A summary of Educational Framework Mapping

Our project aims to develop a highly innovative InnoSchool Learning System, attractive towards secondary school students, impactful on educational curricula, in order to strengthen societal entrepreneurial spirit in the Danube region. In order to achieve these requirements, the new learning system must be built on intensive research and evidences. Considering this, during the beginning of the project (October – December 2018), InnoSchool partners conducted a regional desk research focused on mapping the territorial educational frameworks, under the close coordination of Vienna Board of Education, European Office Project Partner. 

Mapping educational frameworks enables the project team to understand key aspects, educational contexts and contents influencing InnoSchool Learning System (ILS) concept definition. It facilitates gathering significant territorial information for the implementation process of ILS into curricula and schools, information such as: cross-territorial differences in the autonomy of schools and in teachers´ freedom of choice, compatibility with the curricula, availability of resources in schools and students.

9 European countries (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Moldova) were investigated in regards to the current integration of entrepreneurship in curricula of upper secondary schools. Next to desk research, the methodology applied for the mapping exercise included a questionnaire for conducting interviews and focus-groups with relevant stakeholders: teachers, school directors, representatives of entrepreneurs and local administration, organizations working with territorial social needs.

In most territories, entrepreneurship education has still little presence in the curricula of upper secondary schools or is practiced in a very basic form. Below we provide an overview of the current situation of entrepreneurship in education systems across the involved countries.

Conclusions and key points for the development and implementation of ILS:

According to the Strategy of Lifelong Learning, new initiatives were started in order to try to implement Entrepreneurship Education as a key competence in schools. In several territories, curricula have already been adapted or are being currently adapted to give Entrepreneurship a greater importance and implement it in different levels of education. 

• Apart from all the territorial differences, most important for the implementation of ILS into curricula and schools is the evidence-based impact and the practicability;
• Compatibility with the curriculum is reported as an important requirement for a new learning system. ILS contents and learning outcomes must be strongly coordinated with the curricula, not vice versa;
• Developing one overall package suitable for all (regions, types of school, school levels, curricula) will be a challenging task. Despite this heterogeneity, we have to ensure, that every potential school finds something that suits its needs. That is why we have to make ILS flexible and individually fitting!
• For a sustainable implementation of ILS after completing the InnoSchool project, a broadening approach must be sought. The project partnership expresses a strong interest so that ILS would NOT become a minority or elite programme. It aims to benefit as many students as possible.

Find out more about InnoSchool research on educational mapping.

Launching InnoSchool concept in participating countries

The InnoSchool project tackles the need for system change to support weak entrepreneurial culture and low engagement to social innovation and entrepreneurship. Its general objective is to strengthen social innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of secondary schools’ students by developing and introducing a highly innovative Learning System. 

The InnoSchool project is a result of an international cooperation, which members agree that the future environmental, social and economic challenges can be addressed by those enterprises which will be founded and led by today’s middle school students.

So, an important step to create awareness about InnoSchool project and concept, its aims and upcoming activities was achieved through start-up public events: one transnational and seven territorial kick-offs. Email invitations, Facebook news, partners’ webpages announcements, DTP news and media appearances were created to invite key stakeholders and promote in local territories InnoSchool initiative.  

The first public event took place in Liberec, Czech Republic, on 27th of September 2018, where the InnoSchool concept was introduced to the public, on behalf of DEX Innovation Centre, the lead partner. More than 40 people, from the Czech Republic and abroad, representatives of educational institutions, policy bodies, organizations working with people with social needs and similar projects in the fields of digital education and social entrepreneurship, gathered in KultiVAR, co-working place for artists and freelancers. During this event the guest speakers discussed the topic of motivating the secondary school students for social entrepreneurship as well as the current educational system and the use of digital technologies.

Furthermore, all project partners prepared to host territorial kick-off events in their local languages and with relevant stakeholders, thus creating a supportive environment for the new Learning System. Besides the general information about project’s activities, these events became excellent opportunities for debates on entrepreneurial skills, labor market competencies, engagement in Advisory groups and pilot. In each partner country (Romania, Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary), local events were organized between October 2018 and January 2019. The last country to host the kick-off is Austria, on 2 May 2019. The regional Viennese TV station is producing a TV-podcast on the topic “Entrepreneurship Education in Vienna” in cooperation with the Board of Education for Vienna. Territorial press conferences joined our public events sharing also significant information about the evidence-based research on InnoSchool Learning System (ILS), concept, pilot and inclusion into curriculum and transferability to other territories.

Key stakeholders attending the events were represented by secondary school students, teachers, policy bodies, business and social actors, organizations working with social needs, nongovernmental organizations interested in educational innovation and media representatives. In this way, a boarder participation was achieved with a positive and encouraging feedback from the general public towards InnoSchool new Learning System.

To find out more about Launching InnoSchool concept in participating countries and initial impact, please click here.

Next steps in InnoSchool

Currently InnoSchool team is very focused on several outputs:

1. The Objectives and Basic concept of the InnoSchool Learning System (ILS), discussing the strategic impact of our learning system specifically on theoretical approaches,  long term impact and benefits of ILS, challenges on the learning system, key competencies for lifelong learning and entrepreneurship mindset. Moreover, an increased attention is given to the strategic framework of ILS: structure, learning outcomes, measurement and pilot implementation. 
2. Game design development process: the key element of ILS is represented by the, “serious game”, a web-based game (a mixture of on-/offline sessions).
3. Engaging participants in territorial Advisory Groups, representing relevant stakeholders who will provide feedback to advance the ILS concept. Each advisory group will consist of 10 participants: three teachers and three secondary school students (not taking part in the Pilot), one policy body, two representatives of NGO`s working in social services, and one business representative.

Also, the InnoSchool team met for the 1st Project and Steering Committee Meeting, in Vienna, on March 19 -20, 2019. Our host was the European Office of the Board of Education for Vienna. Thematic topics for our agenda where represented by internal workshops focused on the definition of InnoSchool (ILS) concept, serious game development and recruitment of participating schools in pilot.