The enterprising education is actually taking those authentic opportunities to get out there and make a difference and to interact with the real world.
Joan Middlemiss, Keri Keri High School
An enterprising approach to education says: what are the real life projects that are going on – not only in our community, but in a wider community?
Chris Bell, KeriKeri High School
The exciting thing about Keri Reading was they turned adult thinking on its head! And that's what kids are so clever at doing, and that's why they solve these problems, and that's why they are enterprising.
Joan Middlemiss, Kerikeri High School
The opportunity to apply the theoretical skills we learned through subjects like accounting and economics in a real situation is probably been the most valuable, and you can see the relevance of what you're learning.
Student, Kerikeri High School
How often have you heard students say: "I don't know why we are learning this stuff", "I don't see the point of this stuff!" By intersecting with the community, the students can see the point of the learning.
Co-principal Elizabeth Forgie, Kerikeri High School
Enterprise education is about learning to think outside the square, and trusting that we can develop our skills in a safe place while still developing those risk-taking strategies that are very, very important.
Joan Middlemiss, Kerikeri High School
A lot of our enterprise work has actually been about social entrepreneurship, about supporting the community, and having community support for us.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
Enterprise education is about opening doors and broadening some horizons too, and it's been amazing how students who have really got involved in enterprise education have progressed. They're now thinking about vocations that they weren't thinking about two years ago.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
I think it has enabled our senior students, with the inclusion in authentic learning opportunities, to actually see that tailor-making their courses to meet their needs is really important, and that nothing is too difficult.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
For our younger students, they are learning that taking risks and developing ideas is part of the normal, everyday process that businesses undertake, so they are getting an opportunity to learn about problem solving and developing new concepts in a safe environment.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
The biggest shift in teacher practice is that the staff feel supported to be risk-takers. They are supported to follow their passions.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
The enterprise education has been a roller-coaster ride for our school. It's taken us from a school that has believed that due to our size and possible geographical isolation, that we haven't been able to do anything, to a school that now believes anything is possible.
Kaye Day, Aparima College
The students benefit a lot from having the community people coming in because they meet some different people. Teachers are really lovely people but it's also nice to have people from the community, of all ages and walks of life.
Robyn Guyton, Aparima College
It motivates you more because you actually get to do things, and you get to try things, which makes it more exciting.
Student, Aparima College
The students, I think, get a great appreciation for what the industry's about. Is this industry suitable for them? How can they make a difference? Where can they go from this industry?
Paul Adams, Stabicraft
I learnt that if you actually approach a company and ask for their technical support, expertise, their skills, they tend to be a little bit flattered by what you are asking for, and they are very prepared then to try and talk to you about their ideas.
John Robinson, Aparima College
The benefits for the students really were that they were able to see that their artwork was going to be of some use. It was an actual application that was actually going out into the public arena, so it impacted on their achievement levels greatly because they took it very seriously.
Anne-Marie Eastwood, Aparima College
There was a definite improvement in the children's self-esteem. The benefits for the people in the community were that they could see that we were actually doing something. That we were keen to be part of the community, that the school wasn't just going to be isolated and doing their own thing.
Anne-Marie Eastwood, Aparima College
There are students who would not otherwise have achieved credits, who through being engaged in their learning have actually been able to achieve their Level 3 certificates. But it's coming from a different learning style, from more student engagement and more student decision-making.
Anne Cooper, Whangarei Girls’ High School
Instead of just looking for just that final product, if you are looking for the skills and qualities underneath it, to add just one little more step often just made a huge difference in terms of what the students actually gain from it.
Anne Cooper, Whangarei Girls’ High School
At Year 9, it was just the enthusiasm that they actually went through. The things that they did in terms of team work and developing leadership and solving problems, and coming up with ideas and just surprising themselves.
Janet Lang, Whangarei Girls’ High School
And so having community partners and commercial people that we can tap in and bring in the expertise that we didn't have is absolutely vital. Schools are never going to have all the expertise they need and we need to have the opportunity of going out into the community to bring it in and help us out.
Alan Parris, Whangarei Girls’ High School
The students who were involved, apart from them going through the learning curve and getting all the skills, they've actually got a lot more mana amongst their peers, because all of a sudden there's this ownership, and so there is a lot of good feeling about the whole thing, if you like.
Alan Parris, Linwood High School
