NATIONAL CONTEXT
10.4 Empirical findings
We first provide the results from the quantitative part of the data collection (that is, the expert questionnaire), and then turn our attention to the qualitative findings from the face-to-face interviews.
10.4.1 Quantitative findings
In the GEM study the role of education refers to the extent to which the educational and training systems at all levels (from primary and secondary school to university and business school) deal with the creation and managing of independent new or growing business.
As indicated above, the Belgian experts who participated in the GEM study were asked over the years about how (in)effective the educational systemin Belgium is in preparing young people for a career as entrepreneur. The detailed results are shown in Table 10.3.
More specifically, we show the results for Belgium spanning the 2000–2004 period, and we also compare the Belgian scores with the average scores in 2004 for the 12 EU coun- tries that participated in the GEM study in 2004.3
In general, when we compare the longitudinal figures of the past five years it can be seen that there is relatively low variation in the answers about education. The stability is rather logical given that the educational system in a country, and in particular people’s 174 Handbook of research in entrepreneurship education
Table 10.1 Three standard questions asked during face-to-face interviews
Strengths In your opinion, what are the most significant factors pertaining to education that contribute to entrepreneurship in Belgium?
Weaknesses In your opinion, what are the most significant factors pertaining to education that limit entrepreneurship in Belgium?
Recommendations Can you give recommendations about what can be done in terms of education in order to increase entrepreneurship in Belgium?
perception about the system, does not change substantially from year to year. Furthermore, the consistency of the results is an indication of the robustness of the GEM methodology.
The first three statements in Table 10.3 pertain to the attention that is paid to entrepreneurship-related issues in primary and secondaryeducation. It can be seen that the (entrepreneurial) educational situation at the primary and secondary school level is one of the problem areas in Belgium. More specifically, as regards the primary and secondary edu- cational system, the Belgian scores have continued to be very low over time,andthe Belgian 2004 scores are lower than the EU averages in terms of (1) the encouragement of creativ- ity, self-sufficiency, and personal initiative, (2) the provision of adequate instruction in market economic principles, and (3) the provision of adequate attention to entrepreneur- ship and new firm creation. In short, the scores in terms of the efforts in primary and sec- ondary education for the stimulation of entrepreneurship have been shown to remain weak and are somewhat lower than the EU averages.
Furthermore, whereas the scores for the statements regarding the post-secondary and continuingeducation are somewhat better than the scores for the primary and secondary education system and are also a little higher compared to the EU averages, the figures have also kept being relatively low over time. Also, there has been a decrease in 2004 compared to the peaks that were obtained in 2002. In other words, further efforts are needed to stim- ulate entrepreneurship in the higher education system in terms of (1) universities and other higher education institutions having enough courses and programs on entre- preneurship, (2) the world-class level of the business and management education, and (3) the preparation for a career as entrepreneur through the vocational, professional, and continuing education systems.
Entrepreneurship and education in Belgium 175 Table 10.2 Six standard questions included in the expert questionnaire
Standard questions Answers
Teaching in primary and secondary education 1 2 3 4 5 K NA
encourages creativity, self-sufficiency, and personal initiative.
Teaching in primary and secondary education 1 2 3 4 5 K NA
provides adequate instruction in market economic principles.
Teaching in primary and secondary education 1 2 3 4 5 K NA
provides adequate attention to entrepreneurship and new firm creation.
Universities and other higher education institutions 1 2 3 4 5 K NA have enough courses and programs on
entrepreneurship.
Level of business and management education is 1 2 3 4 5 K NA
truly world-class.
Vocational, professional, and continuing 1 2 3 4 5 K NA
education systems provide good preparation for self-employment.
Note: 1: Completely false; 2: Somewhat false; 3: Neither true nor false; 4: Somewhat true; 5: Completely true; K: Don’t know; NA: Not applicable.
As a summary of the quantitative results pertaining to the role of education in entre- preneurship, we compare the composite score for the six education questions for Belgium in 2004 with the other EU countries (Figure 10.2). In the following section, the quantita- tive findings discussed above are complemented with the qualitative results from the face- to-face interviews.
