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Economic Education for Democratic Transformation
Background
Economic Education for Democratic Transformation is
part of an educational exchange program which brings together U.S.
civics and economic educators with their counterparts from central
and eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the new independent states
of the former
Soviet Union. Since 1995, the National Council on Economic Education
has
conducted the economic education component of the Cooperative Education
Exchange Program or CEEP (formerly known as the International Education
Exchange Program). It is funded through the U.S. Department of Education,
and carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State.
Legislation for the CEEP grew out of the conviction that economic and
civic education are critically important to the economic health and
political stability of the emerging democratic market economies of
the former Soviet
Union and central and eastern Europe, and are therefore in our national
interest. The program helps international partners reform their educational
systems and educate their citizens for the transition to a market economy,
through training, materials development, study tours, conferences,
and organizational development.
The EconomicsInternational program
is having a meaningful impact. A study of 3,000 students in five countries
by the National Center for Research in Economic Education in 1997 concluded
that the economic understanding of students increased significantly
when CEEP-trained teachers used CEEP materials often in the classroom.By
2002, the economic education program had an estimated cumulative student
impact of more than 6.4 million students in 21 countries.
Goals
The goals of Economic Education for a Democratic Transformation are to
- Acquaint educators from central and eastern Europe
/ new independent states with exemplary curricular
and teacher
training programs in economic education developed in the United
States
- Assist educators from CEE/NIS in adapting and implementing
effective economic education programs in their own countries.
Create instructional materials for students in the United States
that will help them better
understand emerging market economies and the changing global
economy
- Create instructional materials for students in the United States
that will help them better understand emerging market economies and the
changing global economy
- Promote the exchange of ideas and
experiences in economic education among political, educational,
and private sector leaders of participating CEE/NIS countries,
the United States,
and other established democracies
- Encourage research to determine the effects of economic education on the development of the knowledge, skills, and traits of public and private character essential for the preservation and improvement of market economies
These goals are being accomplished through
- Training for economic educators on the basic values and principles of a market economy and its institutions
- Visits by economic educators to school systems, institutions of higher learning, and nonprofit organizations which have exemplary programs in economic education
- Translation of basic documents on market economics and significant works on economic theory
- Adaptations or development of exemplary curricular and teacher education programs
- Joint research projects in the areas of curricular development and teacher education
- Evaluation to determine the effects of economic education programs
Program
The Cooperative Education Exchange Program builds on activities conducted
by the National Council on Economic Education and its international
partners since 1992. Underlying all activities are the dual aims of
(1) helping overseas
partners create their own economic education delivery systems, and
(2) helping U.S. students understand and participate in our increasingly
global economy. These goals are accomplished by training leaders who
in turn train others, through adaptation
of methods and materials, by exposure to exemplary models through study
tours, and by sharing of best practices and information.
Key activities include:
Training of Trainers.
To help develop a strong core of in-country teacher trainers, multi-country
programs are conducted for participants from universities, pedagogical and
teacher retraining institutes, professional development centers, centers
for economic
education, and secondary schools. During four one-week seminars, participants
are immersed in the study of economics content and pedagogy. Graduates of
this program train classroom teachers in their home countries.
Training of Writers.
Many high-quality materials produced by NCEE have been translated, adapted,
and used by teachers from partner countries. However, there is a pressing
need for new instructional materials developed in-country by educators
who are living
through the transition to a market economy and who can address the
specific needs that are outside the experience of U.S. experts. To
help develop such
a pool of writers, NCEE has produced a handbook and conducts workshops
on writing. Through intensive writing exercises, guidance from writing
experts, feedback from peers,
and follow-up work by e-mail, writers from both the U.S. and CEE/NIS
countries improve their skills in producing instructional materials.
Trainer co-faculty workshops
In this program, Selected graduates of the Training of Trainers program
serve as major presenters and co-faculty of teacher workshops. Working
closely with U.S. faculty who provide feedback and guidance, the new
trainers improve their teaching skills, particularly their use of active
learning. The U.S. faculty role ranges from co-faculty to observer.
Study tours on program delivery.
Graduates of NCEE’s Training of Trainers program travel to university-based
centers for economic education in the U.S. where they learn about economic
education delivery firsthand. Through visits to resource centers, observations
of classrooms
and workshops, field trips, cultural activities, and meetings with council
and center staff and community leaders, the international visitors gain
knowledge
and experience that help them as they develop delivery systems in their
own countries.
Study tours on economic education in CEE/NIS countries
Teams of U.S. educators travel to CEE/NIS countries to observe economic
education activities. Study tours include visits to schools, universities,
and businesses, observation of teacher training activities, and meetings
with ministry officials and education and foundation leaders.
Workshops on CEEP-produced materials
Mini-grants for workshops on CEEp materials are offered to councils
and centers to introduce these resources to U.S. classroom teachers. In
2001-2002 alone, over 500 U.S. classroom teachers participated in these
workshops, impacting nearly 40,000 U.S. students.
Other activities include:
- Mini-grants to Training of Trainers graduates
- Training on nonprofit management and organizational development
- Publication of materials for U.S. classrooms:
- From Plan to Market: Teaching Ideas for Social Studies, Economics, and Business Classes
- Economies in Transition: Command to Market
- Internet Resources for Economic Educators
- Connecting the Pieces: Building a Better Economics Lesson
- Focus: International Economics
- Focus: Economic Systems
-
Roosters to Robots: Lesson Plans from Writers around
the World
-
Old MacDonald to Uncle Sam: Lesson Plans from Writers
around the World
- Demonstration economic workshops at three levels for school teachers (with local co-faculty)
- Training on economic education evaluation
- Workshops on teaching economics to elementary grade students
- Translation of classroom materials
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