Make Your Job Summer Program. A Report to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
Author: Silander, Megan
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Entrepreneurship,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Business Skills,Skill Development,Summer Programs,Academic Ability,Daily Living Skills,Youth Programs,Youth Opportunities,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Program Design,Program Implementation,Student Characteristics,Student Educational Objectives,Student Experience,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Expectations of Students,Behavioral Objectives,Educational Resources,Delivery Systems,Barriers,Adoption (Ideas),Learning Activities,Training Methods,Occupational Aspiration,Attitude Change,Student Surveys,Interviews,Online Surveys,Pretests Posttests,Qualitative Research,Interpersonal Relationship,Knowledge Level,Achievement Gains,Career Development,Statistical Analysis,Focus Groups

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, &amp; Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as well as business success. In this study, the authors examine the implementation of The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's (NFTE) &quot;Make Your Job Summer Program,&quot; a summer program designed to introduce students to the concepts of entrepreneurship while developing students' academic and life skills. Specifically, they analyze the impact of this youth entrepreneurship program as it expanded to sites across the country and examine the program design, theoretical underpinnings, implementation, adaptations and challenges. Developed in the spring and rolled-out in the summer of 2014 as a result of Citi Foundation's &quot;Pathways to Progress Initiative,&quot; NFTE organized the &quot;Make Your Job Summer Program&quot; at 18 sites in 10 cities across the country where they have local offices. &quot;Make Your Job Summer Program&quot; is designed to provide youth with a real-world learning experience in which students develop a business idea and present a business plan for a chance to win seed capital to build their own business. Through classroom instruction, field trips to local businesses, guest speakers and a business plan competition for seed-funding, students develop skills, knowledge and attitudes essential for successful entrepreneurship. The research reported here examines both the impact and implementation of the program and considers: (1) the types of students who enrolled in the program and why; (2) how the students experienced the program; (3) the perceived match between program design and student backgrounds and abilities; (4) how staff understood the goals and expectations of the program; (5) the capacities and resources that supported implementation; (6) the challenges experienced in delivering the program; and (7) how the program was adapted across sites. Two appendices include: (1) Methods of Data Collection; and (2) EMI [Entrepreneurial Mindset Index] Constructs and Defining Characteristics. [For the executive summary of this report, see ED559675.]