RECOMMENDATIONS

The learners in the sample schools are positive about entrepreneurial opportunities as shown by a low response in learners preferring careers with financial stability but also suggested that youth entrepreneurial development is still lacking because of the lack of involvement by local entrepreneurs and local organisations, lack of competitions and the use of simulated businesses in the development of the youth.

Recommendations will now be presented to help in improving the entrepreneurship education in secondary schools. These will be based on the empirical findings investigating whether the entrepreneurship educational programmes offered in secondary schools are effective in developing knowledge and skills to school leavers. The recommendations include:

• The learners in secondary schools should be encouraged to take charge of their own education and be willing to be involved in programmes that encourage active participation so as to be able to attain good marks in both the theory and practical aspects of entrepreneurship. The low achievers in theoretical information will be encouraged when they realise that their performance is rewarded. These learners should be encouraged to be involved in an activity that will help them develop the knowledge, skills and experience required for the successful entrepreneurship activity (Tuck-shops and simulated businesses during the school year).

• The Outcomes Based Education, National Curriculum Statement and Curriculum Policy Statement which have been introduced by the Department must be followed but adjustments must be made to teaching methods to follow the interactive approach required by entrepreneurship. The monitoring of implementation should be done in schools. The Department of Education should encourage partnerships between the South African Institute for Entrepreneurship and the schools.

• The educators should change the traditional approach of listen and take notes by learners to a more participative environment that encourages

integration across the subjects. This will help Business study educators in solving their problems in financial and economic concepts when they are not familiar with them.

• Educators should read business magazines, business newspapers, and search the internet to remain informed about current issues and trends so as to inform their learners. They should also encourage learners to go to the library and search for information.

• The local businesses should be involved in the teaching of Entrepreneurship and sharing their practical experiences in the running of their businesses. The local businesses should not only provide assistance to the needy learners but should be visible in schools throughout the year and offer holiday jobs to learners. The Department of Education should encourage the partnership between local businesses and local organisations and schools in each district. The learners will be able to link the theory with the outside world.

• The assessment of learners should include the practical presentation of business plans in competitions extending from local school level to the regions and learners should be rewarded for participating. The local businesses can be invited as judges.

• Operation of simulated businesses during the school year in which learners learn various roles as managing directors. The learners can be exposed to real practical challenges facing businesses and this will create a desire to start their businesses in the future. Learners should exit in Grade 12 having skills about the ups and downs of business.

• The Department of Education should provide guidance on the use of textbooks by learners to ensure that learners use the same textbooks to ensure that the basic information is provided to all learners. A variety of textbooks can be used as supplementary information by the educators. • The Department of Education should encourage schools to participate in

Johannesburg Stock Exchange liberty challenge game where learners buy and sell shares. The learners can learn under simulated conditions about the investment opportunities and risks facing investors. These skills can be used when learners operate their businesses in the future.

• On-going training through workshops is required to all educators teaching entrepreneurship education. The educators must be correctly prepared to train learners and to expose them to the practical part of entrepreneurship.

• Policy makers should incorporate comprehensive entrepreneurship education programmes from primary school to secondary to vocational and universities and adult centres. Educators should be consulted when policies are formulated. These programmes can be offered by non-profit organisations that work hand in hand with schools (e.g. Know your Business and the Youth Enterprise Society)

• Entrepreneurship education should be offered as an optional separate subject to all learners and not only as part of Business Studies. This will help to equip all learners with entrepreneurship skills and also address the problems highlighted by educators of time constraints thus ensuring that there is enough time for practical implementation.

• A common body should be formed to support all educators involved in entrepreneurship education. This body would allow sharing of knowledge and experience among educators and experts. The learners will also be guided at an early stage in entrepreneurship. The Department of Education should establish this common body in each district so as to expose educators to the entrepreneurship education programmes that already exist in South Africa. This body will be able to coordinate the various entrepreneurship education programmes

• A programme should be developed between the local businesses and the schools so that learners can acquire holiday jobs in which they will be able to gain practical experience of the running of the businesses and handling challenges facing these businesses.

• Finally, networking with other countries and learning from global trends can also be encouraged because South Africa as a developing country is a member of BRICS.

The present study confirms the findings that in the six urban schools sampled in the Eastern Cape only three offered entrepreneurship education programmes (Isaacs, Visser, Friedrich and Brijlal, 2007:620). In the sample schools of

Motherwell, most of them were not aware of entrepreneurship programmes and few were involving learners in the JSE Liberty challenge game.

The study addressed the primary research question of assessment of current entrepreneurship education programmes in developing knowledge and skills in school leavers. The school leavers are not trained properly to be job creators. The literature study was done and entrepreneurship education programmes used in various countries and South Africa were identified. The lessons that South Africa can learn from global trends were also identified. The involvement of local businesses and organisations and non-profit organisations like the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary is a lesson learnt from the USA approach

(www.nfte.com15 April 2012).

This empirical study was done with 41 educators in the Motherwell secondary schools so as to determine the current entrepreneurship education programmes’ effectiveness in developing knowledge and skills in school leavers. The analysis of the results showed that in most schools the entrepreneurship education in the Business studies subject was not effective in developing skills because the practical part is lacking.

Recommendations were presented to improve the current entrepreneurship education programmes in secondary schools.

5.3.1 Recommendations for further research

The study focussed on one cluster which is predominantly black and thus findings cannot be generalised to all the schools in Nelson Mandela Metro pole Municipality. The Cronbach’s alpha values for competitions (0.47) and entrepreneurial labour issues (0.43) are below acceptable levels for use in research. The research also focussed only on educators because of time constraints in dealing with minors. Future research could therefore assess whether the same findings will be achieved when learners are involved.

The aim of entrepreneurship education is to prepare learners who will exit from schools prepared for the job market. These learners will be job creators instead of job seekers and therefore contribute towards economic growth by reducing the unemployment rate. Unemployment is rising amongst the youth in the townships

and rural areas. The current study focussed on the Motherwell cluster and there is an opportunity to do a study in the other clusters and rural areas and compare with the present findings.