Entrepreneurship education: a neon bible?

For those of you who have not been invited yet to join the party the movement to create education systems better fit for entrepreneurs is supported by three interrelated premises; economic growth/job creation, (un)employability and the joy of learning.

The economic argument is based on the assumption that entrepreneurship is the main driving force behind employment creation and innovation. Some well-respected scholars have raised some doubts about this here and there but let's stick to our guns. Any increase in the entrepreneurial intentions of our children will eventually benefit our ailing economy.

The employability imperative comes next. There is a large body of research suggesting that non-cognitive skills are important for school and labour market outcomes. What's more, interventions may be more effective at an early age. By non-cognitive skills we mean stuff like creativity, persistence, resilience, motivation, self-control. Now the chain of reasoning goes as follows: Quite a few of these non-cognitive skills are essential elements of the key competence “Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship”. Entrepreneurial education and its set of interventions are intended to improve this key competence. So infusing some more entrepreneurship into the system is our best bet when it comes to future employability. This is certainly well aligned with the “preparing our kids for jobs that don´t exist yet” myth. It may all make sense but this is a bit of a causal somersault according to this literature review on the impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people. The report concludes that while non-cognitive skills are associated with positive outcomes for young people, robust evidence on causal relationship is limited. In any case it is essential to consider non-cognitive skills in combination while having a clear idea of their malleability.

And the Unique Selling Point of Entrepreneurial Education comes full circle when you realise all this shall be accomplished while bidding farewell to the dark and boring days of chalk and talk. The joy of learning and teaching is to be regained thanks to a powerful set of education interventions, an entrepreneurial pedagogical remix of the old and the new, a porridge of revamped (and distorted) progressive educational visions, learning theories, active methodologies, quintessential flashy technologies and even neuroscience!! in a student-cantered sauce. The evidence base stemming from Europe is still scarce and contradictory. Mini-company programmes, arguably the most recognizable and popular form of Entrepreneurship Education seem to have the potential to enhance non-cognitive skills in primary education while some unintended outcomes have been found in secondary education.

Our conceptual body is a cage. This is my main problem with Entrepreneurship Education Neon Bible. The economic system as we know it goes unquestioned and our kids’ creativity, initiative and critical thinking skills are celebrated in an endless fanfare of lemonade stands, elevator pitches and business competitions while we all faithfully and strictly adhere to the rules of the game.

Iván Diego has been involved in the design and implementation of different enterprise education programmes in close collaboration with schools, teachers and students in his current position at Valnalon, a regional agency for the promotion of entrepreneurship in Asturias, Spain. In recent years he has developed a personal interest in critical theory of entrepreneurship and enterprise education in particular. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the views of Valnalon.