Entrepreneurial Learning in Education Preschool as a Take-Off for the Entrepreneurial Self

Abstract

Recently the phenomenon of entrepreneurship by political aspirations has entered the school setting. This is a world-wide development affecting education in practice and theory. In 2009 the Swedish Government launched a strategy stating that entrepreneurship should run like a common thread through the educational system. Since childhood is considered the ideal stage to influence attitudes towards entrepreneurship, and preschool constitutes the beginning of this publicly imposed “red thread”, this setting is of particular interest. In school practice the concept of entrepreneurship is translated into entrepreneurial learning. In this study we seek to investigate what characterises entrepreneurial learning in a preschool context according to preschool teachers by conducting both critical incident questionnaires and an in-depth interview using stimulated recall method. The empirical results suggest that entrepreneurial learning has developed the preschool teachers’ educational discussions and has affected the children’s entrepreneurial skills. Further, when analysing the material as to what supports and hinders a positive entrepreneurial learning situation, four main themes emerged: ongoing reflection, active participation, a meaningful learning situation and a tolerant atmosphere.