Report explores ways of teaching entrepreneurship

Citation

(2003), "Report explores ways of teaching entrepreneurship", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445dab.008

Report explores ways of teaching entrepreneurship

Report explores ways of teaching entrepreneurship

Initiatives to teach entrepreneurship from primary school to university in 16 European countries are described in a report to the European Commission. Education and Training for Entrepreneurship acknowledges national policy commitments to promote the teaching of entrepreneurship, but notes that the required activities and programmes are generally not yet available to students. Individual schools and local authorities are taking many initiatives but they are not normally integrated into national structures or curricula and teacher training is insufficient.

The report points out that lack of detailed national figures on the numbers of schools involved in entrepreneurship, and the numbers of students taking part, make it difficult to monitor progress. The report highlights examples of good practice and explores avenues for action, ranging from changing the national curriculum to providing incentives to schools and specific teacher training.

The report is available on the Web site of the European Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise (http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/enterprise/index_en.htm).

Meanwhile, measures to improve education so that young people do not leave school early are called for by the European Youth Forum, which also wants more support for young entrepreneurs in the form of technical help and grants. The forum, in a document on the future shape of the European employment strategy, calls for a quantitative commitment to creating more youth employment, stronger references to youth in the European employment strategy and references to the participation of youth organizations in the development and implementation of employment strategies.