Final report - European Commission - Europa

STRATEGY FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATIONJussi Pihkala, Ministry of Education, FinlandThe Finnish entrepreneurship strategy is multi-layered: entrepreneurship policy outlined in the governmentprogramme; measures related to the normative and information-based steering in the central government; teachers'initial and continuing education; the development of entrepreneurs' pedagogical knowledge and skills; and anumber of development projects. Additionally, the development of entrepreneurship education and training involvesextensive and strong networking and the utilisation of different stakeholders' knowledge.The programme of the current Finnish Government highlights the importance of promoting entrepreneurship at alllevels of education. There is a separate Entrepreneurship Policy Programme, which contains entrepreneurship educationand training as one element. Relating to this, the Ministry of Education worked with different stakeholders tooutline entrepreneurship education in 2004 and prepare an action programme for it. The aim is to enhance businessknowledge and use entrepreneurship education and training to enable citizens to set up a business if they so wish.Another aim is to increase the attractiveness of business as a career choice. This knowledge enhancement extendsto the whole education system. To this end, measures are being taken to increase education-business interaction andteachers' and guidance counsellors' knowledge about entrepreneurship and to develop learning contents andmethods in all education and training.In 2002 the Ministry of Education appointed a steering group to develop and coordinate entrepreneurship educationand training at the national level. It is composed of representatives of 14 different stakeholders and focuses ondiffusing information and promoting exchange of information. In addition, the Ministry of Education and the Ministryof Trade and Industry initiated a joint project named "From higher education to business" (2006-2008).The current basic education core curriculum was adopted gradually from 2003 to 2006. It includes a thematic entitycalled "participatory citizenship and entrepreneurship". The current upper secondary education core curriculum,adopted in autumn 2005, contains an entity called "active citizenship and entrepreneurship". An entrepreneurshipcomponent was also added to the vocational core curricula. Five universities drew up entrepreneurship strategies oftheir own in late 2005 and the rest are currently preparing their strategies. The polytechnics cooperated in devisinga joint strategy in 2006, in which one goal is that in ten years after graduation one in seven polytechnic graduateswill have a business of their own.At regional and local levels, the target is to include entrepreneurship education in local and school curricula andinstruction. Some 30% of schools strengthened the status of entrepreneurship education in their new curricula. Theregional resource centre system is currently being expanded: there are now four centres, another four forthcomingand the aim is to have one in each region. Activities are also being expanded within Junior Achievement–YoungEnterprise Finland (JA-YE Finland) and within the Practice Enterprise system. One current challenge is to developentrepreneurship education in teachers' initial and continuing education and encourage teachers to take an interestin it. Special attention is also being paid to entrepreneurs' pedagogical knowledge and skills with a view to entrepreneurshipeducation.68Entrepreneurship Education in Europe: Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindsets through Education and Learning