Gain Creators / Outcomes

• Students gain skills like active-listening, analysing information, brainstorming, creative and critical thinking, decision making, deductive reasoning, estimating, following directions, group work, interpreting information, measuring, money management, oral and written communication, problem solving and self-assessment.
• Students have a better understanding of “what’s is an entrepreneur” and the relationship between what they learn at school and their participation in a worldwide economy  
• Teachers become more entrepreneurial and learn more about EE

Gains / Needs

Educators need:

• Practical learning-by-doing approaches in the classroom
• Easy-to-implement activities that fit well within the curriculum
• Content that is relevant and engaging for students aged 13-15
• Activities that will expose young people to real-world businesses and entrepreneurs
• Short term activities that can be included easily in the curricula

Target Group

Educators (middle school teachers of students aged 13-15)

Implementation Method

Distribution

• Through the JA network:  JA offices reach out to local schools or teachers register with their local JA office to participate.
• The programme’s educational kit is distributed to participating schools for the preparation of teachers and volunteers

Implementation

• The programme is delivered in collaboration with national partners from public and business sector;
• JA provides training and support for educators and volunteers to deliver the programme in the classroom.

JA It's My Business

It’s My Business interactive classroom programme for students aged 13 to 15. This programme encourages students to use critical thinking to learn entrepreneurial skills as they explore career choices.

Through the interaction with volunteers from the business world, students learn about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship by:

• Identifying entrepreneurial characteristics they possess;
• Understanding the skills and knowledge needed to start a business;
• Discovering costumer needs and ways to market specific products to the appropriate customers.

In 2014-2015 over 31,000 students enrolled in the programme in 11 countries where the project is taking place in Europe.

Activities

Programme delivery through 6 lessons (1 hour each), where students:

• Define entrepreneurship and 4 key entrepreneurial characteristics;
• Recognize personal entrepreneurial characteristics;
• Describe how entrepreneurs fill a market need;
• Create effective advertisements for a variety of businesses;
• Recognise how being creative and innovative are necessary entrepreneurial skills for starting a business;
• Analyse how entrepreneurs use their knowledge and abilities to create businesses;
• Develop business plans on set criteria;
• Identify characteristics they share with entrepreneurs;
• Create a Personal Entrepreneur Profile.

Resources

Curricula , training and support for educators & business volunteers:

• Manual and materials for students, teachers and volunteers
• Training session for teachers and volunteers
• JA follow-up and support

Pain Relievers / Solutions

• Provide ready-to-go easy-to-use materials for teachers and students
• A variety of hands-on student-centred activities and technological supplements designed to support differentiated learning styles
• Use interaction with business volunteers who bring real-world perspective when they present the content and add a ‘cool factor’
• Use the practical entrepreneurship experience as a way to build confidence, change attitudes and behaviours

Pains / Challenges

• Lack of good content/materials practical activities in EE for this age group
• Teachers lack training in learning-by-doing ‘entrepreneurial’ methods
• Difficult age-group to motivate/satisfy