Promoting Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Skills through Elementary Education to Meet the Future Professional Needs: An Action Research Project

Abstract

In today's competitive, dynamic world it is more important than ever before that students gain a basic understanding of the world of economics and business. New companies and new technologies are coming into existence not only in India but also throughout the world at an unparalleled rate, creating exciting work opportunities for enterprising individuals willing to take risks and take advantages of these challenges. This requires an entrepreneurial spirit that looks upon challenge as an opportunity - not as an obstacle; an attitude that seeks creative ways to meet challenge - instead trying to block them. The economic, business and entrepreneurial challenges of the future are great. By encouraging our students to develop their skills in scholastic areas, can we prepare them to meet these changes? In a very real sense, we have no option but to do so. Our curricula must reform this reality. The paper is the outcome of an ongoing activity based experimental study being conducted to explore the understanding level of children concerning entrepreneurship in the age group of 11-14 years. It presents epistemological reflections on entrepreneurship-oriented teaching learning processes. It attempts to answer that integrated approach to entrepreneurship can contribute in a significant way to some of the epistemological and methodological problems this domain currently faces. Finally, the paper describes the action-based research to explore a framework in which effective teaching learning processes can be developed.