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GOOD
PRACTICE IN ENTERPRISE EDUCATION
Contents
• The role of the teacher
• Getting started
• Stages of an enterprise - prepare - plan - do - review
• Involving partners from business and the wider community
• Evaluation
• A checklist for enterprise education
THE
ROLE OF THE TEACHER
The case studies on this website show how enterprise education can
support subject teaching and learning and develop enterprise and
entrepreneurial skills. Successful enterprise activities need pupils
to be actively involved in their learning, and you can support this
by:
• knowing how to make things happen, while being committed to the
pupils taking ownership of the project
• supporting and guiding the pupils without taking control of their
learning
• helping pupils review and recognise their learning
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GETTING STARTED
To help clarify the aims and objectives of the work, think about:
Curriculum rationale
The activity should:
• reflect the needs of the curriculum with specific, identified
subject learning outcomes for pupils
• use a context appropriate to the development of the subject learning
outcomes
• suit the age, ability and needs of the pupils
The parameters
All enterprises operate within certain parameters.
In the adult and working world, enterprise is undertaken within
certain constraints, which reflect the reality of life. They include:
• the availability of resources
• the need to earn income or to spend within a budget,
• the law
• the demands of the market or the needs of a client group
Pupils will need to identify all the parameters within which the
school enterprise activities will operate. These will include resources,
time, budgets, and also subject specifications.
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STAGES OF AN ENTERPRISE
The stages outlined here are suggested as a tool to help you plan
for enterprise education, although not every enterprise activity
will involve all the stages.
The stages can be summarised as 'prepare, plan, do, review'.
Prepare
Briefing the pupils and setting up introductory activities
Pupils need to know why they are undertaking the activity and to
have an opportunity to practise and develop a range of skills they
will use in the enterprise activity. In particular, they may need
practice in working together and problem solving.
Developing and researching the ideas
Pupils will probably work in groups to develop their own ideas,
within the parameters of the project. Where possible, let them follow
through their ideas even where it may be obvious they are making
errors. You will need to use your professional judgement about whether
or not to intervene. You and other adults involved in the activity
can help the young people to learn from their mistakes.
The research necessary will depend upon the nature of the activity.
Pupils could research the market or audience for the good or service,
to make sure their plans meet the needs of the potential clients
and customers. For example, in an environmental audit, pupils would
need to find out whether the information would be of use to someone
in the locality and how best to present it. In a technology project,
pupils would need to carry out market research for the product or
service.
They also carry out research on different ways of undertaking the
proposed activity. At this stage they may have to adapt their ideas.
Plan
Identifying and obtaining resources
All enterprise activities will require resourcing, whether the resources
are finance, staffing, materials, equipment, information, advice
or time. Remind pupils of the parameters of the activity, for example,
time, and then encourage them to identify and obtain the resources
themselves.
Identifying and allocating tasks within the
group
Developing action plans and deciding who will do what within the
group are important aspects of the wider key skills. Pupils undertake
these aspects of planning themselves.
Making contact with organisations and people
who might help
Working with people from the wider community develops pupils' communication
skills and builds their confidence. Give pupils the chance to meet
and work with people who have themselves shown entrepreneurial skills
and attributes.
Do
Running the enterprise
During the enterprise activity provide support, if necessary, but
allow the pupils to manage and run their project. This stage might
be:
• the production of goods or services for sale
• carrying out research
• data-gathering to write a report
• planning an event for a community group
At points during the activity, pupils will review their plans, sort
out any difficulties that have arisen, and resolve any disagreements
within the group.
Producing outcomes
Pupils will need a timescale with an agreed endpoint for the enterprise
activity. The context of the enterprise determines exactly what
outcomes they will produce. The enterprise ends with the outcome
of the activity, whether it is a sale of goods, the staging of an
event or the presentation of a final report.
Review
Winding up
At the end of the activity, the pupils can reflect on what happened,
before the formal teacher-led debrief. They might produce a statement
of account, a piece of written work, a newspaper article.
Debriefing
Enterprise experiences end with a debriefing, which helps pupils
to identify what they have learned.
