Changing paradigms—the potential of enterprise education as an adequate vehicle for promoting and enhancing education for active and responsible citizenship: illustrations from a Scottish perspective

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been an increasing drive towards the promotion and development of enterprise education in Scottish schools. This has involved much debate about the nature of enterprise and how it may be addressed and applied within primary and early secondary school settings. The recent renewed interest in citizenship education and New Labour's drive towards creating a ‘third way’ between capital and welfare has opened up new and wider debates about educational practice. This paper examines the enterprise and citizenship agendas, drawing upon evidence from the English National Curriculum model and recommendations recently published in Scotland, and opens up new debates about the potential for enterprise education to contribute towards the citizenship agenda in Scottish schools.