"We shouldn't teach our students the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still be able to function. They should do so 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 to be able to function." With these words - a nod to The Great Gatsby (original by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with a twist by Tenkei Coppens Roshi) - Rolf Groeneveld (WUR) struck at the heart of the national wo day: how do we educate students who are not trapped in one model, but rather can function thanks to a rich palette of perspectives?
At Radboud University, university (head) teachers, professors, program directors and (vice) deans from different universities shared their insights, experiences and questions. The new Manifesto for Future-Based Business and Economics Education. formed the common point of departure in this regard.
From manifesto to lecture hall
Together, the manifesto was translated into everyday educational practice. Below is an overview of the key insights for each pillar of the manifesto.
- Broad insights from the discipline
Future-oriented economics education requires a broader, pluralistic view, many participants indicated. That means: offering multiple perspectives on economic issues, weaving ethics more strongly into the curriculum and emphatically placing well-being alongside (or above) economic growth. - Interdisciplinary connection
According to participants, there is great potential in collaboration with other disciplines. Think of real-life and challenge-based education, co-teaching and the integration of insights from economic geography, sociology and anthropology, among others. Connecting disciplines creates room for more complex, socially relevant questions. - Ethical and critical skills
Critical thinking begins with making assumptions behind models explicit and inviting discussion. Participants noted the importance of open-ended questions, multiple perspectives, historical and philosophical context, and embracing subjectivity within economics. Having students practice with real-life dilemmas and justifying choices - where the why is more important than the right answer - was frequently mentioned. - Connection to practice and society
The desire to connect education more closely with society was widely shared. Teachers want to connect students more with businesses, government organizations, community initiatives and non-profits. Guest lectures, company visits, living labs, real-world cases and project-based learning were seen as effective ways to narrow the gap between theory and practice.
Program & parallel sessions
In addition to the manifesto, Future Thinking was the focus of the plenary program. Simone Haarbosch shared that the ability to imagine different "futures" is essential to actually shape transitions. Talking about futures - plural - reveals that the future is fundamentally uncertain: there are endless possible future scenarios made in the now. We must teach students to recognize and navigate futures.
In addition, the day consisted of two rounds of partial sessions:
Reviewing the economics curriculum from a pluralistic perspective
Organized by: Ivan Boldyrev (Radboud University)
With: Rolf Groeneveld (Wageningen University & Research), Ella Needler (University of Groningen), Ekaterina Svetlova (University of Twente) and Melissa Vergara-Fernández (University of Groningen)
In this session, participants explored what pluralism means for economics education and how it can be applied in the curriculum. Why is pluralism important and how can students' critical thinking skills be strengthened? The session explained pluralism as the inclusion of diverse ideas, methods and perspectives, where currently it is often too focused on a narrow and isolated view of economics.
Key insights:
- Pluralism requires internal diversity among economic currents as external integration with, for example, philosophy, sociology and anthropology.
- Pluralism strengthens students' critical thinking skills and ability to handle conflicting models or perspectives: essential skills in today's AI-driven world.
- Barriers include limited space in the curriculum, bureaucracy and limited knowledge of alternatives to neoclassical frameworks. Possible strategies to overcome this: starting small, integrating context and critical perspectives into existing subjects, co-teaching with disciplines such as history and philosophy or problem-based learning.
- Pluralism is a cultural shift: it requires openness, empathy and recognition that economics is a social science.
More than a subject: integrating ethics into the core of economics education
Organized by: Tjerk Budding (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
With: Kim Meijer (Hogeschool Arnhem-Nijmegen) and Marion Smit (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
In this session, participants examined how ethics can be systematically and substantively integrated into teaching in economics, business economics and business administration. What forms of work are appropriate for this? And to what extent is there a need for a specific theoretical basis that can be shared with students?
In the session, practical examples were shown, we discussed appropriate didactic methods and exchanged experiences.
