Zambian Teachers’ Perceptions About Schools’ Preparedness to Integrate Entrepreneurship Education Into the 2023 Curriculum

Abstract

In 2023, the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) revised its curriculum framework to, among other things, promote entrepreneurship education by integrating it into other subjects at primary and secondary levels. This study sought to determine Zambian teachers’ perceptions about the preparedness of schools to implement the integration of entrepreneurship education as stipulated in Zambia’s new curriculum of 2023. The following questions drove the study: a) How familiar are teachers with the concept of entrepreneurship education? b) To what extent are schools prepared for the integration of entrepreneurship education into the curriculum? c) What suggestions do teachers have for effective integration of entrepreneurship into the curriculum? The study was based on a mixed-method design using electronic questionnaires, focus groups, and lesson observations. The population sample was 115 teachers of various teaching subjects, with a wide range of years of teaching experience. The data collected were from both male and female teachers. The findings of this study seem to suggest that schools and teachers were not quite ready because of issues relating to teaching- learning materials, facilities, teachers’ content knowledge in Entrepreneurship, pedagogical knowledge, and the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Zambia. Despite these challenges, teachers welcomed the new emphasis placed on entrepreneurship education and it was in that spirit that they made the suggestions presented in this paper.