Management Center Innsbruck (MCI)
Workshop 1 – Set-Up and Context
This initial workshop was organized according to the Workshop Type I (see page 21) to provide a platform for further discussion about EE. The colleagues of MCI invited colleagues from Pädagogische Hochschule Tirol (PHT). At the beginning colleagues from MCI welcomed the participants and gave an overview of the Tandem Workshop and introduced the PIETE project, its activities and intended outputs. Afterwards, colleague from PHT introduced EntreComp wheel, emphasising its importance for the PIETE project, then explained the Austrian education system and the levels of ITE.
In a next step, our colleague from PHT gave an overview of EE in the existing ITE curricula. Finally, he presented EE in Austria so far and the status quo of EE for teachers in Austria, emphasising that entrepreneurship is already present in some curricula and so called ‘exercise companies’ in business-oriented schools. In Austria there is also the possibility for schools to get certified as Entrepreneurial School, where entrepreneurship activities are implemented holistically and with a long-term perspective in the everyday school life (40 certified schools out of 117 schools in Austria).
Next to this, there are several initiatives in Austria fostering EE such as the Initiative for Teaching Entrepreneurship (IFTE), the Entrepreneurial Education for School Innovation (e.e.s.i.) or JA Junior Achievement Austria. Furthermore, there are special programmes and possibilities for schools and students on entrepreneurship such as the Youth Start Entrepreneurial Challenges, the Junior Company Initiative (students from 15 to 19 years old can found a real company), the Entrepreneur License (organised by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Global Entrepreneurship Week and Entrepreneurship Summit). At university level, a university study programme called Business Education exists.
Finally, there are some programmes and events for teachers such as Teachers in Business, the Kitzbühler Summer University for Entrepreneurship or the Entrepreneurship Competence Passport for teachers. The participants of the PIETE Tandem Workshop split into three brainstorming groups and discussed the following questions:
Actors and structures:
1) Where do you see hurdles and problems for EE in the ITE?
2) What would have to be changed?
Content and visions:
1) What does it take to be able to offer and impart EE in ITE in a competent and applicationoriented manner?
2) Which EE content would be useful or desirable in ITE?
Participants presented their outputs with flipcharts or in a PPT format. A short discussion and summary of the main outcomes followed. At the end of the PIETE Tandem Workshop the participants were asked to have a look on the PIETE survey and to give feedback on it within the next days.
Main Results – Workshop 1
Many ideas and opinions were mentioned during the tandem workshop. Here we grouped them into categories.
Issues and challenges for the integration of EE in ITE:
• Absence of a mutual understanding of EE on the Initial Teacher Educators Level
− EE is not self-explanatory; many different perceptions and standpoints of EE exist, which vary among individuals.
− What is the point of reference for defining EE? Do we go with the definition inside EntreComp? The OECD Learning Compass? How do we decide what is most suitable and reasonable for what we want to achieve?
− Some teachers see it as important and already integrate it in their existing lectures; others again, are missing the understanding why it should be important to them at all, and why they should be affected in the first place
– they do not see the relevance of EE to be integrated in every discipline taught.
• Inflexible structures
− The whole system is characterized by little flexibility and political dependency (Governmental Department of Education, internal organizational structures, etc.).
• Referring to EntreComp, some competences might be more easily transmitted than others. Participants differentiate between implicit and explicit competences, whereas explicit competences might be easier to teach and to be obtained from students (e.g. planning), than implicit competences (e.g. creativity).
• We need to identify how an entrepreneurial teacher should be and what differentiates him from other teachers? The same applies to the level beneath: how should students who have got entrepreneurship education differ from those who have not? The answer to this question should be guiding for our forthcoming project outputs.
What should be changed?
• In general, more flexibility is needed when implementing EE in existing curricula
• A platform for EE awareness raising should be created
• Improve sensibilisation and communication about the importance of EE for ITE
• Furthermore, measuring the competency development through appropriate tools and indicators is also an important point to consider.
• Attitudes should change from “lone fighter” to team player.
• A mutual understanding of EE among ITE, but also entrepreneurship experts is key.
• Entrepreneurship Education should include critical thinking (out-of-the-box thinking) regarding consumption, economy and management, sustainability, innovation – no classical business studies!
