Entrepreneurship: Why Teaching it in Secondary Schools and Tertiary?

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

Entrepreneurship has not only become a buzzword in political, social, economic or non-governmental spheres; but it is driven by a consensus that entrepreneurs are both inborn and taught or nurtured. There are people born from entrepreneurial families. They grew up seeing entrepreneurial ideas turned into something earning their families income. Others learn the art from friends, parents, or school. Coming from a less entrepreneurial historical background, Zambia is integrating entrepreneurship in the school system at varied levels. Some learners have however not seen the relevance of having entrepreneurship components in their programmes.

The decisive question is “in which subjects should entrepreneurship be introduced and taught in the high school curriculum?” As could be expected, there are several subjects and levels into which entrepreneurship can be integrated. While a full unit on entrepreneurship could be taught as a stand-alone [an independent course of study], this is not the only approach, or necessarily the most effective. Even if a free-standing course is provided in the curriculum, its effectiveness will be enhanced if entrepreneurial insights are provided throughout the entire curriculum. If entrepreneurship education is isolated in a single course, apart from the whole curriculum, it may be missed by many students who then would not profit from their potential development as enterprising individuals.

Entrepreneurship can be fused into different subjects to prepare learners to apply their entrepreneurial acumen within their professional practice. The following are some of the subjects it can be integrated. Reasons why there seem to be consensus why such combinations would better learners’ applicability of their entrepreneurial knowhow are explained below:

Business studies: Perhaps the most obvious place where entrepreneurship should be included is in the business studies curriculum. In addition to the creative and enterprising attributes, business studies will introduce the financial and human management skills that are necessary for the formation and survival of a new enterprise. Business studies should also allow learners to think of themselves as employers rather than employees in the market system. This view will enable the business studies learners to identify themselves with the important issues with which the entrepreneur must seize as part of the development of a business plan. These issues include new products, process innovation, employee training and management, financing the enterprise, and assessment of the marketplace. The desired outcomes of the business education course should include the students' ability to deal with the unknown in an enterprising way.

Economics: Financial literacy and economic concepts comprehension can be included into this course. Placing entrepreneurial concepts and the entrepreneurship savvy into the standard economics course not only makes the course more reflective of the real world, but it also can help to improve learners’ comprehension and enjoyment of the economics course. In economic , the links between the market and the entrepreneur need to be stressed.

"Placing entrepreneurial concepts and the entrepreneur into the standard economics course not only makes the course more reflective of the real world, but it also can help to improve students' comprehension and enjoyment of the economics course."

Governance: The action of government in creating and limiting the environment for entrepreneurship should be included in learning systems. Knowledge on how government regulations and taxes impact entrepreneurial environment are pertinent aspects to add to the curriculum. Regulation is a burden for all businesses, but more especially for small entrepreneurial ones that generally have less ability to bear the costs of compliance.

Comparative studies should be undertaken about the role of entrepreneurs under alternative political systems. Why has there been a movement toward the free market in command societies? To what extent is the existence of one kind of liberty essential for the presence of the other? Can government bureaucrats be entrepreneurial? These are just a few of the questions that might be posed in a government class with entrepreneurial content.

Psychology: Psychology is an excellent place for learners to understand the psychological characteristics of the entrepreneur and to assess their own characteristics and capacities to be entrepreneurial. A psychological subject that allows learners to develop their own concepts of self-worth and inner control would be a welcome addition to the process of entrepreneurship education.

Sociology: The study of the sociology of entrepreneurship is in its infancy, but there are several ideas that are consistent with the thrust of entrepreneurship education. Learners should realize that entrepreneurs shape and are shaped by the culture in which they live. One may ask: why do some ethnic groups seem to be more entrepreneurial than others? How does entrepreneurship permit minority groups to enter the economic and social mainstream? These are but two of the myriad questions that link entrepreneurship and sociology, and school programmes can now begin to explore them.

History: History subjects are a natural place within the curriculum to discuss how entrepreneurs have helped determine the course of human events. History lessons often focus on politicians, rulers, and military leaders. History teachers can do a great deal to expand the horizons of their learners by focusing on case studies of entrepreneurs who have contributed to the betterment of humankind. Case studies are particularly valuable if a variety of alternative stories are included that allow learners to relate to entrepreneurs of their same race and/or gender. Entrepreneurial history can help learners understand that most progress is made in small steps. While the "mega" innovations are important, progress really happens as ideas are adapted and refined. The cumulative process of improving and changing old ideas in an incremental way to better satisfy consumer or producer needs is the form most entrepreneurial activity takes and in so doing makes history.  

Science: Entrepreneurship can also be a thread woven into the fabric of science subjects. Since technological advance often begins with scientific insight and continues because of entrepreneurial persistence, learners should understand the relation between scientific discovery and entrepreneurship. Many of the great scientists were also entrepreneurs. They not only invented the product or technology but also brought it to the marketplace. Students should understand these relationships between the laboratory and the market.

Vocational/technical education: For many years, entrepreneurship has been an integral part of many vocational/technical programmes. The majority of western world learners [such as in American high schools] are enrolled in some vocational/ technical programmes. These offerings present an excellent opportunity for the spreading of entrepreneurship education over a significant number of students.

The focus of entrepreneurship education in the vocational/ technical curriculum has been narrow and limited to the teaching of skills needed to start and sustain a small business, but most vocational/technical programmes contain at least entrepreneurial elements. The curriculum should be broadened beyond skills training to include an understanding of how employees can be enterprising as well as units on the nurturing of entrepreneurial traits and characteristics.

Conclusion

Those who design secondary school curricula and beyond should make sure that entrepreneurship has its place in economics, business education, history, science, psychology, sociology, and vocational/technical education. Entrepreneurship is neither a separate nor an alien concept, but one that can enrich learners’ understanding of a variety of subjects in the regular curriculum. Perhaps more important, the study of entrepreneurship can demonstrate how enterprising behaviour can have a positive impact on society. Entrepreneurs are good models for learners to emulate. Courtesy: http://www.ncee.net/