Helping Teachers to Make Sense of How Enterprise and Entrepreneurship May Be Defined

Abstract

Recent curriculum review in Northern Ireland (CCEA, 2003) proposes introducing enterprise education initiatives within all post-primary schools. Traditionally enterprise education has existed as a fringe curricular activity. Consequently, therefore, understanding of the term within education is limited, and there is now a need to find a clear definition of enterprise (Davies, 2002). The Centre for Education and Industry (CGI, 2001) has also highlighted that despite more than twenty years of enterprise initiatives in the school curriculum, lack of clarity still prevails. Currently, the listing of a diverse range of ‘soft’ skills or attributes is employed all to frequently by institutions to define enterprising and entrepreneurial behaviour. However, this article argues that such listing is less than helpful, especially at a time of wider post-primary curriculum reform, in which the focus is shifting from prescriptive, content-based programs, to a pupil ‘learning outcome’ model. Based on a review of literature and the findings of a qualitative research study by Cummins (2003) into post-primary enterprise education in Northern Ireland, this article seeks to provide readers with insights into how enterprise and entrepreneurship may be more concisely defined. The article concludes with the authors' own definitions for use in schools.