Incorporating entrepreneurial skills into mathematics teaching in school

Abstract Mathematics, as one of the core subjects in education, can be recognized as a tool for strengthening fundamental entrepreneurial skills. In this study, attempt was made to examine how integrating entrepreneurial skills—creativity, responsibility, courage, initiative, tolerance of ambiguity and collaboration (Palmer & Johansson, 2018)—into mathematics teaching compares against mathematical teaching alone in terms of the marks of the students and the learner’s and the teacher’s perceptions about the class. The study was conducted in the summer of 2023 with the participation of 50 students in two classes of 25 students in Iran, who were chosen based on convenience sampling. Given the time available, four chapters of the eighth-grade mathematics textbook were taught. In the experimental group, entrepreneurial skills were integrated into class, and in the control group, no such integration happened. After the end of each chapter in both classes, a test was given to the students. In addition, the views of the experimental group and the instructor about the treatment were sought by survey questions. Comparing the mean scores of the two classes in the tests showed no significant difference. However, the survey questions suggested improvements in the six entrepreneurial skills and a better mathematics learning environment in the experimental group.