Thesis (Ph. D. Education (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The development of learners’ entrepreneurial skills in Agricultural Sciences remains as one of the crucial aspects in the midst of the high unemployment rate in South Africa. Development of these skills depends on the capacity of teachers’ instructional decisions. These skills play a significant role in the agricultural sector as this sector experiences changes in the production and marketing of agricultural products. These significant changes demand relevant skills, such as negotiation skills, critical thinking skills and creativity skills, in order to support these changes and also for school leavers to remain relevant in the 21st century. Therefore, it is against this background that the study sought to investigate teachers’ instructional decisions on the development of learners’ entrepreneurial skills in an Agricultural Sciences classroom. The social reconstructionism theory was used as a framework to guide how teaching and learning should be structured in order to develop agricultural entrepreneurial skills. The study was submersed in the exploratory mixed method approach. Purposive and systematic sampling were used to select 4 teachers and 100 Grade 12 Agricultural Sciences learners from 4 local secondary schools in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo, from whom the data were collected through the use of observational inventory and questionnaires. Interpretative analysis and a multinomial logistic regression model were used to analyse the collected data. The study found that Agricultural Sciences lessons were dominated by traditional methods for both teaching and assessment because teaching is geared towards passing control tests and examinations rather than towards the development of skills. Furthermore, a lack of professional knowledge was also visible, where lessons were not properly planned and the teachers’ inability to relate the lesson to reality was evident. It was also observed from the results of the multinomial logistic regression that other factors that influence the development of agricultural entrepreneurial skills include, among others, the type of questions asked, the learning environment and the number of practical lessons. The study further found that 68% of learners prefers to learn through interact methods other than the traditional methods. The results further indicated that learners have positive attitudes towards learning agricultural entrepreneurship and they also use iii some this knowledge in their daily activities. Therefore, as a result of this study, the researcher recommends that the Department of Basic Education, in conjunction with institutions of higher learning, provide regular workshops or training opportunities for Agricultural Sciences teachers so that they become relevant practitioners of developing learners’ agricultural entrepreneurial skills. The workshops should focus mainly on planning a lesson for a vocational subject like Agricultural Sciences, and emphasis should be placed on the type of resources relevant to the teaching of Agricultural Sciences.

During the recent years the interest in entrepreneurial education has increased both in terms of research being made in the subject, but also in the extent of entrepreneurial courses in Swedish secondary schools, where as the concept Junior Achievement (JA) is particularly being used. A common goal of the entrepreneurial education is apart from teaching the students how to start and run a business, to develop the students’ entrepreneurial skills and competences. The main purpose of the essay is to describe and illustrate the role of the teacher in the entrepreneurial pedagogy being used in courses with the JA concept and to investigate which entrepreneurial skills are being developed by the students participating in these courses. There is also the purpose of investigate what the characteristics are of this entrepreneurial pedagogy being used in the courses using the JA concept. The main theoretical foundation underpinning this study is the pedagogical philosophy formulated by John Dewey and the theory of situational leadership. My study took place in a secondary school in the area ofStockholm, where the JA concept was used in economical and project work courses. Two teachers teaching on these courses were interviewed and a questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain data from the teachers’ students. The main findings from this study are that the entrepreneurial pedagogy being used in the courses with the JA concept show high similarities with the philosophy of John Dewey. The role of the teacher is to be a tutor, guiding the students through the work process, by being more directional and instructive at start, and more supportive and encouraging in the end. However, the results show that it‘s unclear if the amount of help and support the students receive from the teacher is sufficient. The entrepreneurial skills, for example communication ability and creativity are being developed the most when they are connected to economical work assignments. Regarding the cooperation ability it is unclear if the ability is being developed due to the fact that the results show that students tend to cooperate with their friends and the work load being unequally shared in the JA business.

