BEd 4 Aspects

Rory McCusker

40194681

Word Count - 1477

 Discuss the rationale for the inclusion of Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship in the Learning for Life and Work curriculum at
Key Stage 3.
The Northern Ireland Curriculum objectives at KS3 include developing young people as
contributors to society, the economy, and the environment. One of the main reasons for
this is to prepare young people the world of employment, which is an area that Learning for
Life and Work (LLW) can contribute to by teaching young people about entrepreneurship
and the world of enterprise.

Although many countries are approaching entrepreneurship education as an extra-curricular

or project-based method of learning, "A European Commision (2010) report stated that
entrepreneurship education needs to progress "from being an extra-curricular 'add-on' to an
integral part of the curriculum." (SEECEL, 2015:15)

"Entrepreneurship education is about learners developing the skills and mindset to be able
to turn creative ideas into entrepreneurial action. This is a key competence for all learners,
supporting personal development, active citizenship, social inclusion, and employability."
(European Commision, 2016)

Currently, entrepreneurship education is part of the KS3 Learning for Life and work scheme
in Northern Ireland, within the topic of 'Employability.' The objectives set for pupils are to
recognise the skills and attributes that make one enterprising, understand the importance of
innovation, and develop strategies to promote an entrepreneurial spirit and explore the
range of small businesses in the life of the community.

There is an increasing indication of entrepreneurship education having a positive impact on

young people. The inclusion of entrepreneurship education will develop more
entrepreneurial attitudes within young people, resulting in getting a job earlier after
finishing their studies and start more companies, thereby creating more jobs. (European
Commision, 2012)

“There is growing evidence of the positive impact of entrepreneurship education. Young

people going through these programmes will develop more entrepreneurial attitudes, get a
job earlier after finishing their studies and start more companies, thereby creating more
jobs.” (European Commision, 2012:5)

Enterprising presents pupils to the world of entrepreneurship and encourages pupils to

acknowledge that it might be suitable to use their initiative and independence to tackle the
challenges and opportunities they will face in the world of work. (CEA, 2020)

(European Commission, 2016:47) states that “it is… critical to make available effective
teaching resources and support and to provide sufficient space within the curriculum for
their use.”
(CEA, 2020) has introduced an Enterprise and Entrepreneurship resource pack in their
‘Education for Employability’ unit document. The pack includes include learning intentions,
suggested teaching & learning activities, the skills that are achievable through the activities,
and the resources needed to conduct the activities.

During my practice, I have conducted activities from the ‘Education for Employability’
document. One of the activities I have found most productive is having the pupils discuss
and listing the benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur. This activity gave the
pupils the idea of what being an entrepreneur can involve while improving their ability to
manage information effectively. This activity had a positive knock-on effect on class
participation in our enterprising activity, which was a Mother's Day card sale. The 'Education
for Employability' document suggests conducting enterprising activities, as it allows the
pupils to be more creative. I found that the activity boosted their teamwork skills along
while allowing the pupils to apply their entrepreneurial skills and experience enterprising
first-hand. I also noticed a cross-curricular approach in this activity, for example, pupils
involved communicated effectively with each other, and their customers and ICT was
required to design the cards we were selling. Mathematics was also applied when collecting
and counting money.

In order to help pupils, develop and demonstrate entrepreneurial effectiveness, teachers

may want to focus on shifting from passive learning to active learning, thus developing
understanding through participation. There is a range of methods available to apply a more
activity-based entrepreneurial education such as original iterative assessment through
discussion with employers, teachers, and peers, or through workshops and student 'think
tanks.' (QAA, 2012)

In the past, I have heard stories of teachers running their own 'Dragon's Den' competitions.
Although this may be a business-based method of promoting entrepreneurial practice, such
exercises may develop the pupil's range of higher-level critical, creative, and practical skills.
(QAA, 2012)

Another learning activity that the ‘Education for Employability’ document suggests is having
a local enterprising person visit the class or perhaps taking the pupils to visit a local
business. (European Commission, 2012:49) states that “dialogue between entrepreneurs
and educationalists is central to ensuring that entrepreneurship education is relevant and to
raising students’ awareness of the scope and nature of enterprise activity both in general
and in their local vicinity or region.”

While on School Experience and based on what I learned at school, I always found that
activity-based learning and group work was the best way to promote entrepreneurial
learning and to gain the critical skills that the Northern Ireland curriculum seeks KS3 pupils
to achieve through LLW. I feel that experiencing enterprising first-hand can motivate pupils
to become more entrepreneurial as they witness all the benefits that they can achieve.
As a pupil, I recall the teacher using case study activities to engage discussion among small
groups about what skills are being used in various scenarios. This is similar to the ‘Charlie
the Cook’ case study available in the KS3 ‘Education for Employability’ document. The use of
case-studies within entrepreneurial learning can develop pupils’ perceptions of real-world
decision-making by entrepreneurs while allowing pupils to relate with the entrepreneur in
the case study.

