Eastern Cape teachers learn how to build a new generation of entrepreneurs

Mon, 23 July 2007

South African Institute for Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship teacher training and materials

“All educators are using Business VENTURES regularly. This is evident through their thorough knowledge of the programmes and the effective manner in which they are able to facilitate the programmes with their learners. The programmes are having much impact on learners (in the areas of numeracy, literacy and life skills) and they are developing entrepreneurial acumen.”

This project to train and equip 20 educators from five under-resourced Eastern Cape primary schools to use the Business Ventures programme to fulfil the outcomes of the Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) curriculum, will make a contribution towards building a new generation of South African entrepreneurs.

Impact

Eight educators from five primary schools have been trained and supplied with Business VENTURES learning materials for grades 5 and 7 so far. A total of 244 learners are acquiring knowledge in entrepreneurship through the project at this time.

Activities

Training workshops

Were held on 6 and 26 February 2007 for Grade 5 teachers and Grade 7 educators were trained in workshops on 1 and 27 February 2007. A total of 10 educators attended.

School visits

To Ngqumeya Primary, Debe Primary, Zanyokwe Primary, Sonwabile Primary and Ngudle Primary were conducted from 28 February to 02 March 2007 to provide in-classroom support to trained educators to enhance proper implementation of Business VENTURES. All five schools have educators trained in grade 5 and grade 7 and all of them had already started implementing the programme in their classes.

The first follow-up workshop took place on 11 May 2007 at Sonwabile Primary. The grades 5 and 7 educators were combined since most of the educators are responsible for both grades. No workshop could be conducted on 10 May due to educators being involved in strike action discussions but two schools received in-classroom support during the morning of 10 May 2007. A total of 9 educators from 6 schools attended the follow-up training where a follow-up Evaluation Questionnaire was given to the educators to establish their level of understanding of the Business VENTURES programme and the progress made with classroom implementation. The Business VENTURES materials were revisited to ensure that all participants fully understand its various aspects such as the methodology, classroom implementation and logistical arrangements.

The second follow-up took the form of in-classroom support to educators at their schools because the May/June educator strike made it difficult for educators to leave school. The 10 educators who received follow-up support in this way were all using Business VENTURES regularly. This is evident through their thorough knowledge of the programmes and the effective manner in which they are able to facilitate the programmes with their learners. While a few individual learners might be struggling with the English language, educators indicate that learners are improving their English facility through usage of the programme. Educators also indicate that the programmes are having much impact on learners (in the areas of numeracy, literacy and life skills) and that they are developing entrepreneurial acumen.

Expenditure

The cost of the project is R75 769, the final tranche payment of R10 500 is still to be paid to SAIE.

Description	Total Budget	Actual Expenses - 1st Tranche	Actual Expenses - 2nd Tranche	Balance
Business Ventures	28 000	28 000	0	0
Training/Follow up Fee	17 600	8 800	4 400	4 400
Accommodation & Meals	5 200	1 863	855	2 482
Car Travel	3 600	2 596	830	174
Catering	3 600	279	150	3 171
Flights	9 000	2 865	799	5 336
Shipping	350	350	0	0
Administration	8 419	8 419	0	0
Total	75 769	53 172	7 034	15 563

Challenges The SAIE model calls for training of at least two educators per grade per school. This model was adopted to provide extra capacity to schools in the event that a trained educator is moved to another grade or to another school. However, the schools in this project are very small with educators often responsible for multiple grades. It has therefore not been possible to train more than one educator per grade and in some cases we have trained the same educator for both grades. All five schools, though, have educators trained in both the grade 5 and the grade 7 programmes.

Monitoring and evaluation A Training Evaluation Questionnaire was conducted at the end of the training workshop sessions and a Follow-up Evaluation Questionnaire was given at the follow-up visits and workshops. The Evaluation Questionnaire included questions on the benefits of the programme experienced by the educator, any notable impact on the learners and any challenges encountered.

Conclusions Lack of entrepreneurial skills has been identified as a key stumbling block to business development and job creation in South Africa. Business VENTURES addresses this problem in a very practical and effective manner. This is evidenced by the increasing demand for the programme in South Africa.

The programmes enable learners to effectively apply knowledge and skills and to analyse and deal with different business environments. The programme empowers educators to use cutting-edge materials and to deliver effective learning resources to meet the standards of the National Curriculum Statement.

Business VENTURES is part of SAIE’s suite of entrepreneurial learning materials. The programme itself is being used more and more across South Africa.

