Teaching project management to primary school children: a scoping review

Abstract

Teachers have used projects in children’s education for over a century. More recently, project management knowledge and skills have become essential when students manage technological solutions from inception to presentation. This paper presents the first scoping literature review on teaching project management to primary school students. A total of 33 publications between 2000 and 2022 were analysed and presented both descriptively and thematically. While the review did not identify any empirical studies of teaching project management to primary school students, it did reveal several examples of suggested teaching approaches, project management activity, and common elements associated with project management. The review concludes with a recommendation for researchers, educators, and project management practitioners to build upon this research by exploring the effectiveness of comprehensive approaches to teaching project management to primary school students. This paper represents a significant area of research as project management is one of the most critical skills for students to achieve success in the twenty-first century.