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The Role of the University in Supporting Teachers in General Education to Develop Learning Environments Related to Working Life and Entrepreneurship

University Partnerships for Pre-Service and Teacher Development

ISBN: 978-1-78714-265-7, eISBN: 978-1-78714-264-0

Publication date: 27 May 2017

Abstract

For a number of years and in several policy programs, entrepreneurship education has been considered a core part of the educational system in every European country. However, teachers in general education seem ill-equipped to incorporate entrepreneurship in their daily practices. The present study examines how universities can support teachers’ professional development in creating learning environments in general education related to working life and entrepreneurship, highlighting design-based research (DBR) as one model of continuing education. The continuing education process in question was a university-school collaborative partnership in a regional project coordinated by the university and involving teachers (N = 8) in comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools. Each teacher was observed and supported by a university lecturer (one of the authors) in their natural learning environments while developing their practices. The university lecturer working as project leader is a researcher in entrepreneurship education and has previously worked as a teacher at the educational levels in question. Despite some challenges, the findings encourage further development of the model, especially for scheduling of the supporting research.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

The continuing education process reported here formed a part of a project related to working life and entrepreneurship which was carried out in northern Finland during 2014–2015. The project was coordinated by the University of Lapland and was funded by the European Social Fund and the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, within the administrative branch of the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

Citation

Hietanen, L. and Kesälahti, E. (2017), "The Role of the University in Supporting Teachers in General Education to Develop Learning Environments Related to Working Life and Entrepreneurship", University Partnerships for Pre-Service and Teacher Development (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 10), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120170000010004

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited