Development of entrepreneurship in the Grade 10 and 11 syllabi for business subjects in Eritrea.
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Date
2003
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
It is believed that the inclusion of Entrepreneurship Education in the curriculum will equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills and values that could help them for employment and self-employment in their future careers. In Eritrea, Entrepreneurship Education is not yet offered as a secondary school subject. However Business (Commerce) Education, which is more related to Entrepreneurship Education is offered in two comprehensive secondary schools.
In the light of the existing Business Education, as mentioned above, the study has attempted to examine the current status of grades 10 and 11 syllabi in relation to the development of entrepreneurship knowledge, skills, and values. The study also explores whether the syllabi for business subjects (Book.keeping and Economics) are appropriate to equip students with entrepreneurial skills and characteristics such as creativity, innovation, risk taking, problem solving and decision-making. In addition, the study has tried to see whether modem teaching materials such as textbooks and computers supplemented the syllabi, and instructional methods. Furthermore, the condition of the commerce teachers in regard to workshops and in-service training is assessed.
In this study, a review of appropriate available literature is done in the area of Business and Entrepreneurship Education. Various definitions of Business Education and entrepreneurship are identified. The entrepreneurial skills and characteristics, and the relevance of Business Education and Entrepreneurship Education are elaborated. Thus, the purpose of Business or Entrepreneurship Education is to prepare students to fit into the workplace, to start their own business and to prepare students for entrepreneurial opportunities. Moreover, the development of Business or Entrepreneurship Education is discussed.
Data were collected by interviewing teachers and the members of the Department of General Education. In this regard, seven commerce teachers, two members of the Department of General Education, and one former member of the Commerce Panel were interviewed. Students also completed questionnaires. Sixty student questionnaires were completed and returned. In addition to this, documents of the grade 10 and 11 Book.keeping and Economics syllabi are presented and analyzed. The results of the study were analyzed in tc::ns of appropriate qualitative and quantitative descriptions.
The analysis of the data revealed that the grades 10 and 11 syllabi for business subjects have not been updated for many years. The syllabi are more or less similar to the syllabi, which were being used during the colonial period of the Ethiopian regime. For this reason, the existing syllabi are unable to reflect much of the Eritrean context. The syllabi of the business subjects do not explicitly include the necessary entrepreneurial knowledge skills, and values, which are required in modem business environments. More specifically, the Bookkeeping syllabus lays more emphasis on equipping students to develop the skill of record keeping, and preparing financial statements of manufacturing and merchandise enterprises. In the teaching learning process of Bookkeeping, students seem to be playing only with numbers. This does not allow for the development of critical and creative thinking. Similarly, the Eritrean grades 10 and 11 Economics syllabus only orientates students to the economic terminology and general economics concepts. Therefore, students are not expected to be creative, innovative, problem-solvers and decision-makers after completion of their respective grades.
Lastly, as an outcome of the findings, various recommendations are made.
Description
Keywords
Entrepreneurship education, Secondary School subjects, Grade 10 and 12 syllabus, Bussiness subjects
Citation
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