Neoliberalism and Education: An Analysis of Key European Educational Policies on Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse European educational policies on entrepeneurship and the promotion of entrepeneurial spirit from theoretical-philosophical perspective. To achieve this, a documentary analysis was conducted using a selection of key texts issued by the European Comission over the past two decades. The units of analysis were drawn from the EUR-Lex platform of the European Union. This research is guided by two core questions. First, under what social, political, and economic conditions do these entrepeneurial selves operate? Second, what are the educational implications of understanding the process of human formation as a strategy of personal investment? Guided by these questions, the study argues that educational policies on entrepeneurship can be understood as a questions, the study argues that educational policies on entrepeurship can be understood as a technology of governance -in the Foucauldian sense- designed to shape individuals into "entrepeneurs of the self". These policies aim to instil an ethos of self-valorisation that serves as a new mandate for subjective regulation. The ultimate purpose is to align individuals' bejaviour with enterprise model, positioning eduation as a key instrument in this process.