Creativity and general self-efficacy as predictors of the preschool teachers' entrepreneurial competencies

The general goal of the research was to examine the predictive power of creativity and general self-efficacy on the entrepreneurial competencies of students of the academic department Teachers in Preschool Institutions. The sample consisted of 133 students of the State University in Novi Pazar, most of which were female and studying at different levels of undergraduate studies. The following instruments were used: Kaufman's Creativity Domain Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Entrepreneurial Abilities Scale. The results showed that the respondents expressed mostly personal/ everyday creativity, while the lowest scores were obtained in the area of mechanical-scientific creativity. A statistically significant positive correlation was identified between creativity, general self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial competencies. The strongest correlation was found between general self-efficacy and entrepreneurial competencies. The results of the regression analysis indicate that general self-efficacy is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial competencies, while creativity did not prove to be a statistically significant predictor in this model. It is concluded that the development of entrepreneurial competencies in future preschool teachers largely depends on their ability to believe in their own potential, while creativity contributes to this process in certain dimensions. These findings indicate the need to direct educational programs towards strengthening self-efficacy and specific forms of creative expression in the context of preschool education.