What do we need to embed EE in ITE?
• Suitability (points of reference and connection), coaching sessions
• Awareness raising
• Persuasion
• Courage and openness (not only preaching but doing)
• The participants emphasised that ITEs need an entrepreneurial attitude to teach entrepreneurship and that communication is very important to convince ITEs of the importance and added value of EE for every teaching subject. It is important to make ITEs curious about EE and arouse interest.
• Choosing the “right” teacher who is competent to educate EE (reflection on the call and selection process of ITE Educators)
• The participants of the PIETE Tandem Workshop emphasised the need and the possibilities of entrepreneurial experience in real life situations (such as school projects) where appropriate skills can be practiced and applied by initial teacher educators.
• Best Practice Examples for ITE Educators (didactics, open source material), examples that
are directly applicable and refer to different EE competences
What EE contents would be reasonable and desired to be embedded in ITE?
• Introducing all aspects of EE in a subject-appropriate manner (e.g. subject music → creativity as competence).
• Explicit designation of disciplinary and interdisciplinary entrepreneurship competences in the curricula (accompanied with a transparent operationalisation and visualization of the single EE aspects).
• Working in the field of EE not only in a school context; making several and different experiences with entrepreneurship also outside the school context.
• Integration of EE among the postulated teaching principles (introducing a separate EE teaching principle, principles referring marginally to entrepreneurship do often not appear very appealing to be implemented in reality).
• Project-based approach in teaching.
• Creating space for entrepreneurship, e.g. fostering ideas that my students have and supporting them in their undertakings; recognizing and pursuing opportunities in the environment etc. and being able to integrate EE nto the day-to-day teaching.
Workshop 2 – Set-Up and Context
The second workshop was organized according to the Workshop Type II (see page 24). The workshop was attended by 13 participants, 7 from MCI (consisting of associate professor for Bachelor students, senior lecturer for Bachelor students, lecturer for Bachelor and Master students and Head R&D Unit Management & Society, research and teaching assistant for Bachelor and Master students of the study programme tourism and leisure business, research and teaching assistant at the department Research & Development for Bachelor and Master students, assistants from the department Learning Solutions and from the department Research & Development) and 6 from PHT (consisting of university professor for Bachelor and Master students, representative of the center for didactics, team leader for vocational training research, representative of the Institute for Digitization, Education for Sustainable Development and Quality Development, lecturer, eesi regional coordinator for Tyrol). Most of the participants took part in the first workshop. At the beginning, participants were welcomed and got an overview of the contents of the Tandem Workshop, also introducing the aims of PIETE briefly. Afterwards, the EntreComp was introduced in detail and an overview of the Austrian education system and the levels of ITE followed. In the first workshop round participants had to reflect on the competences they already address in their classes (already addressed competences are marked on the EntreComp Poster with post-its or stickers). Afterwards, those competences which are the least addressed, have been identified and served as a gateway for the second workshop round. Three groups worked on three different competences to reflect on how to foster these in the future by developing concrete module/teaching/learning suggestions for ITE programmes.
Main Results – Workshop 2
Many ideas and opinions were mentioned during the tandem workshop, here we grouped them into categories.
What was ITE teacher’s general assumption about Entrepreneurship competences?
Although, agreeing on a mutual understanding of what EE actually means was challenging during the first workshop, in the second workshop a general consensus about what EE means emerged and relevant opinions, perspectives and viewpoints seemed to be adapted along the way in which the workshops were held. During the first round of the workshop, participants were asked to describe “being entrepreneurial” in one word, and surprisingly, participants had a very homogenous understanding of what it means to them. Keywords included: becoming active, activity, acting, doing, openness, implementation, opportunity, creativity, action, courage,
responsibility.
What were the already existing entrepreneurship elements in ITE? What were the elements of Entrecomp that could be easily embedded into ITE?
The first workshop round was surprising and revealed that actually many of the competences in EntreComp are already present and fostered in ITE programmes and higher education programmes, such as working with others, planning & management, coping with ambiguity, uncertainty & risk, learning through experience, spotting opportunities, ethical & sustainable thinking, self-awareness & self-efficacy. This happens either directly through
specifically dedicated seminars and courses as e.g. „Entrepreneurship & Management “, „Business Administration“ and „Project Management“. Or indirectly, more implicitly, through the application of different didactical and learning methods (e.g. bachelor/master thesis, mentoring, idea competition etc.).
