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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 This chapter presents a review of the literature relating to good practice in enterprise learning and other relevant initiatives in Scotland and the rest of the UK. The first section details the search strategy, including the selection criteria for including/excluding material, the search methods used, and the way in which relevant documents were analysed and reviewed. The second section presents the research evidence and examines this evidence to identify key learning points, good practice characteristics, innovative practice and measured impacts of different types of interventions.

2.2 It is worth noting that enterprise education is now called Enterprise in Education ( EinE) in Scotland. Elsewhere in the UK the term enterprise education is still used. In Scotland, EinE is about business and education working together. The shared ambition is to change young people's attitudes to work and to life. It is hoped that joined-up working between the Scottish Executive, local authorities and the business community will give every young person in Scotland the chance to experience EinE. Much of the literature that has been reviewed for this chapter was either not conducted in Scotland or was published prior to this change in terminology. The terminology used within the literature has been maintained for the purposes of this review. Elsewhere in the report the term EinE will be used to reflect the change in terminology brought about by DtS.

SELECTION CRITERIA

2.3 The research team set clear parameters to determine the type of material that would be most relevant to the review. This included mainly evaluation reports related to EinE in Scotland, and relevant recent documentation from within the UK relating to good practice in initial planning and implementation of enterprise education initiatives and any other relevant activities. Research evidence from a study conducted in Australia was subsequently included in the review following advice from the Research Advisory Group. The review aimed to identify:

• Key learning points relating to the planning, design and implementation of enterprise learning initiatives
• Good practice characteristics of successful interventions, both in terms of outcomes and popularity with young people
• Innovative practices in the teaching and delivery of learning activities related to enterprise, entrepreneurship, work-based vocational learning and careers advice, information and guidance
• The measured impacts of the different types of interventions on schools and young people.

SEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODS

2.4 Searches were conducted for recently published documents on enterprise education (2000 onwards) on the British Education Index. Current Educational Research in the United Kingdom was also searched for details of ongoing work in this field. Internet searches for relevant documents pertaining to enterprise education or enterprise learning specifically within the UK context were also undertaken. The NFER research team narrowed down the list of potentially useful material to a more focused list of the most relevant documents that should be reviewed in more detail.

REVIEW PROCESS

2.5 A standardised framework was developed by the research team in order to assist the systematic analysis of the documents. The framework helped to ensure that there was commonality in the review process and enabled researchers to draw out key information, including:

• Basic bibliographic information (authors, date of publication, etc.)
• Methods used (for example, case study or survey)
• Sample sizes
• Validity and reliability of research methods
• Key findings relating to the areas of interest outlined above
• Policy-related messages.

THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE

2.6 This section presents the main findings from the literature review related to the key areas outlined in paragraph 2.3.

2.7 It is important to point out that the quality of the research varied and a few of the documents lacked clear information about sample characteristics, data collection and analysis. Some of the reviewed research was conducted on a small scale utilising qualitative methodologies and as such the findings were not generalisable. Furthermore, some of the studies were conducted in England where the education system and policy influences are quite different from that in Scotland.

Key learning points from the literature

Confusion surrounding terminology

2.8 There was a strong consensus in the literature that the concepts of enterprise and entrepreneurship are ambiguous and difficult to define (Ofsted, 2004; Warburton & Thorpe, (n.d.); Centre for Education and Industry, 2001; Lindsay & Muijs, 2004; Henderson (2005b). The Centre for Education and Industry (2001) in England, for example, carried out a study using a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to build up a picture of current provision in terms of education for enterprise and entrepreneurship in England. The research revealed a lack of clarity surrounding the vocabulary of enterprise and entrepreneurship. Similarly, recent research conducted in England (Ofsted, 2004) aimed to evaluate enterprise learning in a sample of 33 secondary schools and to identify examples of good practice. The inspectors found that only half of the schools in the sample had an explicit and commonly understood definition of enterprise learning. They suggest that this confusion impeded progress and they argued that a clear definition of enterprise learning is required and this needs to be understood by staff, pupils and other stakeholders.

