Chapter 7: Entrepreneurship Education in Small Island Developing States: Pathways, Challenges and Policy Implications

While there is some consensus within the literature on the role of entrepreneurship education (EE) in the advancement of economic growth and development, there are few assessments of the policy that frame the orientations and outcomes of EE within developing country contexts. Such is particularly the case for the Caribbean, where there is a lack of research on EE, development and policy. Using the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) EE policy framework, particularly the component on education and training, this chapter explores policy and practical initiatives from three Caribbean countries: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize in promoting and integrating EE into the national curricula. The findings indicate that there are varying degrees of progress, with each country exhibiting strengths in the formulation and implementation of EE initiatives. The findings also point to financial, operational and human resource challenges that limit the reach and impact of such initiatives. Of note also were the structural, institutional, pedagogy/andragogy and cultural limitations within the formal and informal entrepreneurial training and development across selected countries. These findings point to the need for closer examinations of entrepreneurial policies, with the use of more macro and micro research within the design, alignment, implementation and legitimisation of such policy directives. This chapter concludes by offering practical, policy and academic implications and avenues for future research in the field of EE and public policy in the region and countries with similar characteristics.