Interim Progress Report

Thu, 22 March 2007

A. Project Activities to date

1. Five Grade 5 and five Grade 7 Business VENTURES kits were produced.
2. Educator training was conducted at Sonwabile Primary School, Keiskammahoek (about 30 km from King William’s Town), as follows:
   • Grade 5: 6 and 26 February 2007
   • Grade 7: 1 and 27 February 2007
   • The following educators received training:

a) Grade 5

6 February 2007:

School	Educator
Debe	G. B. Peter
Ngudle	(Absent)
Ngqumeya	N. Mlema
Sonwabile	S. N. Ngalwana
Zanyokwe	N. P. Adonisi

Note:

• The educator from Ngudle, Mr Magaga (who is also the school principal) was unable to attend because of a school emergency;
• an educator from Blairhelen Primary (T. M. Royi) also attended the training (this school is not part of this project; the educator attended because the school had heard of the training).

26 February 2007:

School	Educator
Debe Primary	G. Peter
Ngudle Primary	A. Magaga
Ngqumeya Primary	N. Mlema
Ngqumeya Primary	L. Mangxila
Sonwabile Primary	A. Mdingi
Sonwabile Primary	S. Ngalwana
Zanyokwe Primary	N. Adonisi

Note:

• (1) An educator from Grantville Primary (B. Katangana) and one from Emmangweni Primary (L. Mgunculu) also attended the training (these two schools are not part of the project; they attended because they had heard of the training).

b) Grade 7

1 February 2007:

School	Educator
Debe	(Absent)
Ngudle	A. M. Magaga
Ngqumeya	M. G. Nkanjeni
Sonwabile	D. M. Mahlasela
Zanyokwe	N. P. Adonisi

Note:

• The educator from Debe Primary was absent due to car breakdown on the way to the training;
• two educators from Grantville Primary, one from Nomathemba Primary and one from Fort Cox Primary also attended the training (these three schools are not part of the project; they attended because they had heard of the training).

27 February 2007:

School	Educator
Debe Primary	B. Joyi
Ngudle Primary	A. Magaga
Ngqumeya Primary	N. Mlema
Ngqumeya Primary	M. Nkanjeni
Sonwabile Primary	D. Mahlasela
Zanyokwe Primary	N. Adonisi

Note:

• An educator from each of Fort Cox Primary, Grantville Primary and Emangweni Primary also attended the training (these schools are not part of the project; they attended because they had heard of the training).

3. School visits were conducted from 28 February to 2 March 2007 to provide in-classroom support to trained educators to enhance proper implementation of Business VENTURES. The school visits took place as follows:

• Ngqumeya Primary was visited on 28 February 2007. Both Ms Mlema – the Grade 5 educator – and Mr Nkanjeni – the Grade 7 educator, who is also the school principal – were visited. Both educators have started using the programmes in the classroom.
• Debe Primary was visited on 1 March 2007. Both Mr Peter – the educator for Grades 5 and 6 combined, who is also the Acting Principal – and Ms Joyi – the Grade 7 educator – were visited. Mr Peter teaches Grades 5 and 6 combined due to a shortage of educators. Both educators have started using the programmes in the classroom.
• Zanyokwe Primary was visited on 1 March 2007. Ms Adonisi – who attended both the Grade 5 and Grade 7 training – is responsible for Grades 5, 6 and 7. The educator has already started using the programmes in the classroom.
• Sonwabile Primary was visited on 2 March 2007. Both Mr Mdingi – the Grade 5 educator – and Mr Mahlasela – the Grade 7 educator, who is also the Principal – were visited. Both educators are using the programmes in the classroom.
• Ngudle Primary was visited on 2 March 2007. Mr Magaga attended the training for Grade 5 and Grade 7. He is responsible for Grades 5 to 7. He is also the Principal of the school. Mr Magaga is already using the programme in the classroom.

4. (All five schools therefore have educators trained in Grade 5 and Grade 7.)

B. Challenges

1. The SAIE model calls for training of at least two educators per grade per school. This model was adopted to provide extra capacity to schools in the event that a trained educator is moved to another grade or to another school. However, the schools in this project are very small with educators often responsible for multiple grades. It has therefore not been possible to train more than one educator per grade; in fact, it has often been a case of training the same educator for both grades! All schools, though, have educators trained in both the Grade 5 and the Grade 7 programmes.

2. The schools are very rural and far apart from one another (meaning that some educators had to travel quite far to the training venue).

