REGIONAL DIMENSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

Education as a whole and its application in the field of economics are reviewed. Best pedagogical practices in entrepreneurial education in Blagoevgrad and their benefits to small and medium enterprises are demonstrated. It can be assumed that the poor situation in the sector of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is caused by the insufficiently good organization of the education in entrepreneurship. Moreover, in medium and long-term, the development of the entrepreneurship as a whole leads to the development of big and small businesses. Supporting entrepreneurship is the basis for the overall development of the economy including its competitiveness. The final result of the education is the professional competence of different kinds and degrees. The basic concepts of entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors shall be taught earlier than at upper-school level. In this sense, the formation of modern economic culture should start quite early based on the evolutionary principle of knowledge. Design and technology classes as part of the technological education are considered. Our research reveals the best pedagogical practice of entrepreneurship in Blagoevgrad as it is taught at the Professional High School of Economics "Ivan Iliev". In higher education entrepreneurship is taught in the region at South-West University "Neofit Rilski". The course "Entrepreneurship" is mandatory in the syllabus of major "Marketing", Faculty of Economics, third year. The aim of this course is to provide students with in-depth knowledge of the theoretical and practical problems of entrepreneurship and explore basic approaches to its implementation in current conditions. Its benefits to the SMEs area are viewed.