10.4.2 Qualitative findings
During the face-to-face interviews the experts were asked to point to (1) education-related factors contributing to entrepreneurship, (2) education-related factors limiting entrepre- neurship, and (3) recommendations about how entrepreneurship can be stimulated. Below we give an overview of the findings pertaining to points one and two; in the final section we discuss some recommendations.
10.4.2.1 Strengths of the educational system Many key informants felt that the educa- tional level of Belgian students is rather high compared to the level of foreign students, for example, students who come to Belgium to participate in the Erasmus exchange program.
There was also a notion that Belgian students studying abroad often get relatively high marks compared to their international counterparts. A further positive note is the willingness of Belgian students to be persistent in their post-secondary studies. Technical and business training is of an excellent level, and people do not bother to study for a long time. However, the last point may also be thanks to the cheap cost of the Belgian education system.
176 Handbook of research in entrepreneurship education
Table 10.3 Opinion of Belgian key informants with respect to education (scale from 1 to 5)
Belgium EU
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 2004
Teaching in primary and secondary education 2.12 2.08 1.95 2.17 2.02 2.27 encourages creativity, self-sufficiency, and
personal initiative.
Teaching in primary and secondary education 2.08 2.13 1.87 2.26 2.15 2.14 provides adequate instruction in market
economic principles.
Teaching in primary and secondary education 1.62 1.59 1.68 1.66 1.52 1.76 provides adequate attention to
entrepreneurship and new firm creation.
Universities and other higher institutions have 2.49 2.41 2.58 2.47 2.20 2.45 enough courses and programs on
entrepreneurship.
Level of business and management education 3.04 3.37 3.82 3.32 2.95 2.93 is truly world class.
Vocational, professional, and continuing 2.86 2.78 n/a n/a n/a 2.62 education systems provide good preparation
for self-employment.
Note: EU: European Union; n/a: not applicable.
177
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Portugal Greece Germany Denmark Spain Belgium Poland Netherlands Slovenia Ireland Finland Hungary
Composite education score (1–5)
Figure 10.2Comparison ofthe strength ofthe educational system in terms ofentrepreneurship across several EU countries (data pertaining to 2004)
It also appears that several positive actions have been undertaken in the past years in Belgium in terms of the attention devoted to entrepreneurship. One example of good practice is the ‘mini-enterprise’ project and the ‘DREAM’ project in secondary education.
In these projects students set up an own enterprise and need to make decisions similar to the decisions real-life entrepreneurs are confronted with. Enterprise can be associated with a set of attributes, skills and attitudes that enable people to create and thrive on change. Enterprise education enables pupils to develop confidence, self-reliance and will- ingness to embrace change. Through participation in mini-enterprises pupils can practice risk management, learning from mistakes and being innovative.
Another positive aspect is that the number of entrepreneurship courses at the university level and in other post-secondary education has been growing and the enrollment for these courses has been increasing steadily. For instance, most universities have decided that, with the introduction of the new ‘Bachelor – Master’ structure (following from the Bologna agreement), an entrepreneurship course will be mandatory for all students. Universities and post-secondary education (such as Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Ghent University, KU Leuven, ULG Liège, ULB, UCL and Solvay Business School) indeed offer more and more courses in entrepreneurship, business planning, and so on. However, it was also indicated that there is a need for a formal inventory system in Belgium with respect to the educational initiatives that have been taken in the area of entrepreneurship.
An interesting initiative in terms of the stimulation of entrepreneurship education in the French-speaking part of Belgium is the ‘FREE foundation’, which stimulates entre- preneurship at various stages of the educational system. One objective of this initiative is the provision of more entrepreneurship courses at the university and other levels, and a more extended outreach of educational institutions towards entrepreneurs (for example, in terms of educational and support programs).
Furthermore, business plan competitions are organized at the regional and national levels with the aim of increasing the entrepreneurial objective of students. For instance, the national ‘Enterprize’ competition was launched for the first time in 2003, with great success.