3. The schools are very small with small staff complements. Some educators teach combined grades at the same time. At Zanyokwe Primary, Ms Adonisi is responsible for Grades 5, 6 and 7; at Ngudle Primary, the Principal is responsible for Grades 5, 6 and 7; at Debe Primary, the Acting Principal is responsible for Grades 5 and 6.

C. Activities Scheduled for next Reporting Period

1. Conduct first follow-up support with trained educators in second term: This follow-up will be scheduled from 7 to 11 May 2007 and will involve a one-day workshop session per grade for the trained educators and in-classroom visits to the educators. Educators will also be informed of the course accreditation on the NQF Level 4 (10 credits) with the ETDP SETA and issued with assignments for those who would like to be assessed later in the year.

• Conduct second follow-up support with trained educators in third term.

D. Utilization of Funds

Funds utilized:

Funds utilized
Business VENTURES	28 000
Training	8 800
Accommodation and meals	1 863
Car travel	2 596
Catering	279
Flights	2 865
Shipping	350
Administration	8 419
Total Expenditure	53 172

Addendum: Trainee feedback

Report on the Grade 5 training

Nine educators in total attended this workshop. These nine educators represented seven schools.

The following are the impressions and opinions of participants after the workshop.

1. The extent to which the facilitator involved participants during the presentation.

All nine participants agreed that the facilitator engaged them fully throughout the workshop.

2. The extent to which the goals and objectives of the programme were explained to participants.

Seven participants agreed that the programme goals and objectives were clearly outlined, while two indicated they were reasonably clear.

3. The time allotted to the workshop.

Seven participants agreed that the time allocated to the training was sufficient, while two indicated that more time should have been allocated to the workshop.

4. The extent to which the workshop helped prepare them for their role as facilitator of the BV programme.

Five indicated that the workshop has helped prepare them very well for their role as facilitators of the BV programme, while three mentioned that they were reasonably well prepared to present BV in the classroom. One felt the programme did not help him/her at all.

5. Aspects about the programme they did not agree with.

Five participants did not answer this question and only indicated “none” in this space. Three indicated that the workshop should have been longer and one suggested that the accompanying business posters used by learners to locate their answers, should be designed with the rural child’s perception of the business world in mind.

6. Any suggestions on how to improve similar workshops or presentations in the future.

Six indicated that they required more time to understand the programme fully, two had no comment, one felt the training was clear enough and was ready to offer the programme to the learners.

7. Any comments regarding the planning and arrangements of the workshops

Five indicated that the workshops were well planned, while four had no comment.

Report on the Grade 7 training

Nine educators attended. They represented eight schools. (Four of the nine educators also attended the Grade 5 workshop, the reason being that they are both Grade 5 and 7 educators.)

Participants completed a Training Evaluation Questionnaire at the end of the workshop.

The following were their responses:

1. The extent to which the facilitator involved participants during the presentation.

All participants agreed that the facilitator engaged them fully throughout the workshop.

2. The extent to which the goals and objectives of the programme were explained to participants.

Seven participants agreed that the programme goals and objectives were clearly outlined, while two indicated that it was reasonably clear.

3. The time allotted to the workshop.

Seven participants indicated that the time allocated to the training was sufficient, one felt the time allocated was too little, while another one was of the opinion that too much time was spent on the training.

4. The extent to which the workshop helped prepare them for their role as facilitator of the BV programme.

Five indicated that the workshop has helped prepare them very well for their role as facilitators of the BV programme, while four felt that they were reasonably well prepared to present BV in the classroom.

5. Aspects about the programme they did not agree with.

All nine participants were satisfied and agreed with the programme content and presentation.

6. Any suggestions on how to improve similar workshops or presentations in the future.

Four participants had no comment to this question. One participant suggested that learners form part of the training to demonstrate the product to them so as to give them a good understanding of how it works in a real classroom situation. One commented that “Nothing need improvement, as the workshop taught me so many things about business and financial discipline”. One participant suggested the workshop starts at eight ‘o clock as the “older” teachers find it difficult to concentrate later in the afternoon. One indicated that the workshops should be held on a regular basis and one offered no suggestion but said that the workshop was very well planned.

7. Any comments regarding the planning and arrangements of the workshops

Five commented that the workshop was well-planned, one suggested that the Grades 2 and 3 educators be provided with similar materials which would enable these learners to acquire basic financial skills at an early age. Three did not respond to this question.