Challenges of Teaching Entrepreneurship Component of Economics and Management Sciences in South African Schools
Lungelo Sithuthuko Mbatha 
& Sithembele Goodman Ndovela
Issue: Vol.5 No.11 Issue Article 8 pp.1721-1730
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245118 | Published online 5th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) is one of the fields of study in the South African school curriculum. It covers three components namely, financial literacy, economy and Entrepreneurship. This article presents the findings on the challenges of the teaching of the Entrepreneurship component of the EMS. Piaget’s (1967) Constructivism theory was employed as a theoretical lens to understand the challenges of the teaching of the Entrepreneurship component of EMS. The researchers used an interpretivism-qualitative approach grounded in the case study as a research methodology. The sample of five EMS teachers who teach EMS in five different schools in the uThukela education district in KwaZulu-Natal province. The data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and it was analysed using thematic analysis. The following findings were revealed: a shortage of qualified EMS teachers, insufficient teaching resources, limited understanding of the language of teaching and learning and minimal support from EMS subject advisors. It is recommended that the Department of Education must employ qualified EMS teachers and also offer workshops focusing on content and pedagogical knowledge of the EMS. It could be concluded that there are challenges in relation to the teaching Entrepreneurship component. The study contributes with theory and practice regarding the teaching of Entrepreneurship.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Economic and Management Sciences, constructivism
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Mr. Lungelo Sithuthuko Mbatha is a secondary school teacher in the uThukela Education District. He is currently registered for a PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interest is more on the teaching of Business Studies and Economics and Management Sciences (EMS).
Dr. Sithembele Goodman Ndovela is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein campus, South Africa. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interests include teaching and learning in Accounting education especially Accountimg threshold concepts. He is a member of the World Education Research Association (WERA) and the South African Education Research Association (SAERA).
Mbatha, Lungelo Sithuthuko & Sithembele Goodman Ndovela. “Challenges of Teaching Entrepreneurship Component of Economics and Management Sciences in South African Schools,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.11 (2024): 1721-1730. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245118
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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