08.08.2022
“Economic education is a cross-cutting issue”
Calls for a strengthening of economic education are not only in the interests of the business community; they are also of central importance, in particular, for tackling pressing social issues – such as ensuring human rights are upheld in supply chains – and for improving individual opportunities for social mobility.
Dr Jesco Kreft highlighted this point in the ‘Bildungsbrücke’ podcast produced by the Alliance for Economic Education (BÖB).
Although the importance of a sound grounding in economic education for leading an autonomous and well-considered life is a recurring topic of socio-political debate, he feels that “economic education is something that is actually rather lacking in the educated middle classes’ cultural canon, and indeed in the school curriculum”, said Jesco Kreft. We must not make the mistake of relegating the subject to minor subjects, optional modules, projects or summer schools: “We must take economic education seriously, and then it becomes a cross-curricular topic.”
From the Foundation’s perspective, it is clear that engaging with economic ethics can only succeed on the basis of sufficient specialist knowledge, according to Jesco Kreft: “You need an understanding of economics to be able to make moral judgements about the economy.” The call for more economic education is therefore politically neutral. “The problem is understanding economics, not evaluating it.” That is why the foundation is heavily involved in teacher training within its educational remit. Jesco Kreft: “Good, professional teaching requires professionals. And not just teaching professionals, but subject specialists who are capable of analysing the subject matter. If I have no idea about it, then my teaching approach and my lessons are unlikely to be any good either.”
The members of the BÖB, of which the Foundation is a founding organisation, represent the diversity of arguments in favour of strengthening economic education – ranging from improving individual opportunities for social mobility to macroeconomic, equity-related, educational theory and empowerment-related aspects, right through to pedagogical considerations. “I find it interesting that so many institutions within the Alliance for Economic Education are championing the same cause for different reasons,” said Jesco Kreft.
The BÖB was founded in 2019 as a network of supporters of economic education and now has more than 80 members, the majority of whom are institutions.