1st Edition

Teaching Economics in Troubled Times Theory and Practice for Secondary Social Studies

Edited By Mark C. Schug, William C. Wood Copyright 2011
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    238 Pages
    by Routledge

    In the Great Recession of 2007-2010, Americans watched their retirement savings erode and the value of their homes decline while the unemployment rate increased and GDP sank. New demands emerged for unprecedented government intervention into the economy. While these changes have a dramatic impact on society at large, they also have serious implications for the content and teaching of economics.

    Teaching Economics in a Time of Unprecedented Change is a one-stop collection that helps pre- and in-service social studies teachers to foster an understanding of classic content as well as recent economic developments. Part I offers clear and teachable overviews of the nature of today’s complex economic crisis and the corollary changes in teaching economics that flow from revising and updating long-held economic assumptions. Part II provides both detailed best practices for teaching economics in the social studies classroom and frameworks for teaching economics within different contexts including personal finance, entrepreneurship, and history. Part III concludes with effective strategies for teaching at the elementary and secondary school levels based on current research on economic education. From advice on what every economics teacher should know, to tips for best education practices, to investigations into what research tells us about teaching economics, this collection provides a wealth of contextual background and teaching ideas for today’s economics and social studies educators.  Additional information and resources can be found at the authors’ website neweconteaching.com.

    Introduction

    Mark C. Schug

    William C. Wood

    Part I: The Changing Economic Scene

    1. What Every High School Student and Teacher Needs to Know about Economics

    James Gwartney

    Mark C. Schug

    2. Maynard Keynes: Dead But Not Forgotten

    Scott Niederjohn

    3. Free Trade: Helping Ourselves While Helping Others

    Dwight R. Lee

    4. Public Choice and Behavioral Economics: Implications for Instructors

    Angela M. Smith

    William C. Wood

    5. Morality of Markets: Classroom and Conscience

    J.R. Clark

    Mark Schug

    Part II Making Economics Cool in School

    6. A Challenging Assignment in Troubled Times: What Every First Year High School Economics Teacher Needs to Know

    Jane S. Lopus

    7. A Jewel for Your School’s Curriculum in Uncertain Economic Times: The Advanced Placement Economics Course

    John Morton

    8. Vital Knowledge in Troubled Times: The Role of Personal Finance in Economic Education

    Michael S. Gutter

    Selena Garrison

    9. Entrepreneurship Education, When and Where it Counts: The American Dream Youthpreneurship Program

    Barbara Flowers

    10. Economics in History: What Every High School Student and Teacher Needs to Know

    Lucien Ellington

    Part III Research Finding in Economic Education

    11. Best Economic Education Practices for Children

    Philip VanFossen

    12. What Research Tells Us about Teaching High School Economics

    Michael Watts

    William B. Walstad

    Biography

    Mark C. Schug is Professor Emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and former Director of the Center for Economic Education.

    William C. Wood is Professor of Economics and the Director of the Center for Economic Education at James Madison University.

    "Teaching Economics in Troubled Times provides easy access to classic economics content and debates in light of the Great Recession. Readers will gravitate towards the practical strategies for teaching economics as a stand alone subject or through history courses. It is an invaluable resource for both pre-and in-service teachers of economics."

    --Anand R. Marri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Studies and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University