Entrepreneurial Learning Tools and Methods

Purpose and process

To provide students with the tools and methods for setting up and running a business.

1. Applied Economics students set up their own businesses using real money. They establish a joint stock company, and obtain initial capital by selling shares to teachers and other pupils.
2. In Business, students buy snacks and resell them to the teachers and pupils. They also make their own products during the holidays and sell them. At the end of the year they are paid shares and dividends.
3. Practice Firm students operate their businesses with fictitious money, using goods or services offered by other training firms that are in the database of training companies.

Learning outcomes

Students can:

• Develop knowledge and skills for entrepreneurial activity, including: financial capability; communication; team work; decision-making; how goods and services are produced;
• Understand about stocks, shares and dividends/profit and loss from first-hand experience;
• Build confidence in presenting and promoting their goods and services to potential consumers and/or shareholders.

Curricular or thematic relevance

The approach is specifically used in Business, Applied Economics and Practice Firm but could be used with students studying other subjects for whom business methods would be a useful addition to their education.

How to organise:

The activities take place over a whole year. Introduction and monitoring could take place in timetabled lessons, for example in Business, but much of the activity would need to be undertaken in students' own time. Some activities for the simulated version may be able to be adapted for a suspended timetable day, with extra-curricular follow-up sessions.

Assessment and evaluation approaches

Evaluation is built into the business model process.

Volunteer involvement

Activities would be enhanced by involvement of a business mentor, for example when introducing the business model, to provide advice during the process of running the business, to receive a presentation from students of the outcomes and experience.

Provider country

Slovakia