Developing productive lifeskills in children: Priming entrepreneurial mindsets through socialisation in family occupations

Abstract

Building on the premise that societal sustainability depends on mental and behavioural sustainability, this paper provides a framework within which the complex challenges of sustainable early childhood education in the majority world is discussed. The work contends that entrepreneurial mindsets priming is a viable component of early childhood education through life skills orientation within the family. It argues that historically, vocational training of children has been the primordial responsibility of the family before the advent of schooling, a source of mismatch between acquired skills and sustainable livelihood. The work considers the family a major socialising agent in early childhood, and also an enterprise for knowledge production, strategies in entrepreneurial upskilling and sustainable lifeskills. The work does not advocate for rejection, but for the deconstruction of dominant capitalist learning values, which are fraught with crisis of relevance in sustainable childhood learning and development. As a proactive measure in developing entrepreneurial minds and societies discussions are oriented towards current policies and cultures in sustainable childhood education in context. RÉSUMÉPartant du principe que la durabilité d'une société repose sur la durabilité de la pensée et comportements, ce document offre un cadre au sein duquel seront abordés les défis posés, dans l'ensemble du monde, par la nécessité d'une éducation durable dans le domaine de la petite enfance. Ce travail soutient le point de vue selon lequel l'esprit d'entreprise, favorisé au sein de la famille par des activités centrées sur la vie quotidienne, est une composante primordiale vitale. Se fondant sur l'histoire, il postule que la formation professionnelle des enfants a représenté, avant l'introduction de la scolarisation génératrice de disparités entre les connaissances acquises en son sein et les compétences durables pour la survie, une responsabilité primordiale de la famille. Ce travail n'entend pas se faire l'avocat d'un rejet mais bien plus d'une reconsidération ou « déconstruction » des valeurs capitalistes actuellement promues à l'école, valeurs qui ne sont pas étrangères au manque de durabilité de l'éducation et des apprentissages durant la petite enfance. Afin de mettre en évidence des mesures préliminaires au développement de l'esprit d'entreprise au niveau des esprits et des sociétés, les contributions qui composent ce travail se pencheront sur les cultures et les politiques éducatives actuelles, s'agissant de leur impact sur le caractère durable de l'éducation de la petite enfance. RESUMENConstruyendo la premisa que la sustentabilidad social depende de la sustentabilidad mental y comportamental, este artículo provee de un marco de trabajo en el que los complejos cambios para una educación preescolar sustentable en la mayor parte del mundo, son discutidos. El trabajo aborda el establecimiento mental de emprendimiento como componente viable de la educación preescolar, apoyando el desarrollo de las habilidades para la vida en e...

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