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The purpose of this article is to explore the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education (EE) programmes through the lens of realist evaluation (RE). The interest of the authoring team – a practitioner–academic mix with professional experience including developing EE in primary and secondary schools – lies with EE competitions, a type of intervention recommended for and delivered to students and pupils of all ages. RE is a theory-driven philosophy, methodology and adaptable logic of enquiry with which to conceptualize and analyse such programmes. In this study, we undertake an act of ‘organized scepticism’, as described by evidenced-based policy academic Ray Pawson, to identify and question the declared outcomes of EE competitions in European policy over a 10-year period. However, our contribution goes beyond the application of an evaluation approach, novel to EE. We argue that, while education generally, and EE specifically, appears committed to emulating ‘gold standard’ scientific evaluation approaches (e.g. randomized controlled trials, systematic review and meta-analysis), the field of evidenced-based policymaking has moved on. Now, alternative methodological strategies are being embraced and RE in particular has evolved as an approach which better aligns knowledge production with the reality of complex, socially contingent programmes. By using this approach, we not only establish that education and psychology theories challenge the outcomes of EE competitions declared in policy, but also demonstrate the wider relevance of RE to the appraisal and refinement of the theorizing and practice of entrepreneurship programmes and interventions.

The demand for including enterprise in the education system, at all levels and for all pupils is now a global phenomenon. Within this context, the use of competitions and competitive learning activities is presented as a popular and effective vehicle for learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how a realist method of enquiry – which utilises theory as the unit of analysis – can shed new light on the assumed and unintended outcomes of enterprise education competitions. The case developed here is that there are inherent flaws in assuming that competitions will ‘work’ in the ways set out in policy and guidance. Some of the most prevalent stated outcomes – that competitions will motivate and reward young people, that they will enable the development of entrepreneurial skills, and that learners will be inspired by their peers – are challenged by theory from psychology and education. The issue at stake is that the expansion of enterprise education policy into primary and secondary education increases the likelihood that more learners will be sheep dipped in competitions, and competitive activities, without a clear recognition of the potential unintended effects. In this chapter, we employ a realist-informed approach to critically evaluate the theoretical basis that underpins the use of competitions and competitive learning activities in school-based enterprise education. We believe that our findings and subsequent recommendations will provide those who promote and practice the use of competitions with a richer, more sophisticated picture of the potential flaws within such activities.