i) No support or endorsement from public authorities.One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main obstacles highlighted by national experts is insufficient support from publicauthorities (particularly <strong>the</strong> Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education) in promoting student companyprogrammes to schools. As schools and teachers have a certain degree <strong>of</strong> autonomy indeciding which courses will be <strong>of</strong>fered to students, and entrepreneurship is not yet widelyaccepted as a learning objective by <strong>the</strong> school and education community, <strong>the</strong>re is a need forpromotion and persuasion. In this respect, it is essential that <strong>the</strong> ministries <strong>of</strong> education playan active role. Finding a place in <strong>the</strong> school curriculum for <strong>the</strong>se programmes – as an optionwithin <strong>the</strong> wider objective <strong>of</strong> fostering <strong>the</strong> entrepreneurial culture – would be an importantstep. If schools can teach <strong>the</strong> programme inside <strong>the</strong> curriculum this will increase <strong>the</strong>motivation <strong>of</strong> teachers. Also it will be possible to plan <strong>the</strong> curriculum so that students’ workload is not too heavy, if <strong>the</strong> programme is part <strong>of</strong> it. <strong>Final</strong>ly, public authorities are alsoresponsible for <strong>the</strong> inconsistent legal or administrative framework that sometimes discourages<strong>the</strong> application <strong>of</strong> such activities in schools (<strong>the</strong>se issues are fur<strong>the</strong>r developed in § 6).4.3. Quantitative data on <strong>the</strong> application <strong>of</strong> programmesIn this Section and in <strong>the</strong> following Table, estimates are provided <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> penetration<strong>of</strong> student company programmes in secondary school, as regards <strong>the</strong> involvement <strong>of</strong>educational establishments and participation by students. These estimates are based onquantitative data ga<strong>the</strong>red under <strong>the</strong> responsibility <strong>of</strong> designated national experts. In anumber <strong>of</strong> countries, this type <strong>of</strong> information was not available for all <strong>the</strong> existingprogrammes. However, even in those cases, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> existing activities, and <strong>the</strong> main onesin quantitative terms, were included in <strong>the</strong> survey. As <strong>the</strong> figures on which <strong>the</strong>se estimates arebased did not represent all existing programmes in Europe, <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> penetration <strong>of</strong>programmes, and particularly <strong>the</strong> participation <strong>of</strong> students, is probably underestimated.Therefore, <strong>the</strong> indicative figures provided should be considered as <strong>the</strong> closest possibleapproximation to reality on <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> information available.Students taking part in mini-company programmes are still a minority. During <strong>the</strong> 2003/04school year, in most countries <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> secondary school students involved in <strong>the</strong>seactivities was below 1% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total. The countries with <strong>the</strong> estimated highest participation <strong>of</strong>students (above 2 %) were Ireland, Lithuania, Austria, <strong>the</strong> UK and Norway.It is estimated that, every year, at least 200 000 students in secondary schools (but <strong>the</strong> actualnumber is probably higher) take part in <strong>the</strong>se programmes in <strong>the</strong> EU 25 and Norway. Thisfigure is drawn from a selected sample <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most widespread programmes in each country,among those listed in <strong>the</strong> Inventory shown in Annex.However, as <strong>the</strong>se programmes should not be imposed on students, but ra<strong>the</strong>r promoted andmade available to all those potentially interested, what is probably more significant in a longerterm perspective is <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> schools that have decided to <strong>of</strong>fer this option to <strong>the</strong>irstudents.Countries where <strong>the</strong>se programmes seem to be more widespread in secondary schools (it isestimated that between 40 and 50% <strong>of</strong> all secondary schools participate) are Ireland, where agreat variety <strong>of</strong> student company activities exist, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m being incorporated withinprogrammes that form part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial curriculum, and <strong>the</strong> UK, where especially YoungEnterprise has a long and well established tradition. After those two, <strong>the</strong>re are countrieswhere it is estimated that around 30% <strong>of</strong> secondary schools <strong>of</strong>fer mini-company programmes(Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway). In all remaining countries, <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> participation <strong>of</strong>33
secondary schools has been estimated at between 3% and 15%. However, even <strong>the</strong> lowestrates <strong>of</strong> school involvement would rise to between 10 and 20 % if upper secondary educationalone is considered.In all countries (with <strong>the</strong> exception <strong>of</strong> Norway) <strong>the</strong> vast majority <strong>of</strong> students take part in <strong>the</strong>seactivities in <strong>the</strong>ir upper secondary education. In some countries, mini-company programmesare not even <strong>of</strong>fered at lower secondary level.As regards <strong>the</strong>ir use in comprehensive or general secondary education ra<strong>the</strong>r than inspecialised secondary education (vocational, technical or commercial), <strong>the</strong> picture is fairlymixed, with countries like Germany and Sweden where participation is considerably higherin comprehensive education, and o<strong>the</strong>rs like Austria and <strong>the</strong> Czech Republic where <strong>the</strong>situation is <strong>the</strong> opposite.Limited information available on participation by gender shows a good balance betweenmales and females, with female participants even prevailing in some cases (e.g. JuniorAchievement Company Programmes in Estonia and Latvia, where female participantsaccount for over 60% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total).There are no programmes in operation at <strong>the</strong> moment based on <strong>the</strong> methodology <strong>of</strong> studentsrunning a mini-company in Greece and Turkey. However, a major initiative will be launchedin Greece from <strong>the</strong> school year 2005/06 (see Section 6.1.). Also, in Turkey preparatorystudies are ongoing in order to include student companies in <strong>the</strong> curricula <strong>of</strong> vocationaleducation, making use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong> this <strong>Report</strong>.Quantitative data were not available for Spain, Italy, <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, Romania andSlovakia.34
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