Page 188 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

Effective Entrepreneurship Education Programs 177

While the Gallup survey findings do not directly clarify the “nature versus
nurture” debate, they do suggest that it may be irrelevant. As part of a 2001
strategic planning exercise, the Kauffman Center characterized the entrepre-
neurial pipeline as a funnel in which one poured the total number of ele-
mentary, secondary, and college-age students (Strategic Planning 2001: Refer-
ence Materials 2001). At each succeeding level of the funnel, the initial
population decreased significantly until one was left with only the founders
of entrepreneurial growth companies (EGCs), sometimes referred to as
“gazelles,” who created a majority of the net new jobs in the United States.
According to the National Commission on Entrepreneurship, EGCs rep-
resent less than 5 percent of all U.S. businesses with 20 or more employees
(National Commission on Entrepreneurship 1999). This analogy suggests that
those who question whether entrepreneurship can be taught are asking the
wrong question. Instead, the key appears to be whether a system of entre-
preneurship education helps individuals with the propensity and desire to
become entrepreneurs recognize, develop, and exploit their potential.

Capacity Constraints
In an era when both states and the federal government promote
performance-based education standards, even those who support entrepre-
neurship education conceptually may argue that school systems are over-
burdened with mandates and testing. A strong argument can be made that
entrepreneurship education, rather than competing with other academic
priorities, can complement and even enhance student achievement in re-
lated subjects, especially English and mathematics. For example, an evalua-
tion of the Mini-Society participants showed a corresponding improvement
in performance in mathematics knowledge (Kourilsky and Ortiz 1985).
Likewise, many schools with entrepreneurship education programs use as-
signments, such as press releases and marketing materials, to support lan-
guage and communication skills in the general curriculum.
The importance of linking entrepreneurship education to overall aca-
demic standards was tested in 2002 when then-governor Angus King invited
the Kauffman Foundation to help Maine improve the environment for en-
trepreneurial activity, especially in the more rural areas such as Washington
County. Entrepreneurship education was identified as a lynchpin for in-
creasing interest among Washington County youth in the potential of start-
ing and running their own businesses.
To help build the case for introducing entrepreneurship into the school
district’s curriculum, Kauffman Foundation staff created a matrix that
linked the objectives and outcomes of various entrepreneurship education
programs to the Maine education standards (Thomas 2002). This structured
evidence of the complementary nature of entrepreneurship education and