Context/background: The “UKids” project is based on the objectives for strengthening entrepreneurship education outlined by the European Council (2014), the recommendations on social entrepreneurship made by the OECD/European Commission (2013), the recommendations on teacher training included in the final report of the Thematic Working Group for Entrepreneurship Education (2014) and the analysis of the current state of entrepreneurship education in schools (see European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice 2016). The UKids project aims to establish entrepreneurship (esp. social entrepreneurship) education as a permanent element in teacher training in the form of teaching and learning courses for the primary level and projects at the partner primary schools. The project builds on the results of the Erasmus+ Policy Experimentation Project “Youth Start Entrepreneurial Challenges” (UStart, see www.youthstartproject.eu and www.youthstart.eu) and will use its teaching and learning arrangements for the primary level. Furthermore, the project will add a Community Challenge (for social entrepreneurship). The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework for the project will be based on the Youth Start Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and the results of the new EntreComp Learning Outcomes (European Commission 2016) for level 1, according to the relevant progression model. The learning outcomes (see EntreComp 2016) will serve as the basis for the development and adaptation of learning activities fostering entrepreneurship as a competence. Quality management, especially for student teachers, will be based on the assessment instruments of the ASTEE EU project (CIP-Project 2012-2014) as well as on the adapted new app tool (see www.asteeproject.eu and www.octoskills.com). The logical framework for the project “Youth Start Social Entrepreneurship Programme for Kids – UKids” provides an overview of objectives, relevant measures and work packages as well as output. It also shows which partner will be coordinating which work package. Objectives: Implementation of a programme for social entrepreneurship, promoting entrepreneurial skills and competences in primary education, through initial teacher/trainer education (ITE) programmes and continuous professional development (CPD) The programme will teach children to understand themselves as part of civil society and encourage them to assume responsibility for minor social challenges and compare different solution approaches. The selected social challenges will be modelled on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The project aims to compare different solution approaches in the various participating countries. Promoting acceptance of the necessity of a permanent integration of social entrepreneurship in primary education among stakeholders Quality management to make sure the UKids Programme is implemented with adequate scientific support Joint, objective-oriented implementation of the project Output: UKids Programme with teaching materials for teachers and students for four challenges each for the 3rd and 4th grade in seven languages (German, English, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Dutch, Portuguese). UKids Training Programme for Teachers as a blended learning approach, for two university lectures and for advanced training courses eight digital micro-teaching videos in seven languages Trash Value Challenge: photos of at least 7 exhibits per participating class, including 1 caption in English Community Challenge: 1 video clip per participating class 50 % of university teachers at the participating universities are informed about the UKids Programme. 80 % of te achers and 50 % of parents are informed. One advanced training course per country for 25 teachers and representatives of school authorities 1 scientific article per participating university 2 scientific lectures per participating university 2 rounds of quality management at the participating universities and in all classes of the partner schools, with a control group Correct financial and administrative project management
In the UKids project, universities and their partner schools from six countries cooperated. The responsibility for the management is assumed by the University of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems. The university partners agreed on applying the distributed leadership concept, spreading the lead as follows: o University of Oulu (Finland): O1 (the programme for the 3rd and 4th grades with materials for students and teachers at the primary schools), o UC Absalon (Denmark): O2 (Training programme as a blended learning approach at the university level), o IFTE (Austria): O3 (digital micro-teaching videos), o Marnix University (Netherlands): O4 (Online platform to present the results of the trash value and the community challenge of the primary school's students), o ELTE University (Hungary): O5 (Action Research programme at the school level), o IPP University (Portugal): dissemination and extension. The UKids project has anchored social entrepreneurship education as a transversal competency in the education and training of primary school teachers in the universities' teaching and learning programmes in initial teacher/trainer education and continuous professional development. The project builds on the Erasmus+ programme Policy Experimentation project "Youth Start Entrepreneurial Challenges". Within the framework of UKids, parts of the existing programme were developed further and a methodological approach to entrepreneurial learning with gamification for Social Entrepreneurship Education was established. Learning strategies for Social Entrepreneurship were transversally tested and implemented in different learning areas in teacher training. In the universities’ respective partner schools, the Youth Start programme for primary schools was tested on a regionalised basis and extended by two challenges for children (Community Challenge and Lemonade Stand Challenge). A website was developed to exchange the results of the participating primary schools for the Trash Value Challenge and the Community Challenge: https://ukidsplatform.eu/de-at. For all eight challenges used, explanatory films (micro-teaching) were created and published on the website: http://www.youthstart.eu/en/terms/. The translated videos and materials for Activate and Concentrate are also posted there. The programme teaches children and students that, as part of civil society, they should take responsibility for more minor social challenges and develop different approaches to solving them. The selected social challenges are based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UKids Social Entrepreneurship Education training programme for teachers uses a blended learning approach. During the Covid-19 crisis, the programmes were entirely digital, using micro-teaching videos and digital platforms. The UKids Social Entrepreneurship Education project was accompanied scientifically and about twenty scientific articles were published, mostly in the journal “Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education”, showing different perspectives on the joint research. In an article by Austrian colleagues, the children’s worldview was analysed. In an article by colleagues from Portugal and Austria, the programme’s impact in primary school was surveyed and very positively evaluated. All participating countries present comparable case studies for this field of research. In a Hungarian journal article, the role of parents in strengthening a growth mindset is analysed. In a journal article by Dutch colleagues, the teacher training, especially the entrepreneurial learning approach with gamification, in a Hungarian article, the challenge-based-learning approach and in an Austrian article, the relevance of strengthening potential was analysed. Scientific subject didactic articles show the possibilities of transversal competencies for arts education, for education in mathematics, social science and democracy education. A keynote article emphasises the connection between entrepreneurship and sustainability. 3.638 students and 126 teachers participated at the partner and associated schools, 1.352 students and 126 lecturers attended the lectures at the partner universities. The UKids project’s impact is assessed positively at the partner universities. The Dutch partner university has chosen Social Entrepreneurship Education as a focus for the whole university. The Hungarian partner university has integrated Social Entrepreneurship Education into Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes, a step on which the partner from Portugal is also working. In Austria, entrepreneurship education has been included as a cross-curricular topic in the new primary school curriculum, which will lead to a further strengthening of Social Entrepreneurship Education in teacher training. The cooperation between the partner universities will continue in the future, and other universities interested in Social Entrepreneurship Education in primary teacher training are welcome.