Institutionalising entrepreneurship education as a strategic approach to enhance entrepreneurial spirit in selected schools in KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

The institutionalisation of entrepreneurship education in South African schools is essential for youth empowerment and addressing critical socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, poverty, and inequality. Despite its potential to foster innovation and drive economic development, its implementation faces significant barriers, including the absence of policies, resource constraints, inadequate funding, and poor infrastructure. While entrepreneurship can create jobs, boost individual earnings, and support national growth, South Africa lacks a formalised approach to integrating it into school curricula to equip learners with essential entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. This gap highlights an urgent need for strategic interventions to promote a culture of entrepreneurship among primary and secondary school learners. The aim of the study was, consequently, to explore the institutionalisation of entrepreneurship education as a strategic approach to improve entrepreneurial spirit in KwaZulu-Natal schools. To achieve this objective, along with the secondary objectives, both quantitative and qualitative research methods guided the data collection processes. The 356-respondent sample was selected using a nonprobability quota sampling technique, with data collected using a questionnaire and one-on-one interviews. The data obtained were captured, cleaned, and analysed using the latest statistical package for social sciences analysis software, SPSS, version 29.0. The institutionalisation of entrepreneurship was found achievable through entrepreneurial education integration as a compulsory subject of formal structures and systems of educational institutions, such as curriculum and policies. However, the study found the lack of policies, resources, and trained personnel remains a challenge, while the majority respondents felt the government is not doing enough to implement entrepreneurship education policy for basic education. This study provides both theoretical and practical implications for government, educators, learners, and parents, as well as business, society, and principals. The study also offers several recommendations, one of which suggests the government should consider developing an entrepreneurship education policy mandating educators to teach entrepreneurship from primary through secondary levels. The study further recommends that the Department of Basic Education should organise entrepreneurship workshops or training sessions, aimed at capacitating principals and entrepreneurship educators with entrepreneurial knowledge. These workshops and trainings should focus on product knowledge, conceptualisation of EED, marketing, and other critical aspects of entrepreneurship. Moreover, these workshops can serve as networking opportunities, fostering collaboration among educators and sharing best practices in EED. A theoretical framework addressing underlying factors such as the lack of comprehensive policy formulation, resource constraints, inadequate funding, and insufficient infrastructure is proposed. This framework is designed to be easily understood by policymakers and the government, enabling the efficient implementation of strategies to address the challenges of formalising and introducing entrepreneurship education in schools nationwide.