Youth Business International, which runs Global Entrepreneurship Week in the UK, helps
schools plan an enterprise programme for pupils, and provide enterprise resources all year
round. These resources include Enterprise toolkits, lesson plans, design activities, and
PowerPoints.

Although we commonly associate entrepreneurship/enterprising with 'Business Studies,' the

'South Eastern Europe Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning' (SEECEL) states the “delivery of
entrepreneurship education can take a wide variety of forms, often through optional
studies.” (P.13)

Entrepreneurship education should not only focus on narrowly defined tools such as how to
start a business but also to help pupils achieve a broader range of attitudes like creativity
and working with others, especially on the secondary level. (OECD, 2008 as cited by OECD,
2009)

(European Commission, 2016) states that three broad approaches have been identified
within entrepreneurship education, one of which is a cross-curricular approach, where
entrepreneurship education objectives are expressed as being transversal and horizontal
across different subjects.

(SEECEL, 2015) found that only a certain number of European countries use cross-curricular
approaches, with much integrating entrepreneurial learning into specific optional subjects.
The issue that entrepreneurship education is limited in many countries can have a knock-on
effect on school leavers having a lack of entrepreneurial skills and struggling to find a career.

“Too many come out of school without confidence in themselves and lacking a positive view
of what they are going to do later in life. They also enter the world of work without the
understanding that a positive approach may well make the difference in getting a job or
success in work or in business." (Young, 2016:18)

(European Commission, 2016) found that the starting stage of entrepreneurship

development naturally introduces the subject as an 'add-on' to the mainstream curriculum
and that entrepreneurship would be taught through specific, separate subjects at the
secondary level.

Later stages in the development of the strategy would lead to entrepreneurial skills being
rooted across the curriculum. Further implementation and consolidation of
entrepreneurship education would also imply that it is embedded as a cross-curricular
objective or overall teaching concept and as a separate subject.

The cross-curricular approach is still prevalent, as is the integration of entrepreneurship

education into other subjects. (QAA, 2018) suggests encouraging cross-curricular
approaches in both learning strategies and assessment.

Conclusion

Based on the reading, the inclusion of entrepreneurship education has the potential to
deliver a range of effects for KS3 pupils. Enterprising has the potential to provide young
people with entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. The resources that are available from CEA
and outside agencies can help teachers deliver enterprise education to KS3 pupils in
ensuring the development of pupils thinking skills and personal capabilities.

As pupils continue to grow, they will be required to have skills and abilities, which will
increase their employability, such as handling information, communication, problem-solving
and social development, and interaction. The ‘Education for Employability’ document
available on the CEA website is useful for teachers to help their pupils gain these skills.

When entrepreneurship education is provided as a cross-curricular theme, there are very

few relations between subjects that connect the learning outcomes to provide a more
meaningful learning experience. Several subjects may contribute to the achievement of
entrepreneurship-related learning outcomes; however, often, there is no indication of how
these may develop concurrently and in a coordinated way across different subjects at the
same level or during the school year.

Overall, enterprise and entrepreneurship are a crucial aspect of the LLW curriculum. It is
also clear that the skills the Northern Ireland curriculum aims KS3 pupils to acquire are
easier achieved with entrepreneurial learning.
 Reference List

CEA (2020). Thematic Unit: Education for Employability. [online] CCEA, CEA, pp.118–131.

Available at: https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/thematic-unit-education-employability
[Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].

European Commission, 2012. Building Entrepreneurial Mindsets And Skills In The EU.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, pp.5-49. [Accessed 2 Apr. 2020].

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016. Entrepreneurship Education at School in

Europe. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, pp.12-110.
[Accessed 2 Apr. 2020].

Farnell, T., Heder, E. and Ljubic, M. (2015). Entrepreneurship Education in the European
Union: an overview of policies and practice. Croatia: Southern East European Centre for
Entrepreneurial Learning (SEECEL) pp.118-131. [Accessed 4 Apr. 2020].

Latest developments in entrepreneurship education in the EU | The Microfinance Centre.

[online] Available at: http://mfc.org.pl/latest-developments-in-entrepreneurship-education-
in-the-eu/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2020].

OECD (2009), “Evaluation of Programmes Concerning Education for Entrepreneurship”,

report by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, OECD, pp.14. [Accessed
10 Apr. 2020].

QAA, 2012. Enterprise And Entrepreneurship Education: Guidance For UK Higher Education

Providers. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, pp..22. [Accessed 9 Apr. 2020].

QAA Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education: Guidance for UK Higher Education

Providers. (2018), pp.13. [online] Available at:
https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaas/enhancement-and-development/enterprise-and-
entrpreneurship-education-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=15f1f981_8. [Accessed 4 Apr. 2020].

Young, L., 2014. Enterprise For All - The Relevance Of Enterprise In Education. The third part
of the report on enterprise and small firms. UK Government, pp.18. [Accessed 12 Apr.
2020].