Education for Enterprise – embedding enterprise in the curriculum at Kerikeri High

Chris Bell, Kerikeri High School Enterprise Co-ordinator

Enterprise at Kerikeri High School, I guess, has been given a broader focus over the last two or three years.

When people hear the word enterprise they think business. Once teachers are aware that enterprise is not just about business, they're much more interested in how enterprise could provide meaningful classroom experiences for them in their curriculum areas. The key area is to involve our community in our classrooms.

Co-principal Joan Middlemiss

The enterprising education is actually taking those authentic opportunities to get out there and make a difference and to interact with the real world.

Chris Bell

Too often in the classroom we present theory to our students, and we have great difficulty in showing them how that theory applies to the real world, or in fact, if the theory does actually apply in the real world.

An enterprising approach to education says: what are the real life projects that are going on – not only in our community, but in a wider community? And it asks the question: how can we – as a bunch of students, or as a school – engage ourselves with those projects? And bring those projects into our classroom, such that we can present real results back to the community? And that might be businesses or that might not be businesses.

Co-principal Joan Middlemiss

In our school we've seen that happening – we've seen the students who developed the Keri Reading Programme. That was a programme that was devised entirely by students, and it's working within the school. The exciting thing about Keri Reading was they turned adult thinking on its head! And that's what kids are so clever at doing, and that's why they solve these problems, and that's why they are enterprising.

We've got the GIFT Programme at the moment, where we're working at improving relationships with the retirement village that we border.

We've got the other group of students – they call themselves New Zealand Force – who are getting achievement standards for this type of programme, for community problem solving, which is the vehicle we are using for that.

Chris Bell

The year 9 programme, it's called the Enterprise Challenge. We get them to think about or brainstorm an idea for a product or service. Before the students can go off and start manufacturing their product or service, they have to present a business plan. Now the culmination of the event is a market day, at which time they get to market and sell their product.

We run Young Enterprise in the Year 12 group. Gifts of the North is a project which has been very very successful this year. This group looked at the market for gift baskets...

Female student

It's about promoting Northland and all the quality businesses we have up here. This is part of our business management subject.

Male student

The opportunity to apply the theoretical skills we learned through subjects like accounting and economics in a real situation is probably been the most valuable, and you can see the relevance of what you're learning. And that helps to motivate me, and I guess that's where enterprise education is so valuable.

Co-principal Elizabeth Forgie

How often have you heard students say: "I don't know why we are learning this stuff", "I don't see the point of this stuff!" By intersecting with the community, whether it be as a Young Enterprise Scheme company with a mentor, or whether it be by being involved in a community project, the students can see the point of the learning.

Chris Bell

As a result of involving themselves more closely in community projects, the meaning they can get from that, and the exposure that they get to what's actually going on in the community. What are people doing out there? What are the range of jobs even that are available? In terms of meaning, it adds a huge amount.