On the development of education in technology and entrepreneurship in Finland: the KYTKE 2005 Project as an example

Technology and entrepreneurship are new fields of general education within the Finnish school system, and as such do not yet have any official status as school subjects. The development of these fields is nevertheless strongly supported by both international and national educational strategies, the most significant of the latter being the programme of action launched by the Ministry of Education under the title "Finland into the Information Society". Currently the most extensive project in Finland aimed at developing education in technology and entrepreneurship is KYTKE 2005. The project began in 1997 and is being financed by the Ministry of Education and the European Social Fund. This paper will provide a description of the goals of the project, its content and the evaluation system to be used and examine the results of the first interim evaluation of the impact of the project on the work of schools and their teachers, carried out at the beginning of 1998.