Nurturing The Entrepreneurial Spirit—Developing Teachers’ Economic Knowledge And Entrepreneurial Dispositions

The No Child Left Behind legislation has created an increased focus on K-12 curriculum standards, pedagogy, and teacher knowledge. On component of this shift is an increased focus on personal finance, economic, and entrepreneurial education initiatives. Entrepreneurial education is increasingly more important not only in our economy but also in our educational system. Despite this focus, the perceptions of the classroom teacher—the agents most responsible for the delivery of the entrepreneurial curriculum—have been largely overlooked. For example, how do teachers perceive the role and importance of entrepreneurs? What are the perceptions of teachers with regards to their ability to find adequate curriculum materials? How do teachers feel about their ability to deliver entrepreneurial education? Finally, how do these perceptions change when teachers are exposed to formal entrepreneurial education opportunities? This research examines teacher perceptions of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship education in the context of the statewide Entrepreneurs in Kentucky pilot program. During that period, over 400 teachers were given formal entrepreneurial education training in workshops around the state, and over 5,000 students were exposed to one or more parts of the program. Pre- and post-test evaluations of teachers attending these workshops indicate (1) that teacher’s perceptions of entrepreneurs were favorable to begin with; (2) that professional development opportunities for teachers significantly improved already positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship and nowledge of economic and entrepreneurial content; and, (3) that teacher’s confidence in their ability to deliver entrepreneurial education increased as a result of participating in these professional training opportunities.