The Royal Economic Society has released a short summary in response to the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review. Led by the Discover Economics Advisory Group, the RES believe that basic economic literacy is an essential requirement for democratic participation.
Background
A broader, richer, cutting-edge curriculum that drives high and rising school standards and sets all young people up for life and work is central to the government’s vision for education.
On 19 July 2024 a Curriculum and Assessment Review was launched spanning from Key Stage 1 (age 5-7) through to Key Stage 5 (age 16-18).
High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
Following the review, all state schools – including academies who currently do not have to follow the national curriculum – will be required by law to teach the national curriculum up to age 16, giving parents certainty over their children’s education.
Please see the response below, put forward to the DfE review and which forms part of our on-going advocacy on behalf of economics in the National Curriculum.
Basic economic literacy should be part of the National Curriculum
Executive summary
Economic literacy is essential for democratic participation and for the best start in life
Provision of economics education is skewed towards the better-off: Addressing this requires a long-term strategy to build the supply of economics teachers
We recommend building economics capacity for all by embedding basic economic literacy into a new and enhanced compulsory citizenship education
The case for economic literacy
Essential for democratic participation
Economic decisions lie at the heart of politics, making a basic understanding of economics essential for democratic participation. Evidence shows a widespread desire for greater understanding of economics, but limitations in public understanding. Many people who understand their “personal economy” (the effect of interest rates on mortgage re-payments, for example), struggle to understand the national economy, describing it as ‘confusing’, ‘complicated’ and ‘difficult to understand.’ Equipping people with basic economic literacy skills would empower them to engage with political and economic debates.
Giving everyone the best start in life
Studying economics helps to develop critical thinking, analytical and quantitative skills. The data show that graduates who studied economics at university have (on average) among the highest earnings of all subjects studied, even controlling for school qualifications. Teaching basic economic literacy to everyone would broaden access to highly-paid skills and careers and give everyone the best start in life.
What is basic economic literacy?
Understanding key economic variables, including unemployment, inflation, GDP, growth, inequality
Understanding aggregate government spending and taxation, deficits and debt
Understanding the inter-connected global economy
Economic literacy is related to, but not the same as, financial literacy.
Socio-economic inequalities in economics provision
Economics A level has been rising in popularity, faster than any other subject since 1999. In 2024 it became the ninth most popular subject. However, provision is skewed towards the better off. While 80 per cent of selective and independent schools offer economics, just half of all state schools do. Within the state sector, economics provision is also much higher in the least deprived schools. Currently, fewer than one in twenty girls (4%) in state schools study economics A level, compared to one in four boys (25%) in private schools.
A chronic shortage of economics teachers
A chronic teacher-supply problem lies behind the unequal access to economics. The Department for Education no longer records the number of students taking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) to train as an economics teacher. Numbers are now included within those for Business Studies, which met only 12% of the DfE set target for new entrants in the 2023/24 application round. Just 20 people were training to be an economics teacher the last time numbers were recorded in 2020/21 and this was arguably inflated by a £9000 training bursary, since removed. In the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 only 30 people trained to be an economics teacher. A long-term strategy, including bursaries, is needed to build the supply of economics teachers.
Embedding basic economic literacy into schools
Alongside addressing the shortage of teachers, however, it is important to take the essential first steps towards building economics capacity for all.
We suggest doing this in two ways.
Our core proposal is to embed basic economic literacy into a new and enhanced compulsory citizenship curriculum for key stages 3 and 4. The current citizenship curriculum (key stage 4) references “how public money is raised and spent” but has no other economics content. The Discover Economics student champion pilots demonstrate that students enjoy learning about economic concepts (see below). Basic economic literacy should be a key component of the citizenship curriculum, with high quality resources developed to give teachers the knowledge and confidence to teach it. While there are many online resources covering financial education in schools, there is relatively little that covers economic literacy.
A second approach is to embed economics concepts into the teaching of other subjects. Economic applications could be incorporated into maths lessons, while economic literacy has a place in history and geography lessons. Discover Economics has recently worked with CAGE Research Centre to produce a series of economics videos (Why isn’t the whole world developed?) specifically targeted at history lessons – a practical example of what is possible.
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Young people enjoy learning and discussing basic economics
Discover Economics has piloted economics taster sessions for non-economics year 10 and year 12 students. The sessions, delivered by undergraduate student champions, were designed to introduce young people to basic economic concepts and to change young people’s perceptions of what economics is about. Topics included government taxes and spending; GDP, growth and happiness; inequalities; the cost-of-living crisis and climate change. The sessions were interactive, giving young people a chance to discuss economic issues. Feedback on the sessions was very positive: Young people found the sessions interesting and enjoyed learning about economics.
For a PDF version of the statement, click here.
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