ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A LIFE PROJECT: PROMOTING 21ST-CENTURY SKILLS IN BASIC SECONDARY EDUCATION.

Abstract

This essay analyzes the importance of entrepreneurship as a life project in the development of key XXI-century competencies within the context of lower secondary education in Colombia. The relevance of this topic lies in the pressing need to educate students capable of facing the challenges of a constantly changing society, where traditional skills are insufficient to ensure personal and professional success. The main objective of this essay is to examine how entrepreneurial education, conceived from a comprehensive life project perspective, contributes to the development of essential competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and effective communication among secondary education students. The methodology employed corresponds to an analytical documentary research approach, based on a systematic review of specialized literature from academic databases such as Dialnet, university repositories, and indexed scientific journals. Recent studies on entrepreneurial education, XXI-century skills, and the development of life projects in the Latin American educational context were analyzed, with special emphasis on Colombia. The main findings show that entrepreneurship, when addressed as a comprehensive life project, goes beyond mere business creation to become a pedagogical tool that strengthens key transversal competencies. It was identified that students participating in entrepreneurial education programs develop greater problem-solving abilities, leadership, collaborative work, and adaptability to change. Furthermore, the implementation of active methodologies centered on entrepreneurship as a life project generates positive impacts on the construction of adolescents’ personal and professional identities.