What methods/solutions were mentioned for embedding entrepreneurship education intoITE?
After marking the competences, which are already part of ITE and higher education, we were able to identify those competences, which are not – or only partly – addressed by now. In our case, we were able to sort out three main competences, which show a potential for further improvement, namely vision (spotting opportunities), motivation & perseverance (resources), and taking the initiative (into action). Starting with these competences, three solutions have been presented for how to embed EE into ITE.
• MODULE I: The Visionaries
− Learning and Teaching Methods future workshop; design-thinking workshop; prototyping (e.g. with Lego serious play, dough, things from nature, digital tools, etc.); gamification (e.g. augmented reality, The Sims video game, robots, escape room etc.); movement (e.g. walk the talk), visualization and the involvement of external places for learning is central
− Contents/Topics & Learning Goals
o Future with sense in the mirror of the challenges of the 21st century
o Creating value in the future for the self and for the society
o Change and transformation
o Basic learning goal: imagine the future, develop a vision to turn ideas into action, visualize future scenarios to help guide effort and action
o Immersion: realization & implementation of the vision
− Possibilities for Integration
o across institution & established standard; starts at the beginning of a study and ends with graduation; extra-curricular and over-curricular; at specific local/regional events e.g. Long Night of Research
• MODULE II: Motivation & Perseverance
− Learning and Teaching Methods
o Kick-Off Workshop: meeting venue outside traditional classroom, introduction of concept and tasks and input for students (discussion, training workshops)
o Elaboration on a project idea over one semester, self-paced learning, feedbackloops with educators & simulations (invitation of guest entrepreneurs, learning from mistakes, group discussions, problem-oriented learning, practical experience)
o Blended & online learning (e.g. webinars, TED talks etc.), excursions etc. (processoriented learning, self-paced learning)
o Presentation of results in a video format (includes direct, interactive, and practicaloperational teaching and learning methods)
o Extent: 5 ECTS (125 teaching units); max. 25 participants, groups á 5 maximum
− Contents/Topics & Learning Goals
o Active implementation of ideas and consequent pursuing
o Constructive handling of professional challenges
o Realization/implementation of the set individual and collective goals in the long term
o Productive handling of pressure and resistance and recognizing mistakes as chance to learn from
− Possibilities for Integration
o Elective mandatory-module – existing lecture “educational sciences” (5 ECTS)
o Extra/over-curricular module (Digital Badge Certificate)
o Winter/Summer School
• MODULE III: EE Taking the Initiative
− Learning and Teaching Methods
o Awareness raising
o Problem identification and definition in groups and solution finding
o Presentation & pitching
o Learning experience (success and failure)
o Individual learning and group-based learning (agreements, coordination, communication, motivation, compromise)
o Reflection
− Contents/Topics & Learning Goals
o Learning experience
o Self-efficacy
o EE competences
o Initiate processes that create value. Take up challenges. Act and work independently to achieve goals, stick to intentions and carry out planned tasks.
What are the anticipated problems and challenges?
Anticipated challenges have been evaluated in detail during the first workshop already. At the time, participants especially struggled to find a mutual understanding, which, as stated earlier, could be overcome during the workshops. A second challenge raised, referred to the inflexibility of structures (higher education system, policies, etc.). To counterbalance, participants emphasized the transmission of competences via extra-, over- curricular or elective courses, as well as through summer or winter schools and special event occasions.
Another challenge, which participants saw back then, is that some competences might be transmitted more easily than others. In the second workshop this has been exposed as misbelief. Indeed, it is more about preparation and an efficient teaching and learning design, which ensures that learning goals can be reached successfully. Also, a competence, which is supposedly easy to transmit may not enfold the wished spill-over effects if transmitted in the wrong way and by not being aligned to the right target group for example.
Finally, the differentiation of an entrepreneurial teacher and an entrepreneurial student from other teachers and students was a core concern. The EntreComp has been identified here as valuable source and reference base to support the formulation of suitable learning and teaching goals.