Economic and management science learning area of Curriculum 2005 and entrepreneurial orientation

Abstract

This study focus on the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), Education and Economic and Management Science learning area of curriculum 2005 constructs in order to determine whether EMS education can impact on the entrepreneurial orientation of learners. A brief overview is given to see how the EO construct has been described in academic literature at firm level as well as societal level. Entrepreneurship and education in schools are discussed with emphasis on what has been reported in the literature. Problems to make comparisons between countries are looked at and why it is important to have entrepreneurial education. A comparison is made between the enterprising skills, behaviour and attitudes mentioned by Gibb and the five dimensions of EO to determine common ground in teaching for EO. EO and education is also discussed. Education is seen as the independent variable to improve learners performance because it reaches the youth for many years and a tool to develop EO through a curriculum. The implicit role of culture is referred to and EO is seen as the mediator between the national culture and entrepreneurship. An attempt is made to develop an understanding of what should be included in EO learning mode to effectively convey the EO dimensions to the learner. Comparisons of the creative steps of Driver, knowledge skills of Fayolle and the business mode of Gibb were compared to teaching for the EO dimensions. Finally the results of an empirical study that was done to determine if the EO of learners that went through the EMS learning area of curriculum 2005 from grade 7-9 did change compared to a control group that did not go through the EMS learning area of curriculum 2005 from grade 7-9.The results reported that innovativeness and risk taking are affected by the EMS learning area of curriculum 2005.