Entrepreneurship is not a dirty word!

Entrepreneurship is not a dirty word, but in a schooling context, one might be forgiven for thinking so.

As an educator, when I hear the word 'entrepreneurship', my thinking jumps straight to a 'new start-up', a 'problem worth solving', a 'product' and of course 'making money'. And then my mind quickly jumps to, 'we better start a program in our school straight away or we will be left behind'. This is normal systems response to something that is only partly understood.

There is no agreed global definition of what an entrepreneur is but I quite like the one offered by Baden U'ren in this Edleaders podcast interview - 'an entrepreneur is a master of uncertainty!'

Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, reasoning and acting. It is a capability and attribute rather than a set of prescribed skills students must obtain within the confines of a knowledge based curriculum.

At its core, entrepreneurship is a mindset! It is about the learning journey, a process of discovery and an invitation for students to take up residency in a place of ambiguity and possibilities. As teachers, we need to be reminded that it is not about a product at the end of a learning sequence with outcomes that are easily quantifiable.

If we accept the responsibilities of schools to prepare students for a modern economy, innovation advancement, increasing volatility and competing systems; surely nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset has a role to play in the learning architecture of schools?

'In a world where uncertainty abounds' as U'ren puts it, I wonder how entrepreneurship can support our young people expand their thinking, increase their resilience and foster self-discovery?

Creating 'space' for entrepreneurial endeavour within the confines of the schooling system is easier said than done. After listening to this interview with U'ren and my co-host Luke Callier, consider how you might take one step forward in promoting an entrepreneurial mindset in your school.