Teaching Strategies in Economics Education

From Juan Manuel, Sourcebook in Philippine Education

Reported by: Alvin B. Balaba
Economics Education
• Fits beautifully with the conceptional approach in
the teaching of social studies.
• According to which, a concept should be taught
first in its simplest form in grade one or even
kindergarten and as the grade maturity levels of
children increase, the concept should also increase
in complexity and difficulty.
• It can permeate such field in the social studies as
geography, civics, history, government, sociology
and anthropology.
Pitfalls that Teachers of Economics Should Avoid

• Adherence to the traditional form of teaching

economics education.
• Stuffing students with economic facts and
information.
• Overwhelming students with mass of information
while little is done to develop certain skills of
economic logic.
• Discussing economic laws and theories above
heads of the students, or in the abstract.
Characteristics of Economics Education (Villegas)

• The course must be highly analytical in content

– Emphasis on the acquisition of certain tools of analysis
that students can use to evaluate a wide range of
socio-economic issues.
• It must be problem-oriented
– The analytical tools must be learned in the context of
actual problems.
• It must be decision-oriented
– Students must make certain decisions or course of
action regarding the issues currently faced by the
country.
In developing Economic Reasoning

• Students must be convincingly shown that

economics must follow all the indispensable steps
of scientific inquiry.
– Observation and Assumptions
– Hypotheses formulation
– Testing of the hypothesis through statistical
inferences
– Students can decide on a plan of action
Conclusion

• The ultimate test of effectiveness of any course is

whether the course has produced desirable
attitude changes in the students.
• The final touch should be giving the students
encouragement to commit themselves to certain
views and actions regarding economic issues
brought up in class.