Youth Entrepreneurship

1
Youth Entrepreneurship

• A Panel Discussion Yielding Lessons for
  Philanthropy
• Moderator Andrew Hahn, Professor
• Brandeis Universitys Heller School for Social
  Policy and Management

2
Your Moderators Two Hats

• Youth entrepreneurship research underway in
  Center for Youth and Communities, Brandeis. Soon
  to be released study
• Sillerman Center for the Advancement of
  Philanthropy.
• Agendas Converge. EE is ideally suited to many
  sectors of philanthropy!

3
10 seconds on history of EE

• Jimmy Carter
• Early cynical view among liberals
• Business leaders and their philanthropies embrace
  the concept
• Attitudes change and now mainstream consensus of
  importance of EE both in USA and globally.

4
What is Entrepreneurship?

• Traits and behaviors
• One framework lists six entrepreneurial skills
  possessed by successful entrepreneurs
• Achievement
• Creativity and innovation
• Risk-taking and setting objectives
• Self-confidence and internal locus of control
• Independence and autonomy
• Motivation, energy, and commitment

5
A Heterogeneous Field

• In-school courses but even here huge variety
• Summer biz camps
• Middle and even elementary schools (PBS These
  Kids Mean Business)
• Out of school, community-based programs
• Young adult and community college approaches
• Standalone or embedded (e.g., college access)
• Connected to other movements experiential
  learning, dropout prevention, community
  development and more

6
What Are the Expected Outcomes from
Entrepreneurship Education (EE)?

• Youth employment
• Sense of meaning belonging
• Resiliency, critical thinking, innovation and
  positive risk taking
• Fewer at-risk behaviors
• New skills and experiences
• Business development
• Promoting and revitalizing local communities

7
A Field Still In The Making

• If research studies alone were the chief
  motivator for expansion of EE, we would have to
  say honestly that the field is still in the
  making and all the evidence isnt in.
• According to Kaufman and Dabson (1998), the lack
  of evaluative assessment of youth enterprise in
  the U.S. is a major barrier to the improvement of
  its effectiveness and impact.
• One leading foundation has raised the gauntlet
• Yet early evidence first gen studies--suggests
  a host of very important outcomes on which to
  build more elaborate research studies.

8

• Forty-five percent of low income mostly minority
  students felt that one particular EE program was
  more important to their education than other
  classes. Just 20 felt the program was less
  important to their education and about a third
  felt the program was at least as important as
  other education classes.

9
(No Transcript)
10
Forthcoming NFTE Study will show

• Positive Outcomes When Serving Youth Who Need
  Assistance in
• Future Education and Career Goals
• School Engagement and Academics
• Life Skills

11
What do Top Performing Settings Have In Common?

• Teacher Passion Teachers embrace curriculum and
  have high expectations for participating youth.
• Student selection process Able to choose
  appropriate students to participate in EE
• Program and organizational support.
• Fidelity to the model and a concern for quality

12
Panelists

• BUILD, an entrepreneurship program with a focus
  on college access (and a collaborator with other
  EE programs)
• NFTE, serving mostly thousands of in-school low
  income youth in USA and abroad
• A corporate supporter, OppenheimerFunds who
  recently participated in YESG

13
Andrew Hahn, Professor and Director The Sillerman
Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
Heller School for Social Policy and Management,
Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts
02454-9110 Office 781-736-3774
ahahn_at_brandeis.edu