Evaluating Enterprise in Higher Education: The practical methodological and ideological issues

This article explores the practical methodological and ideological issues stemming from the evaluation of two enterprise initiatives in higher education. It considers the evaluation strategies adopted by the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative (EHE) and the Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education programme (EATE). A comparative analysis of their approaches to evaluating enterprise is offered along with a critical analysis of the evaluative approaches adopted. Some of the more general difficulties of evaluating enterprise are highlighted and the paper concludes with a consideration of the effect of political tensions upon the evaluations of programmes such as the enterprise programmes.