Deploying the Use of Apprenticeship-based Learning

DUAL project brought together five partners from Slovenia, Serbia and Romania - 3 NGOs and 2 VET schools, who all have experience in running entrepreneurship education activities. The project addressed the need of VET secondary education by developing and piloting the ‘’Entrepreneurship and enterprise’’ module with student company as cross-curricular methodology, and by developing the electronic system of registration of student companies for better monitoring and communication with teachers and schools. E&E module promotes the set of theoretical and practical teaching and apprenticeship-based learning units, which are thematically and functionally bind across the curriculum of a secondary VET school. The module stretches over the curriculum, other courses and apprentice-based practice. While 5 consortium members were in charge in discussing and developing project outputs, two additional schools joined the project as associated partners and implemented the module in their school programs. However, the implementation phase had a bigger impact and at least 5 high schools only in Serbia tested the module which happened as a result of promotion of the module at the teacher trainings. The full impact of the DUAL project will be visible in the further years because teachers gave feedback that the module is useful and needed in schools, although it requires additional support from the school principals and colleagues in order to reach its full potential. While creating the e-registry platform (O2), researchers and technicians in communication with teachers and people who coordinate the processes of entrepreneurial education, saw many opportunities to improve the process of monitoring the implementation of the Company program. Then, through the created platform it is possible to evaluate and quantify the work of teachers as well as the level of student involvement and their achievements. In promoting the platform and its implementation by teachers, it was necessary to develop the IT skills of the teachers themselves, which is added value to the project activity. E&E module and the e-registry platform will continue to be used long after the project is finished - and probably will be adjusted to the specific needs of teachers, NGO’s, and the requirements of the national Ministries of Education. E&E module and the e-registry became the regular elements of teacher trainings in all three countries.