2.9 Research studies conducted in Scotland reveal a similar picture. Lindsay and Muijs (2004), for example, found evidence of a too narrow interpretation of enterprise education among teachers. In particular, many of those teachers who had not been involved in enterprise learning previously perceived enterprise as being strictly concerned with business or about making money and profit. TNS System Three (Henderson, 2005b) have recently conducted a study focusing on pupils' perceptions of, and attitudes toward, EinE and the DtS communication strategy. They reported that pupils found the term 'enterprise' challenging to describe or define.

2.10 However, other research suggests that a schools' understanding of the concept of enterprise can increase in breadth and depth as they continue on their 'journey' to implementing enterprise education. In early 2002, the Australian Government's Department of Education, Science and Training initiated a national project in almost 200 schools which undertook action research to develop understandings about innovation and best practice in enterprise education. In their report, Innovative Approaches to, and Best Practice in, Enterprise Education in Australian Schools, the report's authors found that varying interpretations of enterprise resulted in a substantial diversity of approaches to enterprise education across the country. The authors found that where the underlying principles lacked cohesion, "they were often counter productive, creating the potential for enterprise education to become dissipated as a fad" ( DEST, 2004, p. 24).

2.11 Deuchar (2004) suggests that the recent appointment of EDOs in LAs across Scotland, combined with an increased drive in staff development, has the potential to enable teachers to develop a broader interpretation of enterprise learning.

2.12 Brown (2000) highlights a similar need to adopt a broader interpretation in relation to entrepreneurship. He argues that entrepreneurship education should be viewed broadly in terms of the skills that can be taught and the characteristics that can be engendered in students that can help them develop new and innovative plans. Brown suggests that entrepreneurship education needs to focus on the features that are needed to conceive of and start up a brand new business venture.

Variable levels of provision

2.13 Previous research studies conducted in Scotland have demonstrated that provision for enterprise learning has so far been varied both within and across schools. A survey of 214 secondary schools and 35 special schools/units aimed to explore the extent of Education for Work provision (Seagraves, 2002). The author found that provision varied across the sample of schools but could be divided into five categories: "Major" (eight per cent of schools), "Extensive" (26 per cent of schools), "Mid-range" (46 per cent of schools), "Minimal" (18.5 per cent of schools), and "No provision" (1.5 per cent of schools). One third of the schools in the sample reported that they had no provision for pupils in S1, and 12 per cent had no provision for those in S2.

2.14 Similarly, a critical enquiry into enterprise education in Scottish secondary schools (Watt, 2001) found that while enterprise education could be identified at all stages of secondary education, it was often delivered by only a small number of committed and enthusiastic staff. The author found that enterprise education was a high priority within some secondary schools, but that there was evidence to suggest that the percentage of secondary pupils who had actually experienced enterprise education across the whole of Scotland was very low.

2.15 The recently completed evaluation of the Schools Enterprise Programme (Lindsay & Muijs, 2004) reported that there were relatively low levels of enterprise teaching across the curriculum. The research, which used qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the views of both teachers and pupils, found that a large proportion of teachers reported that even if they themselves were engaged in delivering enterprise activities, others in their school were not. Thus, 28 per cent of teachers disagreed strongly with the statement: "In my school most teachers are doing enterprise activities". Furthermore, a third of respondents claimed that less than ten per cent of teachers in their school were engaged in enterprise. It is worth noting that the majority of teachers surveyed said that enterprise activities were more effective when integrated into the curriculum. However, actually achieving this was seen to be very difficult.

2.16 Research evidence suggests that provision for enterprise education in schools has been as varied across the rest of the UK. The study conducted by the Centre for Education and Industry (2001) in England, for example, found that provision in this area was extremely diverse. The authors suggested that enterprise learning should be viewed as a pedagogy or approach to teaching rather than a programme and that this should be emphasised in guidance to ensure an integrated rather than an imposed approach to existing ways of working.

Barriers to provision

2.17 One of the key challenges for schools delivering enterprise education identified by Watt (2001) was that many teachers did not think there was space to fit it into the curriculum and saw it more as an extra-curricular activity. However, the author found that head teachers who believed that enterprise education was important found ways of managing the curriculum in order to offer enterprise learning, but that this was not the case in all schools. Watt also reported that, while teachers found in-service training courses for enterprise education were of great value to them, the shortage of supply teachers made the release of staff for training problematic.