There are different ways to conduct the final debriefing. It could
be a whole-group discussion, a discussion between the teacher and
each team separately, or a discussion just among the team. It could
also include the visitor(s) from the locality.
The focus of the debriefing is on the subject-learning and also
on what knowledge, skills, qualities and attitudes pupils have gained
about enterprise.
Debriefing involves three stages: reflection, generalisation and
application. Examples of questions for each stage are:
Reflection:
• How did pupils feel at the end of the project?
• Was it a success? Why or why not?
• How did the group organise itself?
• What were the group's biggest problems?
• How did the group handle these problems?
• How did the group handle any disagreements between members?
• How did the group work together as a team?
• How did the group decide which tasks each person would carry out?
Generalisation:
• What skills did pupils learn?
• What did pupils learn:
- about the subject?
- about how groups work?
- about running a project?
Application:
• What has the project shown about the relationship between the
activity and the wider world?
• What would groups do differently next time?
• How would each person behave differently in future?
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INVOLVING PARTNERS FROM BUSINESS
AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Business and community partners can often be persuaded to work with
pupils during different stages of a classroom project. These partners
include:
• local people involved in running their own small business, such
as shopkeepers, hoteliers, other self-employed people
• community workers and people from voluntary organisations who
are responsible for social enterprises
• people involved in the control of work places and businesses,
such as trading standards officers and environmental health officers
• trade union representatives who can advise on health and safety
and employment issues
• managers from local companies or local authorities, such as marketing
managers or personnel managers
You will find numerous resources and packages available and considerable
support from companies, voluntary groups and local business advisers
for enterprise activities. (See links page.)
The local Education Business Partnership will assist in making contact
with local business and community partners.
When involving partners to work with pupils on their enterprise
activity you will need to:
• brief them clearly about the role they will play in supporting,
but not dominating the pupils
• encourage the pupils to think about the advice they need and how
to use the partner's time effectively
• make sure that pupils see the contact with the partner as mirroring
reality, for example, submitting a business plan to a bank manager
for an enterprise is similar to the process of submitting one for
real
• involve the partners at the end of the enterprise, during de-briefing,
as part of a presentation panel and in the final evaluation of the
enterprise.
You could also:
• obtain witness statements from partners on skills pupils have
used, for their portfolios
• collect real case studies from the partner's organisation
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EVALUATION
Evaluation of the activity makes sure that future projects can be
improved and partners can be kept informed of what was achieved.
Pupil
evaluation
This involves pupils thinking about what they did well and not so
well. The pupil evaluation can be carried out using:
• questionnaires
• group discussions
• written reports of the enterprise
Staff evaluation
Staff evaluation can also be carried out using questionnaires. However,
many schools hold 'wash-up' meetings for staff involved. The evaluation
should cover:
• learning outcomes for pupils
• future improvements to organisation and management
• roles of staff and visitors
Visitor evaluation
At the end of the enterprise, visitors are asked for their evaluation.
The questions focus on:
• organisation and management
• their view of pupil learning
• what they themselves learned
• advantages for their organisation of being involved
An evaluation report, summarising all the feedback, is a useful
tool for future enterprise events.
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A CHECKLIST FOR ENTERPRISE
EDUCATION
Be sure that you:
• are clear about the curriculum context
• are clear about the parameters of time, resources, budgets
• brief pupils thoroughly
• allow pupils time to develop and research their ideas
• encourage pupils to identify and obtain resources
• encourage pupils to allocate tasks within groups
• make contact with organisations who can help - local businesses,
banks, LEA advisers, EBPs, enterprise organisations, voluntary groups,
public services, local authority staff
• brief visitors thoroughly
• use the visitors' time efficiently
• allow pupils to make their own mistakes
• set clear deadlines
• take photographs for follow-up work
• give pupils a clear task to help them wind up their enterprise,
such as company accounts, a presentation, a written report
• allow time for adequate debriefing, including reflection, generalisation
and application of learning
• carry out an evaluation of the enterprise
• thank all involved
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