Assessing Leadership And Entrepreneurial Capabilities In A Latin American Youth Program

Abstract

PEGE has now ended its third year. PEGE, a program that encourages students to become contributing members of Society upon graduation from high school instills in participants the tools, techniques and mindset of an entrepreneur. The program initially implemented in an English speaking school located in Bogot, Colombia is beginning to spread to other schools. Students in the program have evaluated the program and its impact and are uniformly satisfied with the program and recognize its value.

Assessing Leadership And Entrepreneurial Capabilities In A Latin American Youth Program

“…The PEGE program is based on a series of modules that covers the academic period of the student in both middle and high school. A very important and decisive component of this program is the parallel incorporation of the use of TIC's as a basic element for the application of business management systems and concepts; for this the program depends on the support of the HBLI through the use of virtual classes and seminars in which students develop complementary material to their theoretical and practical activities (Budden, Baraya and Valero 2012). As Harbrect, Neidermeyer and Tuten (2006) proffer successful education at US business schools prepares students for the needs of the business environment: a major goal of PEGE.…”

“…s was pointed out by Budden, Baraya and Valero (2012), PEGE recognizes that new paradigms are arising in the 21st century that impact communication, business and social realities. These changes are making social systems more complex to understand and create situations in which solutions to problems are more difficult to grasp.…”

“…PEGE provides an organized series of theoretical and practical instructions on business management, leadership and entrepreneurship to be incorporated early in a school's curriculum. Ideally, PEGE would be introduced in middle school curriculum and continued through the remainder of a student's secondary education (Budden, Baraya and Valero 2012). The end result would be high school graduates possessing the knowledge, skills and mindset to allow for a the pursuit of higher education if desired, or allow for graduates to recognize business needs and be in a position to pursue the satisfaction of that need through an entrepreneurial venture.…”