2.18 Another study conducted in Scotland (Lindsay & Muijs, 2004) found that teachers experienced problems relating to timetabling. In fact, lack of time was reported to be one of the main barriers to carrying out enterprise activities. Even those teachers who had received training on enterprise education found it difficult to carry out activities because of the constraints imposed by demands of the rest of the curriculum.

Entitlement for all

2.19 The literature suggests that many teachers across Scotland and the rest of the UK see enterprise learning activities as particularly relevant for disengaged or the academically less able pupils. Thus, for example, the evaluation of the Scottish Enterprise Programme (Lindsay & Muijs, 2004) found that the majority of the 1498 teachers surveyed reported that enterprise education was particularly relevant for this target group. They found that 80 per cent of teachers agreed with the statement "enterprise education allows the less academic pupils in your classes to shine".

2.20 Similarly, research in Australia ( DEST, 2004) found that enterprise education worked particularly well with boys and with those students recognised as being 'at risk'. Because enterprise education gives priority to 'doing' as opposed to 'thinking about', the approach appears to strengthen the engagement of boys in their learning. Similarly, enterprise education was found to engage at-risk students by increasing their sense of self-responsibility and self-direction ( DEST, 2004, p. 7).

2.21 However, the Centre for Education and Industry (2001) identified a danger that "enterprise learning" can become too readily associated with particular groups of students - either the excluded or disaffected ones at one end of the continuum or the academic "high-flyers" at the other end. The authors argue that there is a need to ensure that there is an entitlement for all, regardless of ability, and that enterprise learning is relevant to all types of learners. This assertion is supported by another study conducted in Scotland (Watt, 2001), which found that enterprise education provided valuable experiences for pupils regardless of academic background. Findings from interviews with a range of school staff and pupils suggested that enterprise education motivated pupils to learn and provided a "real" context to practice and develop skills for adult life and the world of work.

Business involvement requires significant effort

2.22 A recent small scale survey conducted in Scotland found that awareness of DtS among businesses was quite low (Scottish Executive, 2005). A telephone survey was conducted with SMEs known to be participating in activities related to schools and those who had no current involvement in schools. They found that 21 per cent of participating SMEs and nine per cent of non-participating SMEs reported being aware of DtS. Generally, businesses were most aware of Work Experience and Young Enterprise activities. The majority of businesses were working with pupils in S4 to S6, and only a minority were working with younger age groups and special schools. The findings from the survey suggest that most relationships between businesses and schools were informal and contact/involvement was on an ad hoc basis. The main recommendations arising from the survey relate to the need for better promotion of enterprise education among businesses, including:

• Producing supporting literature to disseminate to employers
• Branding all activities under the EinE banner
• Focusing on business benefits.

2.23 Findings from a qualitative study carried out by TNS System Three in 2005, exploring businesses' participation in DtS suggests that a formal partnership agreement format was not appropriate for all businesses. They found some evidence to suggest that partnership agreements were not appropriate for businesses who had been engaged with schools for some time, or preferred ad-hoc, informal relationships with schools. The partnership agreement was found to be used to best effect for businesses that were previously lightly involved in enterprising opportunities or relatively new to engaging with schools (Henderson, 2005a).

2.24 A survey of secondary and special schools conducted in Scotland (Seagraves, 2002) found that staff in special schools, in particular, identified employer involvement as a major barrier to Education for Work provision. Staff in special schools reported finding it difficult to find suitable employers that were committed enough to provide work experience opportunities for young people with learning difficulties.

Good practice characteristics

2.25 The literature provides various examples relating to good practice in the delivery of enterprise learning interventions and activities. Watt (2001), for example, found that, successful enterprise education was more likely to happen in schools which had:

• A supportive and enthusiastic head teacher and senior management team
• Skilled dedicated staff who had access to curriculum and other resources
• Clear objectives for enterprise education in the school development plans
• The support of local agencies and the education authority
• Utilised opportunities for accreditation of skills.

2.26 Watt also reported that high quality links with the local business community were an important success factor, although he found that the nature and level of such links varied greatly across the country and from school to school.

