Classes in how to be an entrepreneur are on the way to primary and secondary schools
That’s according to the Action Plan for Education that was released today.
THE IRISH GOVERNMENT has released its education action plan today, which committed to the introduction of “entrepreneurial education” into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools.
A new Entrepreneurship Education Policy will be drafted as part of the plan as well as guidelines for how schools can help promote entrepreneurship as a career option to school children.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which accounts for how primary and second-level schools teach business skills in its overall assessment of entrepreneurial activity in a country, placed Ireland behind other EU member states in its latest survey.
Out of 24 EU countries, Ireland ranked 12th for entrepreneurial education opportunities at primary and second level.
By introducing a greater focus on business skills in the school curriculum, the government wants to increase the rating of entrepreneurship education in Irish schools, which is based on a scale of one to five, from its current 2.09 ranking to 2.3 by 2025. The EU average is 2.12.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton
The Action Plan for Education also outlined that a report on the teaching of entrepreneurship in higher education will be published before the end of this quarter and the new Entrepreneurship Education Policy statement will be finalised at some stage before the end of the year.
This report and policy statement will pave the way for the publication of guidelines to give to schools on how to educate primary and second-level students about entrepreneurship by next summer.
The education action plan also outlined the introduction of coding throughout the school system – from primary level to higher education.
The document stated that coding will be first introduced into the primary maths syllabus of pupils between junior infants and second class by 2018 and fully implemented across all primary school classes by 2021.
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Small Firms Association assistant director Linda Barry said she welcomed the focus the Action Plan for Education has taken on teaching key business management skills at such an early age.
“Key skills such as critical thinking, creativity, innovation, adaptability and collaboration are the building blocks of an entrepreneurial population,” she said.
“The development of an Entrepreneurship Education Policy is a positive step in the promotion of entrepreneurship as a viable and attractive career choice.”
She added that teaching these skills at an early age could help address the fact that half of Irish businesses fail in their first five years.
