Entrepreneurship education and teacher training in Rwanda

In Rwanda, 72 percent of employed youth work for family firms or are self-employed. These outcomes suggest that schools may be failing to develop the skills required to enter formal sector jobs or grow small firms. In response, Rwanda reformed its required upper secondary entrepreneurship course by introducing interactive pedagogy and a focus on business skills. Merely mandating adoption of a new curriculum may be insufficient for teachers to implement it effectively, however. This study examines how comprehensive teacher training affects the delivery of the reformed entrepreneurship curriculum. Schools were randomly selected for two years of intensive teacher training and support. A control group received the curriculum and the standard government training only. We will measure the intervention’s impact on teacher pedagogy, student skills, and student economic outcomes. Results will contribute to knowledge on supporting pedagogical change in a setting where such changes could generate relatively large economic returns for students.