Teaching Economic Reasoning to Children

Abstract

The author discusses the differing perspectives which the social sciences offer to young people to analyse problems. Perspectives from history, political science and geography are briefly discussed. The author stresses that the child's perspective of the social world differs from the ones offered by social scientists. Following a summary of the economic thinking of children and adolescents, the author stresses that economics also presents students with an important perspective through the application of economic principles involving choice, costs, incentives, rules, trade, and future consequences. These economic principles are explained by reference to an example of why the buffalo population in the United States nearly became extinct and why it is now recovering. The author concludes with suggestions for how teachers can bring an economic perspective into the classroom. Readers are provided with three 'economic mysteries' as examples of classroom activities. Reforms of the social studies curriculum in the United States have focused recently on the development of national standards. National standards were released in civics (Center for Civic Education, 1994), history (National Center for History in the Schools, 1994a, 1994b), and geography (Geography Education Standards Project, 1994). The National Council for the Social Studies (1994) published its own set of standards which it intends as an umbrella for these various standards documents. These efforts at standards development serve as the most recent reminder of the important role that academic content plays within the social studies curriculum in the United States. Table 1, for example, presents the first seven themes from the NCSS Standards (1994). As can be seen, these are statements describing key content within each of the social sciences. The remaining three themes of Science, Technology, and Society; Global Connections; and Civic Ideals and Practices, while stressing non-traditional content, still draw heavily on ideas from the social sciences.

Öğrencilerin Ekonomi Okuryazarlık Düzeyinin Belirlenmesine Yönelik Bir Araştırma (Study on Determination of the Level of Student Economic Literacy)

“…Bu denli önemine rağmen, ekonomi genel olarak ele alındığında, insanların çekindiği, anlaşılmaz bulduğu ve çoğunlukla para ve finans ile özdeşleştirilen bir alan olarak bilinmektedir. Schug (1996) (Tuna ve Ulu, 2016;Chen ve Volpe, 2002;Worthington, 2006;Wagland ve Taylor, 2009;Ergün vd., 2014) (Prete, 2013: 74).…”

Ekonomi̇ Okuryazari Vatandaşlik Yeterli̇kleri̇ni̇n Beli̇rlenmesi̇ Üzeri̇ne Bi̇r Delphi̇ Çalişmasi

“…Ekonomi, insanların sosyal, ekonomik ve siyasal sistem içerisinde üreten, tüketen, çalışan, işveren, vatandaşlar olarak ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak amacıyla her gün aldıkları kararlarla ilgilidir (Schug, 1996). Bu açıdan ekonomi okuryazarlığı, bireylerin doğrudan kendi hayatları ile ilgili ekonomik kararları etkili bir şekilde alabilmesini amaçladığı için bir yaşam becerisi olarak nitelendirilebilir.…”

“…Economic literacy is one of these capabilities. There is a strong relationship between economics and citizenship (Davies, 2006) because citizens are workers, producers, consumers, investors, and political decision-makers in an economic system (Schug, 1996). So, they need economics comprehension and skills for acting out as rational decision-makers in the system.…”

Ekonomi Okuryazarlığı ve Eğitimine İlişkin Alan Uzmanı ve Öğretmen Görüşlerinin Belirlenmesi

“…Despite this importance of the economic literacy, economics generally is an area that people avoid from it, see as incomprehensible thing and often associate it with money and finance. The economy, however, is concerned with decisions that people make every day to meet their needs as consumers, employees, employers and citizens (Schug, 1996). Therefore economy has became a necessary political competence of citizens in a strong democracy as well as a basic life skill (Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, 2009).…”

“…Bu önemine rağmen ekonomi genel olarak insanların çekindikleri, anlaşılmaz buldukları, çoğunlukla para ve finans konuları ile özdeşleştirdikleri bir alandır. Oysa ekonomi, insanların tüketiciler, çalışanlar, işverenler ve vatandaşlar olarak ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak amacıyla her gün aldıkları kararlarla ilgilidir (Schug, 1996). Ekonominin insan yaşamına içkin bu yönü, ekonomi okuryazarlığını hem temel yaşam becerilerinden birisi (Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, 2009) hem de güçlü bir demokraside vatandaşların politik yetkinliği için gerekli bir yeterlik alanı haline getirmektedir.…”