the district of Tubay, Agusan del Norte, which has three (3) secondary schools offering Senior High Schools, namely: Doña Rosario National High School, Tinigbasan National High School, and Tubay National High School, for the School Year 2024-2025 as the basis for an intervention plan.
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