Reducing youth disadvantage through education for enterprise : a case study of Ngā Kākano School

Abstract

In developed countries, the education divide between students with access and those without access to elite education providers has deepened. Students who have limited access to ‘elite’ education are at risk of joining a vicious circle of low educational outcomes, inadequate and inappropriate training for the emerging workplace, and behaviours that make escape from poverty difficult (Boven, Harland and Grace 2011). This case study explores the lessons to be learned from a school that has embarked on a path to engage all of its students in 'Education for Enterprise' as a curriculum foundation to help its students aspire and achieve educational outcomes that better position them for modern citizenship, tertiary education, or other promising career pathways.