Entrepreneurial thinking as a pedagogical category

The article analyzes entrepreneurship education in general educational institutions of the city of Tomsk, which allowed us to conclude that there are insufficient programs that develop entrepreneurial thinking in students, or that they are absent. Additional education programs for school students in general educational institutions of the city of Tomsk are implemented with a predominance of technical, physical education and health, artistic and socialhumanitarian focus, which corresponds to the trends and factors of the country's socio-economic development. The analysis of the organization of all-Russian events (accelerators, competitions) that develop entrepreneurial thinking in schoolchildren allowed us to identify the best practices for working with children and tools for teaching entrepreneurship, as well as the interest of higher education institutions as a way of involving and providing career guidance to applicants. Based on a comparative analysis of theoretical research in the scientific field, the author's definition of «entrepreneurial thinking» and its components is proposed: psychological, cognitive, social and digital. Entrepreneurial thinking is considered within the framework of the federal state educational standard of basic general education. Almost all personal, meta-subject, subject results are those characteristic personal qualities, knowledge and competencies necessary for the development of entrepreneurial thinking. The formation of entrepreneurial thinking must be made a continuous process, starting with pre-school educational institutions. The obtained materials can be used as a basis for further monitoring the formation of entrepreneurial thinking in educational organizations of Tomsk and beyond.