Teachers are often told what needs to be added to the curriculum, but rarely what can be taken out. During the national day of the Week for Teaching Economics, a different appeal was made: make room. Space for less abstract market thinking and more attention to 'the real economy' and to the living environment of students. Space for an economy that serves society, rather than the other way around.
Spread across three locations - De Nederlandsche Bank, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and Tilburg University - some 200 teachers and teachers-in-training engaged in conversation. The central question was how the four pillars from the newly signed Manifesto for Future-Based Business and Economics Education. (signed for vo by Thomas Oosterkamp on behalf of Vecon) can land in their own educational practices.
From manifesto to classroom
Below is a summary of key insights by pillar.
1. Broad insights from the discipline
Teachers talked about weaving current economic insights into education. In the joint conclusion, they mentioned true pricing, community economics and issues surrounding "the commons," among others. Incorporating these themes into education enriches students' perspectives on different economic models.
2. Interdisciplinary connection
Many participants (particularly vmbo teachers) saw opportunities to link economics more strongly with other subjects.
- With citizenship, for example, around financial self-sufficiency.
- With mathematics, by approaching economic issues quantitatively.
- With biology, for example, in discussing green investments.
- With geography, for example, around the issue of energy transition.
By seeking interdisciplinary connections, students learn to make cross connections.Through these connections, students learn to make cross connections.
3. Ethical and critical skills.
This pillar proved recognizable and relevant to almost all teachers. They mentioned several ways to develop these skills:
- debating and dialoguing as an established form of work
- Starting the conversation about values behind economic choices
- make fundamental assumptions in models explicit and open for discussion
- giving students more responsibility in the learning process
By working with this, the lesson shifts from "calculating models" to "thinking about what economics means.
4. Connection with practice and society
Many teachers already do this, but the need is great to further strengthen the bridge to the real world. Three commonly mentioned approaches:
- Bringing the outside world inside
Invite guest speakers, use cases from real organizations or have students work on local issues. - Taking students outside
Visiting businesses, institutions or local initiatives; experiencing economy outside the classroom. - Leveraging topicality
Using news as an entry point to discuss economic mechanisms - from listening to BNR to analyzing current policy choices.
This is how economics becomes tangible and meaningful.
Programs at the three locations
The Dutch Central Bank
The afternoon at the Nederlandsche Bank started with a sharp keynote by Irene van Staveren on community economics. She showed how Adam Smith already described that a healthy economy requires a balance between market, government and community. Her analytical presentation offered lecturers a clear framework for thinking about how to position economics more broadly. Watch her keynote.
This was followed by two rounds of different workshops:
- Inclusive economy
Workshop with practical assignments on equal opportunities, wealth distribution and social values in economic processes. View the presentation. - Economics examination programs update (SLO)
Session that provided an insight into curriculum revision and faculty involvement in it through Vecon. Teachers argued for less emphasis on complex models and more focus on financial literacy and practical application orientation. View the presentation. - Value Bingo
Workshop presenting an interactive way to discuss with students what value really is and how people assign value to products and choices. - Community economics and the commons in practice
This session featured a variety of examples of Dutch energy collectives, neighborhood cooperatives and digital commons, which collectively make up some 10% of global GDP. Practical materials from the Commons Network and Regenerative Economics were also shared, including an exercise in which students form their own commons instead of a traditional company. View the presentation. - Financial education in the community economy
Workshop presenting work forms that link financial literacy with civic engagement. - Money and sustainable behavior
Workshop on how money systems work and how they help students think about a just and sustainable future.
Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
The afternoon at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences kicked off with a plenary presentation by Kees Klomp, Agency program manager at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. In his keynote, Klomp talked about his research that shows that teaching students knowledge and skills about ecological and social values only sticks with them when their attitudes change.
After Klomp's kickoff, there were 5 poster presentations and roundtable discussions in Zwolle on: Financial self-sufficiency, Socially engaged entrepreneurial families & family businesses, Multiple value creation and steward ownership, Making vmbo practical together and Financial self-sufficiency and Economics in vo: am I educating for the past or the future?
Then visitors could choose from five different workshops in two rounds of workshops.
- Vertical-horizontal-diagonal-teachingÂ
Workshop on awareness (through practical assignments) of what you do/don't explain at what level and direction and how to work toward what exam questions. - Generative AI and education
Workshop on how generative AI works and what choices this technology can lead to in our education system. Also discussed was whether generative AI can also be the subject of economic cases for education, and how that can contribute to students' critical AI literacy. View the presentation. - It's the institutions stupid. Game theory applied
Workshop on the public goods game. Participants experienced the dynamics of meandering and punishment, and received readily usable teaching materials to help students experience economic behavior and moral choices in a lively way. View the presentation. - The value of the AEX
Examples using the AEX Futureproof Index Report. Participants experienced for themselves the lesson that allows them to engage with students on the financial, social and environmental impact of companies. View the presentation. - Didactics for vmbo
In this workshop, four practical examples were presented that work well in terms of didactics and pedagogy in vmbo.
Tilburg University
The afternoon at Tilburg University began with a plenary keynote by Arthur Kok, lecturer in Transforming the Economy. He spoke about sustainability beyond green growth and moral activism. Kok outlined how the once clearly defined field of economics has turned into a politicized and polarized debate. Instead of looking for quick "practical solutions," he argued for an alternative: doing less and thinking more - exactly what he believes the economy needs now.
This was followed - in two rounds - by the workshops:
- The climate clock is ticking - bring the energy transition into your economics lesson!
In this workshop, participants went over how the Energy Transition Masterclass lets students discover playfully how economics and sustainability come together. View the presentation. - True Price in economics education
This workshop began with an explanation of the background of the True Price model. Then participants took a quiz on the real prices of bananas, chocolate or jeans. Where are the hidden costs mainly in it? It was concluded that that quiz would also be a very good fit for economics class. "It's an accessible topic, and it works well to get a conversation going," said Dr. K. K., a professor of economics. - Class of Entrepreneurship
Discover how students learn to think and act entrepreneurially in the Class of Entrepreneurship - an extracurricular program where education and business come together. Students work on real issues from companies and institutions, in collaboration with the Fontys Center for Entrepreneurship in the Brainport region. In this session we share inspiring experiences and results as good practice and show how regional cooperation enables powerful skills education outside the regular curriculum. - Valuable dialogue in the classroom - how?
This workshop began with much recognition: we have many reasons not to have the dialogue. It's uncomfortable and tense, and students quickly make subject matter personal. Yet participants concluded that it is the role of education to do create a framed space for conversation. "I also see that the kids feel a need to talk about the social issues. I find this facilitation very valuable." The rest of the session addressed the how question. Key tip: start by naming the emotion involved. Your own or the student's. That helps to really connect, the starting point of a dialogue.
The afternoon concluded with a plenary closing argument by Lans Bovenberg, in which he presented his vision of the necessary renewal of the subject. For the past fifteen years, upper secondary school havo and vwo students have been learning to think economically by applying a limited number of concepts to a variety of contexts. According to Bovenberg, education should pay more attention to the interrelationship between these economic concepts so that students can apply them more broadly. In addition, he argues for more focus on relational models of behavior. The content of his concluding plea is also articulated in an ESB article, which here reading.
Check out the photos below for an atmosphere of the day:
