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GT 13 GRUPO DE TRABAJO DE SOCIOLOGÍA DE LA EDUCACIÓN
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but also by the incorporation of entrepreneurship as a transversal strategic objective, in a pedagogical trend that enables
the improvement of entrepreneurial competences and eliminates obstacles that hamper the creation of self-employment as
a possible employment alternative for young people, especially among those with a higher education degree.
Notwithstanding the developments of the European guidelines for the promotion of an enterprise spirit (COM, 2012),
the discussion and analysis of the higher education policies brings us to the inexistence of a common strategic policy
for the promotion of entrepreneurship. First, some of the criticism directed to universities recognize that, despite the
extraordinary development of entrepreneurship courses and programs, the growth dynamics of these activities is still too
orientated for a restricted core of courses, namely business management or economy, and that their types have been falling
short of expectations. In order to counter this trend, the commission has advised universities to integrate entrepreneurship
in various subjects of their study programs, considering that their studies may confer additional value to all courses
(COM, 2006). Secondly, it is admitted that, despite the progress achieved in the competences of initiative sense and
entrepreneurship, substantial differences remain in the availability of information and data about entrepreneurship in the
various member states, especially in regards to entrepreneurship education (EC, 2009).
Considering the case of Portuguese University, it is possible to argue that while a significant increase in its interaction
with the economic/business environment is noticeable in the past few years, entrepreneurship in the university context
still has a long way to go, especially in regards to the development of common strategic objectives. Alongside budget and
management constraints that currently affect its operationalization in universities, there are also difficulties in terms of its
political-strategic framing in the organizational structure level. Thus, the more or less bureaucratic organization model of
the University and its perennial institutional culture, which devalues change (Santos, 2008), together with a regulatory
logic of its own (March & Olsen, 1984; Clark, 1998) which makes it not limit itself to responding to the pressure and
guidelines of its external environment, may be obstacles for the creation of a favourable environment for entrepreneurship
(Moreira, 2012).
In this context, Portuguese higher education institutions, within the framework of their autonomy 5 , have been adopting
differentiated roles and organization models in the promotion of academic entrepreneurship and, consequently, have
not themselves achieved the same practical results in regards to entrepreneurial activity. In spite of this fact, there is a
similar pattern in the support mechanisms made available and the creation of entrepreneurship support structures/cabinets
office’s within academia (e.g. entrepreneurship centres, science and technology parks, business incubators, knowledge
and technology transfer and intellectual property protection cabinet office’s , among others). This reality cannot, however,
conceal unequal rhythms of development and support to business projects with scientific and technological basis in
the higher education network (e.g. spin-offs, start-ups) nor some manifestation of resistance and distrust from certain
university institutions (disciplinary areas, pedagogic conceptions and corporate closure) in relation to entrepreneurship,
especially to the business logic.
It seems important to highlight the fact that higher education is today considered by the national and European political
powers as a driving agent for the development of entrepreneurship, be it in the educational level (e.g. by means of the
offer of curriculum units, degrees, Master’s degrees (specializations and PhDs) or through their involvement in various
knowledge transfer organizational activities. This “new mission” certainly presents new challenges to the University,
implying that it must be capable of strengthening its relation to society through contact with very diverse stakeholders,
without neglecting the quality of the academic training and the excellence of research.
1. Entrepreneurial potential: inequalities by social origin, gender and educational field
In this point, as previously referred, we will advance some of the main aspects obtained in the research “The Entrepreneurial
potentials at the University of Minho”. Based on answers to an online survey applied to two hundred and eighty-three
(283) graduates from different scientific areas and both genders, who concluded their courses between 2002 and 2008,
we will carry out the social characterization of the respondents. This will include a presentation of the socio-graphic data
of graduates and an analysis of the entrepreneurial intention in the framework of social inequalities, specially its relation
with the gender and the educational field, combined with other attributes related to social capital.
2.1 Socio-graphic data
The socio-graphic data of young graduates from the University of Minho (UM) shows a significant difference between
women (60%) and men (40%), revealing a high rate of feminization in courses at the University of Minho, following the
current trend in national higher education. (Marques & Moreira, 2011a). This data confirms the major presence of women
in Education (80%) and Social Sciences and Law (70%) scientific fields.
The structure of the sample by age reveals that are young population with an average age around 29 years old. This can
be explained by the fact that we include in the sample graduates who finished their course between 2002 and 2008. This
5 The autonomy of universities is consecrated in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and in Law no. 108/88, from September 24th.
CRISIS Y CAMBIO: PROPUESTAS DESDE LA SOCIOLOGÍA
XI Congreso Español de Sociología (FES)