Introduction: In today's educational landscape, the focus of entrepreneurship education is predominantly at the higher education or secondary school level. Unfortunately, there is a lack of emphasis on entrepreneurship programs at the elementary school level, which is concerning and poses its own challenges due to the significant population of primary school students. Furthermore, the early years of school play a crucial role in their lives, and it is essential how these years are experienced and what abilities and skills they acquire. Therefore, entrepreneurship education has found its way into various educational programs, including primary schools, so it has become essential during early childhood as it plays a crucial role in developing entrepreneurial skills and empowering individuals to start a business. The aim of the current study was to design an early entrepreneurship education model for primary school students and compare the model factors among the female and male managers and teachers in Ilam City.
Methodology: The study employed a sequential mixed method involving qualitative and quantitative methods. Grounded theory and survey methods were used in the qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively. The research population of the quantitative phase was composed of all experts who were familiar with the research topic, out of whom 22 experts were selected using the purposive technique. The population in the quantitative phase was composed of all principals and teachers of elementary schools in Ilam County, out of whom 261 were selected by the convenience technique. The data collection instrument was semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase and a closed-end questionnaire in the quantitative phase. In the qualitative phase, the three-step coding method was used for data analysis. Descriptive (average) and inferential statistics (comparison of averages) using Spss₂₀ were employed to analyze data in the quantitative phase.
Findings: The results in the qualitative phase showed that the development of early entrepreneurship education in primary schools was affected by causal factors (macro-policy, micro-policy, educational goal setting, and reform of the educational system), contextual factors (educational environment, entrepreneurial environment, entrepreneurial events, and motivated teachers) and intervening factors (content production, teaching methods, and evaluation methods). These factors lead to the development of entrepreneurial capabilities. Also, the results in the quantitative phase showed that female teachers believed the role of producing suitable content in developing early entrepreneurship education for students to a greater extent than their male colleagues did.
Conclusion/ Implications: It is recommended to focus on building a positive culture within the educational system to shift beliefs and foster a more optimistic attitude among educational policymakers, principals, and primary school teachers. Additionally, suitable educational materials should be developed for primary students to enhance their entrepreneurial knowledge.