The role of pre-vocational education in general compulsory education has become increasingly relevant over recent years, with the international debate focussing particularly on its importance in school-to-work transitions. This study considers curriculum design and the implementation of pre-vocational education in four countries with radically different cultures: India, China, Germany and the USA. Using a theoretically framed concept of relevance to inform curriculum analysis, it compares the widely divergent content of curricula. In addition to this, interviews with teachers in all four countries flesh out how the curriculum is implemented in practice. The study, which is based on the 'prescribed curriculum' and 'enacted curriculum' approach, demonstrates that a range of factors means implementation varies widely from country to country but that teachers in all four countries focus in pre-vocational education on equipping students with life-skills.

On the one hand, India is a growing economy that needs skilled labour, self-employed entrepreneurs and employees to tackle its economic and social challenges. On the other hand, India faces high unemployment rates, especially among young people. Graduates from industrial training institutes (ITIs) in particular are often facing difficulties in pursuing self-employment. Entrepreneurship education is an essential element in preparing young people for self-employment. This paper analyses how and to what extent entrepreneurship education has been conceived and implemented in vocational schools in and around Bangalore to face these challenges. Methodologically the authors use a three-step approach following the theories of a 'prescribed', 'adopted' or 'enacted' curriculum. Qualitative interviews are used for the analysis of the adopted and enacted curriculum. The authors conclude that whereas the prescribed curriculum includes several elements of entrepreneurship education and teacher's understanding is in line with the prescription, the understanding is seldom translated into input in the day-to-day teaching. The plausible reasons for this gap are discussed in this paper.

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