Entrepreneurial skills stimulate entrepreneurial activities. An increase in entrepreneurial activities culminates in high economic growth, creation of employment, and alleviation of poverty. South Africa’s entrepreneurial activity ratio stands at 9.1%, far below 14.3% of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. Entrepreneurship is a national priority endeavour which helps absorb individuals searching for employment. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) provide employment to approximately 61% of households in South Africa. SMME shutdowns have increased and can be attributed to lack of entrepreneurial proficiencies. Hence, contingent employees in small retail businesses face poor working conditions, are unprotected by labour legislation, low remuneration, skills redundancy, and discrimination. They are also not affiliated with a union. The foregoing variables lead to job insecurity. Job insecurity leads to job dissatisfaction, disloyalty, and low organisational commitment. The study investigated whether contingent employees in Roodepoort have entrepreneurial skills to be entrepreneurial, as an avenue to offset job insecurity. The question why contingent employees are not entrepreneurial in Roodepoort was posed. A sample composed of 129 contingent employees from 60 small retail businesses in Roodepoort was used. Results showed a positive relationship between entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurship, job insecurity and entrepreneurship, and contingent employees and job insecurity. However, it appears that contingent employees in Roodepoort were not affected nor concerned about job insecurity. They possess a significant understanding of entrepreneurial skills, yet they are not entrepreneurial. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-05-16T18:20:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvia Simoni Orlando.pdf: 1225090 bytes, checksum: 7346eb95715889b3ef9a1ed99161e82f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-16T18:20:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvia Simoni Orlando.pdf: 1225090 bytes, checksum: 7346eb95715889b3ef9a1ed99161e82f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-27 / Football is a sport recognized in Brazil as a cultural phenomenon and mobilizing the economy to influence and move the various business segments. Because this characteristic of the sport, this study aimed to identify the influence of the sporting arenas of the main football state clubs of São Paulo, in the creation and survival of micro and small business entrepreneurs in their surroundings. The arenas were researched: Corinthian’s Arena, Allianz Park, Morumbi Stadium and Urbano Caldeira Stadium. The choice of these arenas was due because of the movement in their surroundings in sporting championships and also in major events during the year. For this, it was developed a research, whose method was the quality of which used as a data collection instrument, with semi-structured interviews. The sample consisted of ten entrepreneurs, micro and small business owners identified through a mapping around these arenas. The data were analyzed in light of the content analysis, according to Bardin (1977), and organized in response categories. This research identified the context of sports arenas in the state of São Paulo as an entrepreneurial opportunity to be exploited. The arenas influence the creation, results and survival of the micro and small business that are installed in your surroundings. The main difficulties encountered by entrepreneurs is the limitation of resources, bureaucracy and existing taxes in Brazil and main contribution, the research indicates that management and strategic knowledge contribute, the context influences and impacts on results, but they are the entrepreneurial competence of the leaders that determine the survival of micro and small businesses. / O futebol é um esporte reconhecido no Brasil como fenômeno cultural e mobilizador da economia por influenciar e movimentar diversos segmentos de negócio. Tendo em vista essa característica do esporte, este estudo teve por objetivo identificar a influência das arenas esportivas dos principais clubes de futebol do estado de São Paulo, na criação e sobrevivência de micro e pequenos negócios empreendedores em seu entorno. As arenas pesquisadas foram: Arena Corinthians, Allianz Park, Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo e Estádio Urbano Caldeira. A opção por essas arenas se deu devido à movimentação das mesmas em campeonatos esportivos e também em grandes eventos durante o ano. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido uma pesquisa de natureza descritiva e exploratória, cujo método foi o qualitativo à qual utilizou como instrumento de coleta de dados, entrevistas com roteiro semiestruturado. A amostra foi composta por dez empreendedores, proprietários de micro e pequenas empresas, identificados por meio de um mapeamento no entorno dessas arenas. Os dados foram tratados à luz da análise de conteúdo, conforme Bardin (1977), e organizados em categorias de respostas. O presente estudo identificou o contexto das arenas esportivas do estado de São Paulo como uma oportunidade empreendedora a ser explorada. As arenas influenciam na criação, nos resultados e na sobrevivência das MPEs que se instalam em seu entorno. As principais dificuldades encontradas pelos empreendedores são a limitação de recursos, a burocracia e os impostos existentes no Brasil e como principal contribuição, o estudo aponta que o conhecimento em administração e gestão estratégica contribui, o contexto influencia e impacta nos resultados, mas são as competências empreendedoras dos dirigentes que determinam a sobrevivência de micro e pequenos negócios.

