Economic and industrial understanding in the primary school: An overview

Within the curriculum for compulsory education in the United Kingdom, work associated with economic and industrial understanding (EIU) has been growing in importance over the last sixteen years. This phenomenon has been mirrored in pre‐service teacher education courses, although with a considerable developmental delay. This article traces the development of such work, and examines five important issues which might be considered by those concerned with such activities in primary education and primary teacher education. Many of the issues considered here were first discussed, and the arguments refined, during regional and national tutor development workshops organized by the national staff‐ and course‐development initiative: Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education (EATE). The issues are: What do the terms industry and economic mean in an educational context? Why is economic and industrial understanding important in primary schools? What might the key elements be in a programme for economic and industrial understanding in schools? What knowledge, skills and attitudes should all forms of pre‐service teacher education be seeking to develop with primary trainee teachers within economic and industrial understanding? Why is economic and industrial understanding an essential part of the professional preparation of all primary teachers?