Over 180 projects were registered, exceeding the enrolment objectives by 50 per cent. The
‘Bizidee’ project, which partners the ‘EnterPrize’ competition, has a mission in stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit in Flanders among the youth. Another partner in the EnterPrize competition is the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in Belgium (NFTE), who through entrepreneurship education helps young people from low-income communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity. In order to do so, the NFTE trains its own certified entrepreneurship teachers.
Also, according to the key informants, professional and inter-professional organiza- tions increasingly pay attention to the role of education in stimulating entrepreneurship.
Another good initiative that was brought up pertains to the Regional Technological Centers, which have been charged with facilitating collaboration between schools and the business community and providing teachers with opportunities for practical training in companies. Also, there is an intention to further reorganize ‘the teaching of teachers’ so as to train future teachers in the competences required to teach entrepreneurship.
10.4.2.2 Weaknesses of the educational system Despite the increasing attention to entre- preneurship in the Belgian educational system, it is acknowledged that there are serious bar- riers that hinder the implementation of entrepreneurial education in schools and universities.
178 Handbook of research in entrepreneurship education
In general, Belgian experts viewed their educational system as not satisfactory for enhancing entrepreneurial attitudes. Consistent with the quantitative results, there was a general perception that whereas the level of business and management education is of good quality, there is a negative feeling in terms of stimulating entrepreneurial behavior in primary and secondary education. It was often mentioned that the training system at these lower levels does not inspire creativity, independence and personal initiative, all necessary characteristics for future entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the contact with entre- preneurship comes at too late a stage. The schools often take too few efforts to let young people know more about assessing rational economic risks and taking economic responsibility.
An important problem, according to the experts, pertains to the curriculum. If schools intend to introduce entrepreneurial elements in their curriculum, these elements will necessarily replace other subjects which are currently being taught. As a result, certain teachers will stand to lose a part of their assignment and will naturally oppose the change. A policy aim to embed entrepreneurship in the final attainment levels for primary education and in the cross-disciplinary final attainment levels for secondary education would be very welcome, according to the experts. This would constitute a major breakthrough.
Furthermore, there is a concern about the methodology used in the educational system.
Entrepreneurship is arguably one of the most difficult topics to teach. It involves the intro- duction of entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial skills. To succeed as an entre- preneur, one not only needs to master basic business skills, such as accounting, finance, strategic business planning and business law, but this knowledge input must be accompa- nied by the more difficult process of acquiring more general and fundamental skills and insights. Many experts thought that students must receive training in more subtle issues, such as people management skills, opportunity recognition, organizing skills, business ethics and negotiating skills. At the same time, entrepreneurial attitudes such as creativ- ity, risk-taking, initiative and self-guidance must be emphasized in the courses. According to the experts, a methodology adapted to the needs of every level of education is needed.
The experts recommended making an inventory of available good practices on case-study teaching, business-plan writing or business games for primary and secondary school levels in Belgium and in other countries. It was also suggested that a subsidy scheme for pilot projects developing new learning methods to incorporate entrepreneurial elements in the curriculum could be installed. Fortunately, the concept of project-driven education, which is now active in some Belgian schools, already allows for the introduction of an entrepreneurial project.
An additional critical point which was often referred to is the role of the teachers.
According to the experts, the teachers teaching entrepreneurship face a very difficult task for which they are often not prepared. The experts often thought that teachers are ill- prepared for this task. There is a barrier between the business world and educational insti- tutions, especially at the secondary level. Many teachers do not know an entrepreneur or do not have any contact with the business community and therefore tend to skip over con- cepts such as ‘company’ or ‘economics’ in their classes. Teachers should be stimulated to visit companies, or even work in these companies for some time in an internship.
A final issue, of a more general nature, is the experts’ perception that many people in society are against the idea of focusing on business needs and requirements in education.
Entrepreneurship and education in Belgium 179
These people fear that the educational program would pay too much attention to practi- cal issues, which would then be detrimental for the general education level. According to the experts, it is therefore imperative to demonstrate that the benefits of entrepreneurial education are complementary with other educational goals. A related concern of the key experts pertained to the narrow-minded ideas many youngsters have about entrepreneur- ship. For them, a company is still synonymous with greed, bribery and cheating. Therefore, it is the duty of the teachers at all levels of the educational system to change this way of thinking.