Upgrading Iceland: Icelandic secondary school administrators’ views about Innovation and Entrepreneurial Education (IEE) within the context of curriculum studies

• Main Authors: Jónsdóttir, Svanborg R., Þórólfsson, Meyvant, Karlsdóttir, Jóhanna, Finnbogason, Gunnar E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2015
• Subjects: nýsköpunar- og frumkvöðlamennt; sköpun; frumkvæði; námskrárfræði; námskrárhugmyndastefna; Endeavour; Gunnar; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/1944

Innovation and entrepreneurial education (IEE) has been introduced as an educational endeavour that serves the economic progress of modern societies. But in recent years it has also been regarded as an area of learning that promotes individual learners to become creative, active and critical citizens. Thus IEE can be seen as a premise for personal and cultural growth, economical and technological development and scientific discovery. IEE has become a curricular area focusing on creativity and knowledge to solve problems that learners themselves identify and analyse, at the same time enhancing their initiative. It aims at developing critical and creative thinking in design, science, technology, marketing and enterprise. The pedagogy of IEE has been analysed as emancipatory pedagogy, where the learner has ample agency and the teacher gradually and systematically gives control to students in their projects (Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir, 2011). IEE has developed in Iceland as a concept where innovation is more commonly taught at the compulsory level and entrepreneur-ship more often at the uppersecondary level. In other countries, the terms entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial education or enterprise education are more commonly used for this kind of education (Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir, Meyvant Þórólfsson, Gunnar E. Finnbogason & Jóhanna Karlsdóttir, 2013). The findings of this research imply that different implementations of IEE can be found in upper secondary schools in Iceland, despite that the National Icelandic Curriculum for Upper Secondary Schools (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneytið, 2011) has not presented IEE as a specific discipline or area in secondary education. In 2012 The Innovation Center Iceland (i. Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands), The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, The Ministry of Industries and Innovation, The School of Education of The University of Iceland, The Union of Teachers in IEE (i. Félag kennara í nýsköpunar- og frumkvöðlamennt), and The Icelandic Secondary Schools Association ...