2.27 Kearney (cited in Deuchar, 2004) argues that for an enterprise programme to be effective in schools there must be two essential ingredients: pupil ownership and experiential learning. Pupils must be given:

"The freedom to come up with ideas for creating and maintaining a project, take responsibility for it and experience first-hand learning which offers a real sense of utility and audience" (Deuchar, 2004: 224).

Deuchar (2004) explains that in primary schools enterprise education has traditionally taken the form of a business enterprise project where pupils work in teams to create, market and sell a product. However, he argues that it could take different forms such as a community-based enterprise project where pupils learn about community support structures and how they must anticipate and respond to changing needs. It could also take the form of an environmental enterprise project that enables pupils to develop an aspect of the local environment such as the creation and maintenance of the school garden or playground, learning that beneficial change is possible if an individual or group is prepared to take an initiative (Deuchar, 2004).

2.28 The evaluation of the SEP (Lindsay & Muijs, 2004) confirmed the need for support both internally and externally to ensure effective provision of enterprise education. In particular, the support of EDOs was seen as important to implementing enterprise activities (identified by 45 per cent of teachers); but even more important was the support of classroom assistants (identified by 73 per cent of teachers), while 51 per cent of teachers said that parental support was crucial. Support from the senior management team was also found to be important in relation to enterprise education. Getting the head teacher "on board" was identified as a key factor in ensuring the dissemination of enterprise learning throughout the school.

2.29 Another survey of schools in Scotland (Seagraves, 2002) identified some of the same, but also other, good practice characteristics as the study by Watt (2001). It found that schools that were categorised as having "major" levels of Education for Work and Enterprise activities were more likely to have:

• Used relevant resources
• Included Education for Work in their current development plan
• Set targets
• More staff designated with responsibility
• Made Education for Work a focus for staff development.

2.30 The importance of engaging and training all teachers to ensure the successful implementation of entrepreneurship learning programme was recently confirmed in a report published by the European Commission. It concluded that, "it is unlikely that much progress will be achieved without fully involving the teachers in the promotion of entrepreneurship, and providing them with specific training and pedagogical material" (European Commission, 2004, p. 27). The authors argue that this is an issue that requires more attention and dedication from teacher training colleges, educational authorities, school directors and all other actors concerned.

2.31 Recent research conducted by Ofsted (2004) showed that most of the good practice characteristics identified in Scotland are also relevant to English schools. It found that those schools with the most effective provision had a strong commitment from senior managers and a clear management structure to support enterprise learning. Furthermore, an "enterprise ethos" permeated teaching and learning across the curriculum. Effective schools made good use of local businesses and the wider community to engage pupils in real life issues and to support enterprise learning more generally; teaching and learning had clearly defined aims and objectives and students were given autonomy to tackle relevant problems; and teachers from different subject areas examined their current practice and sought ways to introduce enterprising and innovative approaches which would engage pupils more actively in learning.

Innovative teaching practices

2.32 Very little research evidence on innovative teaching practices was identified. Some of the studies did explore and examine teaching practices but there was no evidence that these approaches were particularly innovative. A useful typology of different approaches to teaching "enterprise" in schools was presented by Warburton and Thorpe (n.d.) in a recent discussion paper. They distinguished between:

• An integrated approach, where enterprise is integrated into the curriculum
• An event approach, where a day, half-day or evening might be devoted to an enterprise promotion activity
• An extra-mural approach, usually characterised by a small number of motivated students who have elected to participate in setting-up and running a simulated business
• A discrete course approach, where enterprise is specifically named in the course title and has its own methods of accreditation. Problem solving strategies tend to underpin its pedagogy.

2.33 The lack of recent evidence suggests a clear need for further more systematic research to identify innovative practice in the teaching of enterprise learning and to explore its relationship with the outcomes for pupils and/or schools.

Measured impacts

2.34 The review of the literature identified no robust evidence of measured impacts of enterprise learning activities. Instead, most of the studies were either anecdotal or presented perceived outcomes rather than measured impacts. One of the reasons for this gap could partly be seen to be the fact that, as a recent study in England has shown (Ofsted, 2004), many schools themselves do not identify the desired learning outcomes of enterprise activities and very few have effective procedures in place to assess and evaluate pupils' learning. The inspectors found that schools rarely made links to existing vocational qualifications and only a minority of pupils were able to make direct use of their enterprise experiences in assessed coursework.