The research problem for the study was the low entrepreneurial activity in South Africa that leads to high unemployment rates. The research question wanted to investigate the effect that entrepreneurship education may have on the students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Intentions were measured because the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which was employed as the framework, postulates that intention is the best predictor of behaviour. The study also investigated the effect of social norms on the students’ entrepreneurial intentions; whether the students who have self-employed parents and/or have personal entrepreneurial experience, would show higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions than students with a different background. A quantitative research design was employed to answer the research questions, and to test the hypotheses. An online survey was sent to the entire target population and anonymous responses were received. This was important and ethical as it protected the respondents’ identity. A total of 92 responses out of 1 743 students were received, and 73 were complete. The collected data was analysed using a Stata 15 statistical package. The study found that entrepreneurship education does indeed have an effect of raising the students’ entrepreneurial intentions, attitudes and their perceived entrepreneurial skills gained from studying entrepreneurship. The students who come from communities where entrepreneurship is less prevalent showed the highest gain in intentions, attesting to the effect of education in an open distance learning context on their intentions. The students’ entrepreneurial background did not show any effect on their intentions; those who have self-employed parents did not have higher intentions than the students with a different background. To increase the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, it is recommended that more practical ways of teaching entrepreneurship should be implemented. It is also recommended that entrepreneurship education should be extended to more students, and particularly to science and engineering students. This is because the latter are more likely to produce innovative products that will lead to high growth, high impact businesses that will employ more people for longer, therefore raising entrepreneurial activity and reducing unemployment. / Business Management / M. Com. (Entrepreneurship)

I essäns form utforskas här grunderna till och eventuella effekter av formuleringar i läroplanen för gymnasieskolan där entreprenöriella förmågor framhålls. Dessa ska främjas hos eleverna vilket ska leda till att de i framtiden kan starta och driva företag. Syftet är att undersöka varför läroplanen innehåller dessa formuleringar, om det är möjligt eller önskvärt att lärare omsätter dem i undervisning, vad det kan innebära för eleverna, utbildningen, arbetslivet och för samhället i stort. Essän tar sin utgångspunkt i ett boksamtal om romanen Yarden som författaren till denna essä och en grupp elever hade hösten 2017. Ur denna berättelse och ur upplevelsen av kontrasten mellan det som kan vara undervisningens mål och mening och de skrivningar om entreprenörskap läroplanen innehåller växer utforskandet fram. Det utmynnar i en kritik av den nyliberala politik som skapat den marknadsanpassade skolan. Essän ifrågasätter också tron på att vi kan utbilda för en tänkt framtid. Slutligen pekar den mot det nödvändiga i reformer som kan undandra skolan från marknaden. / An essay that investigates the basis and possible effects of certain formulations in the upper-secondary curriculum that emphasise entrepreneurial skills. Such skills are to be promoted in pupils, with the aim of their being able to start and operate businesses in the future. The purpose is to examine why the curriculum contains these formulations, whether it is possible or desirable for teachers to implement them in their instruction and what this might mean for the pupils, their education, the professional world and society as a whole. The essay is based on a discussion of the novel Yarden (“The Shipyard”) by Kristian Lundberg, which the author of this essay and a group of pupils read in autumn 2017. The exploratory aspect of the essay develops out of this story and the experience of the contrast between what is perhaps the goal and purpose of the instruction, and the writings about entrepreneurship contained in the curriculum. The result is a criticism of the neoliberal policy that created market-adapted schooling. The essay also questions the belief that we can educate people for a hypothetical future. Finally, it points to the necessity of reforms that can extract schools from the market.

The objectives, curriculum, pedagogy, teachers, and students are components of entrepreneurship education, perceived as challenges for its implementation and growth. Consequently, most research and discussions have focused on measures to improve them even though little is known about how they constrain entrepreneurship education. Not much is also known about any positive attributes they might have. This study sought to address this gap in literature by exploring the attributes of these educational components, and how they impacted on teaching and learning in a higher education institution in Ghana. Adopting the qualitative case study research approach, data was collected from two classroom sessions, 20 students, four teachers and a programme coordinator, using observation, focus groups and face to face interviews respectively. The study found the educational components had positive and negative attributes that impacted favourably and adversely on teacher decisions and behaviour, and on teaching and learning. The findings points to the need for a more holistic examination of the educational components by researchers and practitioners, to also focus on their merits, to help fashion out more effective and sustainable policies and strategies for entrepreneurship education. The study contribute to literature by shedding light on some merits of the educational components and how they enhance teaching and learning and support the aims of entrepreneurship education. Further research to replicate this study or aspects of it in other contexts and populations is recommended. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)