Educare, Educere and Enterprise Education in schools. A case study approach to identifying effective policy initiatives to prepare young people and their teachers for an entrepreneurial future.

This submission reflects on my publications as a university researcher, and former teacher, from 2000 to 2020 , during which time enterprise education in schools across much of Europe saw a significant increase in interest and engagement from the teaching profession and school leaders , supported by a commitment of substantial funding from regional, national and European agencies.Enterprise Education was to be developed as an entitlement for all pupils and as an integral part of a broader commitment to a more entrepreneurial economy. English schools were initially at the forefront of this development, at least until 2010 when the commitment to national coverage was amended, and some would say, watered down, to target ‘priority areas’.The funding available was also considerably reduced. My research work from 2010 onwards largely focused on developments in Europe and beyond, collaborating with colleagues at both the European Commission and OECD and working with the Ministry of Education in Helsinki.

It became apparent that enterprise education in schools was an under researched area, certainly in England, falling as it did between the two stools of Business Schools ,focused largely on higher education programmes and Education faculties concerned essentially only with national curriculum subject coverage. My research also required me to revisit the fundamental debate about the nature of education – to mould (educare) or to guide or draw out ( educere) ? If we mould we can employ didactic techniques to transfer knowledge. If we guide, we have to create a supportive environment in which the learner can take more control of their own development. The power relationships of teachers vis a vis learners are diametrically opposed for each approach and the implications for professional development are also profound. The focus shifts from ‘what should we teach‘ to ‘how should we deliver’. Pedagogy takes precedence over curriculum development. And all at a time when there is also a call from some for a more ‘back to basics’ approach to school education.How then might a quality framework for enterprise education in schools have to structured to impact on the task of professionals tasked with introducing and developing this government initiative?

The research centre where I was based successfully bid for a range of enterprise education research projects and the findings consistently showed that the teaching profession and school leadership teams in particular were struggling with a) what constituted good quality enterprise education and b) how to implement enterprise education programmes which could realistically deliver on their aspirations. This submission charts the development of a Quality Framework for Enterprise Education (Hoare,2011) which the profession could use to support the review of their existing provision and to guide future development. All of the development process was research led, with reference to current research findings to ensure the validity and applicability of the developed framework. Revisiting this evidence has been a salutary experience, realising that the English school system, once a beacon of good practice in enterprise education, has experienced a rapid decline in dedicated provision and ,consequently, practitioner expertise.