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The Evidence Base for Social Studies: Economics
The Evidence Base for Social Studies: Economics
What We Know
Economics is the study of how individuals and
societies make choices in order to satisfy their needs and wants. Because all
resources are limited, scarcity exists. Scarcity causes people to make choices
about how to answer three fundamental questions: What to produce; how to
produce; and for whom to produce. In a democratic society, all students need a
fundamental understanding of economic concepts, such as: supply, demand,
inflation, unemployment, international trade and economic systems
(traditional, market, command and mixed). According to Armento, economic
textbooks often contain excessive details thus requiring teachers to help
students identify the most important organizing ideas and supportive examples
(1987, p. 178).
What does research identify as important for
student learning in economics?
Researchers identify three related
purposes of economic education: (1) to ensure that students have acquired a
background in economics that will equip them to make informed and intelligent
decisions in the marketplace and in the voting booth (Valentine 1994); (2) to
have a critical understanding of the functioning of the American economic
system and be prepared for full citizenship in the United States (Rader 1996);
(3) to enable students to use economic concepts in a reasoned manner to
analyze personal and societal economic issues (Walstad and Soper 1991, p. 25).
In order for students to achieve these goals, researchers agree that economics
education must be a Kindergarten through grade 12 process, scaffolding (a form
of coaching or modeling that supports students as they develop new skills or
learn new concepts) the introduction of economic concepts and principles.
Recommendations for high-quality economic instruction include the use of
schema-building, concept-mapping and active participation. Armento summarizes
effective economic instruction in this manner: a) it must help students
retrieve prior economic knowledge, setting the base for extension of the
concepts (scaffolding); b) it must assist students in the construction of
concept maps of the new ideas using pictures, diagrams or charts; c) it must
enable students to actively participate in class by providing open-ended
problems, role-taking opportunities and critical assessment of economic
alternatives (1987, pp.179-181).
How does this look in the
classroom?
A large body of research supports the idea that young
people can learn economics (Schug 1991, p. 30). Young children learn economic
concepts better when teachers connect the concepts to them on a personal
level, using food or housing as examples (Owens and Nowell 2001, p. 33). Hilke
notes that students need to understand that economics is involved in
everything we do, from turning on classroom lights to buying or packing school
lunches (1999; Owens and Nowell 2001, p. 38). Integrating literature that
focuses on economic concepts is one method teachers can use to make economics
relevant to students (Hilke 1999, p. 39; Owens and Nowell 2001, p. 34).
Primary-grade students operate at concrete levels of thought, so they often
misunderstand such economic concepts as the production cycle (Brophy et al.
2003, p. 35; Valentine 1994). Brophy et al. researched children’s
understanding of the production cycle using the cultural universal "food"
(2003). The findings reported in their study show that early-childhood level
students fall into one of three levels of understanding. Level-one students
have no understanding of food production (it comes from stores and stores get
food from other stores). Level-two students make reference to machines or
factories but do not identify food production with raw materials (cars are
made in factories but may or may not relate to steel and rarely to iron and
coal). Finally, Level-three students understand that food production involves
transforming things found in nature (Brphy et al. 2003, p. 13). Other
researchers find similar results, in that, by the age of seven or eight,
children have acquired a wide range of economic facts, attitudes and
experiences. Morton states that if we do not want students to perpetuate
misunderstandings, educators must provide opportunities to apply economic
theory to real-world situations (1987, p. 208). To correct misunderstandings,
teachers can help students apply the production cycle to a real-life situation
by identifying items used at home or school then tracing the items backwards
to its origin (i.e., potato chips: school cafeteria-wholesale
market-manufacturer-farmer). Research suggests upper elementary students
should have the option to run a small business where they select the product
for sale after studying opportunity costs, production and distribution,
consumption, and market potential. Use the school lunch menu to discuss the
production process of items on the menu (Hilke 1999, p. 41).
Intermediate age children, according to the research, have the ability to
directly use higher levels of reasoning, thus enabling them to experience
economic concepts directly (Schug 1991, p. 29). The students begin to analyze
economic events based on impact, not just by asking the question, should the
economic development occur but analyzing the impact the decision will have on
them, the community, nation or global society (Valentine 1994). Schug
concludes that once teachers identify how students think about economic
concepts they will be able to implement strategies that correct economic
misunderstandings (1991). A few of these economic concepts may include:
opportunity cost, scarcity, supply and demand and inflation (Valentine 1994).
Learners begin with the basic economic concepts in their schema-building and
work up to more abstract economic theories as they progress through school.
The more concrete the concept, the easier it will be to learn, and the more
general, abstract, and superordinant, the more difficult (Armento 1987, p.
180). Highfill and Weber identify the middle school years as the ideal for
using graphs (1990). Creating graphs provide a way of understanding and
manipulating concepts; students able to perform this task have a better grasp
of economics (Highfill and Weber 1990). Valentine notes that upper-middle
school children (grades seven through nine) are already active participants in
the economy and need a structured understanding of economic principles and the
market so they can reach the best possible decisions for their own economic
stability as well as the nation’s (1994). A real-life scenario could be when
an industry wants to move into, expand, or move out of a community. A company
may wish to have tax abatement for a set number of years, raising questions of
economic impact; such as number and type of jobs gained, money for schools,
environmental concerns, or the impact the housing market on the community.
By high school, students are ready to construct knowledge about economic
principles and concepts. Research completed by Morton indicates that high
school students who have completed a quality early and middle school economics
curriculum synthesized all of the economic concepts (1987). They have learned
the basic principles of economics, applied economic logic to new situations,
and are now ready to apply economic reasoning to current issues and debates
(Morton 1987, p. 210). In another study, Maxwell et al. proposes a
problem-based learning approach for high school students (2001). The use of
independent research to practice critical thinking, evaluation, and
interpretation of appropriate economic graphs, provides high school students
the opportunity to apply theory to real-life situations (2001, p. 73). Kagen
and Mayo researched a number of economic games available for classroom use
(1995). They conclude that these games are often centered on winning and
provide limited, or flawed, concept development (Kagen and Mayo 1995). Their
research further suggests that having the students analyze various economic
games and report on how "true-to-life" the game actually is provides students
the opportunity to identify options for solving or addressing the economic
situation (Kagen and Mayo 1995). The goal is for students to graduate with the
ability to understand how economics can lead to an improvement in their
personal and family lives and decision-making skills (Morton 1987, p. 208).
At all grade levels, research stresses that the teaching of economics needs to
address and contain "real-world" situations and data because this has been
found to motivate the students to ask more questions about economic concepts
(Peterson, Jr. 2000, p. 170). "Real-world" economic situations such as
negotiating trade agreements, raising or lowering the interest rate, or
drafting tax laws could be addressed through role-playing at an economic
conference, Senatorial debate or political party convention. William Rader
concludes that a better understanding of economics leads to economic growth,
as a result of intelligent decision-making by citizens and governments (1996).
Why is this so important in the 21st Century? According to Rust and Kim, at
least 75% of the United States’ economy is dedicated to the creation,
production and dissemination of knowledge (1997, p. 558). Because the United
States is an information-based economy and part of the global community
involved in international financial transactions, production, and distribution
all of which impact national identity, it may not be able to maintain its
sovereignty in the same way it did during its industrial age.
The
purpose of economic education is not to prepare students to become economists,
but to have them acquire a background in economics that will equip them to be
informed and intelligent decision-makers. The goal is to foster in students
the thinking skills and economic knowledge to become effective participants in
the world around them (Valentine 1994).
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