2.35 The lack of robust evidence in this area was confirmed by the Centre for Education and Industry (2001), which examined the research literature and information on websites in relation to education for enterprise and entrepreneurship. They found that there was a lack of large-scale longitudinal research in this area and that the studies that had been conducted tended not to evaluate the outcomes of learning. This made it difficult to quantify long term learning outcomes for enterprise and entrepreneurship education.

2.36 A critical enquiry into enterprise education conducted in Scotland (Watt, 2001) identified positive outcomes of enterprise education on the pupils who had been involved. However, it is worth noting that all outcomes are perceived rather than measured. They found that pupils who participated in such activities:

• Had a broadened awareness of career options
• Learnt to take responsibility for their own decisions
• Gained in confidence from their experiences of success
• Developed a range of skills, knowledge and attitudes that were valuable in all aspects of life.

2.37 Watt (2001) argued that the adaptability developed through enterprise education could help young people to become more employable and was vitally needed in the current job market.

2.38 The recent evaluation of the SEP (Lindsay & Muijs, 2004) also identified various perceived positive outcomes of "enterprise activities" on pupils and schools, including that it:

• Improved pupils' collaborative skills (94 per cent of teachers)
• Improved pupils' self-esteem (90 per cent of teachers)
• Had made pupils more confident with adults (80 per cent of pupils)
• Improved pupils' attitudes to school (65 per cent of teachers).

2.39 The study also suggested that there was some evidence that the involvement in enterprise activities had positive effects on pupils' behaviour and achievements across the rest of the curriculum. Thus, just under two-fifths of teachers said that it had made pupils behave in a more enterprising way in all subjects, while 37 per cent said it had improved their achievement in maths, and 29 per cent in English. The report found that a key element of fostering pupils' enjoyment and motivation, according to teachers, was the connection that enterprise learning made with real life and actual experience and the hands-on approaches it relied on.

MAIN FINDINGS AND GAPS IN THE EVIDENCE

2.40 This literature review has considered recent publications relating to good practice in enterprise learning and other relevant initiatives. The main findings from this review can be summarised as follows:

Key learning points

• Clear definitions and interpretations of key terms are required namely; 'enterprise in education', 'enterprise' and 'entrepreneurship'. EDOs can potentially help teachers to develop a broader interpretation of key terms
• Initial delivery of enterprise learning prior to the introduction of the DtS strategy has been varied within and across schools
• The main barriers to the delivery of EinE in schools are other curriculum priorities and a lack of understanding of how enterprise can fit into the curriculum
• Effective management is a key determinant of success
• There is a danger that enterprise learning activities are only seen as relevant for the "less academic" pupils and may be perceived to occupy a relatively low place in the curriculum hierarchy
• Some businesses are reluctant to commit themselves to formal partnership agreements
• Increasing business involvement in, and awareness of, DtS requires effective strategies.

Good practice characteristics

• Provision of successful enterprise education is most likely to happen in schools with an effective support structure. Teachers felt that successful implementation required support primarily by classroom assistants, followed by local authority EDOs with parental support being critical
• It needs to have clear targets and lead to accredited learning outcomes
• It needs to be seen as being at the heart of the curriculum and should be included in the schools' development plans
• Staff need to have the time and skills to deliver activities that engage learners
• Quality links with the business community are essentials to making enterprise education a success.
• Teachers need to be made to feel fully involved in the promotion of enterprise education, and provided with specific training and relevant pedagogical material.

Innovative teaching practices

• The study identified a lack of recent research evidence on innovative teaching practices related to enterprise education and a need for systematic research. The four main approaches to enterprise in education are: integrated into the curriculum, events, extra-mural and discrete projects.

Measured impacts

• Although there is a lack of robust evidence of measured impacts of enterprise learning activities, with most of the evidence being either anecdotal or based on perceived outcomes, perceived outcomes by pupils and teachers are wholly positive with a perception that there have been immediate and longer term benefits.
• The available evidence suggests that enterprise education can increase pupils' confidence, skills and attitudes and that it can have positive effects on achievements across the curriculum.

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