Purpose: to enhance our understanding of how entrepreneurship is translated into the school setting and possible consequences of its interpretations in regard to citizens and the surrounding society. Design/methodology/approach – We take a discourse approach drawing upon governmentality and the concepts of program and technology. In this paper we have a specific focus on how a programmatic initiative - a strategy for implementing entrepreneurship in schools - is made operable in practice by means of a technology – a competence development initiative - which is something that so far has been scarce in prior research. Findings – The results shows the process of how entrepreneurship gets translated into a new discourse of an entrepreneurial approach, which takes on a broader perspective including a life-long learning, cooperation with the society and democratic values. In this way stretching the program beyond its initial intentions. Moreover, that the entrepreneurial approach could come with unintended consequences that are related to democratic values which the discourse tend to marginalize or exclude. Originality/value of the paper – There has been a lack of studies that focus on the process of how programs of entrepreneurship is translated and made operable in the school setting. We are also questioning what is often taken for granted when it comes to entrepreneurship in schools i.e. what is good for business is good for education and society in large