Final Report of the Expert Group - European Commission - Europa

evidence available supports the effectiveness of these programmes in tangibly promoting theentrepreneurial spirit of young people. Also, these programmes seem to have a positiveinfluence on equal opportunities between sexes.Integration in the curriculum, and application at school levelThere are only a few countries where student company programmes are officially recognisedor recommended as an option within national curricula, and this tends to be the case morefrequently in vocational education than in comprehensive secondary education.It is generally felt that, in all countries, schools enjoy a sufficient degree of autonomy andfreedom allowing them to implement mini-company programmes, either as a curricular or asan extra-curricular activity. Obstacles lie with the reluctance of schools and teachers tobecome involved when programmes are not backed up, recognized or recommended by theeducational authorities.Although student company activities are in many cases offered by schools within theirprogramme, they generally suffer from insufficient recognition and from difficulties ofintegration into the official courses. Practical problems with implementing these activitiesare linked with the requirements to meet curriculum goals in each subject, insufficient hoursto develop subject contents, difficulties of adapting a cross-curricular approach in certainprogrammes, lack of motivation and awareness of the educational value of these activitiesamong the teaching staff.The official inclusion of student company activities as an option in framework curriculaestablished at national or regional level has a positive effect on their dissemination and theirsuccess, for instance by raising the motivation of teachers.These activities require from teachers not only special knowledge, but also a change inteaching methodologies. Also, while knowledge or experience of business can be foundfrequently enough among teachers within professional education, this is not the case incomprehensive secondary education. Although basic training for teachers is normally offeredby external organisations promoting these programmes, there is in most countries a lack ofsystematic training (both in-service and further training) offered or supported by publicauthorities on how to implement entrepreneurship projects at school, or in some casesteachers are not encouraged by schools to make use of the training on offer.A certain amount of extra time and out-of-school work is often needed, in particular formini-companies dealing with real products or services. Additional work of teachers beyondnormal school hours is in many cases neither recognised nor rewarded, thus discouragingteachers from getting involved in these activities.Funding and measures of supportIn most cases student company programmes are driven and organised by external actors(e.g. NGOs) rather than by the education system itself, although they may receive significantsupport from the public sector. For the above reason, and because sometimes they take placeoutside the official school curriculum, these programmes generally suffer from insufficientfinancial resources.Activities are based on strong involvement of the private sector, taking the form of fundingor contributions in kind. Depending on countries and programmes, in some cases the53