Education in welfare economics
Organized by: Philippe van Gruisen and Jim Been (Leiden University)
With: Eveline van Leeuwen (Wageningen University), Lieke Beekers (Leiden University) and André van Hoorn (Radboud University)
How do we shape education in welfare economics within economics courses? Three speakers shared their experiences in this session, each from a different university:
- André van Hoorn explained how welfare economics at Radboud University is integrated into various courses, such as macroeconomics and institutional economics. In addition, there is a separate elective course Economics of Wellbeing.
- Lieke Beekers, associate professor in the Economics Department at Leiden University, presented the outline of a new course: Applied Prosperity Economics within the bachelor's degree in Economics & Society.
- Finally, Eveline van Leeuwen outlined how students at Wageningen University learn to think about good policy and the underlying trade-offs. There, too, the concept of prosperity is reflected in several parts of the curriculum.
A lively discussion followed the presentations. Should such a course perhaps be called "normative economics"? What prior knowledge do students need to understand a complex subject like this? How much nuance is appropriate in a first-year course? How do you weave different economic thinkers into the curriculum? And if we pay more attention to welfare economics, what do we spend less time on?
" View the presentation by Lieke Beekers
" View the presentation by André van Hoorn
Real life economics and business administration: social issues in the lecture halls
Organized by: Marc Kramer (University of Groningen)
With: Daniël Vullings (University of Groningen), Chantal Remery (University of Utrecht) and Rick Hollen (University of Amsterdam)
This session focused on how real-life cases and challenge-based learning can be applied in academic economics and business education. Participants discussed differences in approaches and the role of simulations versus real-life cases.
Insights from this session:
- Context is often used only after the fact to illustrate theories: more structural application to ongoing cases is desired.
- There are many examples of how challenge-based learning is applied at Dutch Universities.
- There are different perspectives on simulations and how close they are to practice. Some teachers feel that the underlying models have been oversimplified. Others feel that all cases are basically a model, depending on the scale. A third group sees simulation games and real-life challenges as complementary: Simulations work for large cohorts, while real-life challenges are more appropriate for smaller groups.
- An important question remains what role the teacher should have: to what extent should they be involved?
AI in economics education and the connection vwo and university
Organized by: Peter van Baalen (University of Amsterdam)
With: Marc Becker (Maastricht University)
What opportunities does AI offer in the transition to a new economy and broad prosperity? This session focused on how the profile of economists and the way of teaching is changing because of AI, as well as how we can strengthen the connection between vwo and university.
Dr. Marc Becker (Maastricht University) presented how AI enables personalized and experiential learning. He sees AI as opportunity, risk and obligation:
- AI can ensure that all students are at the same level before coming to college. It also enables large-scale one-on-one classes at low cost and high quality.
- Important when using AI: critical thinking as a skill. Students should not be too quickly satisfied with answers.
- Development of 'tech teacher': teacher needs knowledge and skills to instruct AI agents, for example. 'The best way to learn it, is to use AI.'
Prof. Peter van Baalen of the University of Amsterdam made the link to the labor market.
- Although AI as a technology is still incomplete, clear socio-ethical, technical and economic issues are already emerging.
- (Gen)AI is gradually being adopted more by Dutch and European companies, with different patterns of adoption evident.
- Non-routine cognitive management/business/economics jobs are relatively safe as long as they include creative and social tasks.
The conversation with participants centered on two questions:
- What is needed to align schools (vo), universities and the labor market? What skills and knowledge do students have when they enter college? Are they under- or over-qualified due to early AI use?
- And with what profile do graduates enter the labor market? What is the transition from "learning" to "output delivery" in an AI-driven economy?
The conversation then turned to participants: what is needed to align schools (vo), universities and the labor market? What will be the skill and knowledge level (in economics and business) when high school students enter college? (under- or over-qualified). What will the skill and knowledge level be when university graduates enter the labor market? (transition from focus on learning to focus on output).
" View Peter van Baalen's presentation
The national wo day was organized in cooperation with Radboud University, Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Groningen, University of Amsterdam and the Dean's Council Economics & Business (DEB). Thank you to all partners, speakers and participants who together shaped this day.
Check out the photos below for an atmosphere of the day:
