Researchers at the University of Siegen have looked at textbooks on the subject of economics. They found many errors, clichéd role models and, above all, complained that economic knowledge was poorly conveyed.
Economic education is neglected in schools in Germany. This is the result of the study “Market Economy and Entrepreneurship in Textbooks” by the Center for Economic Education at the University of Siegen. On behalf of the Association of Family Businesses/The Young Entrepreneurs and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the authors examined 40 textbooks for the subjects of economics, politics, social sciences, history and geography at secondary levels I and II.
opinion instead Knowledge transfer
“Textbooks rarely teach economic thinking,” says Nils Goldschmidt in an interview tagesschau24. He is professor of contextual economics and economic education at the University of Siegen and co-author of the study. The problem is that a lot is spoken and written about economics in school textbooks, but not from an economic perspective.
As an example, he cites certificate trading to limit CO2 emissions. The literature is primarily about students assessing this certificate trade. It’s about opinion instead of knowledge. The transfer of knowledge – in this case, how climate protection incentives work with certificates – does not take place. “It’s like teaching English without English grammar,” says Goldschmidt.
Focus on the state instead of entrepreneurship
Instead, important topics are missing: Entrepreneurship is hardly taught – especially not in high school textbooks. There is a strong focus on the state: “60 percent of the material we analyzed revolves around the state,” says Goldschmidt. The state is the “paternalistic problem solver” that gets things done, while the market acts as a “problem generator”. This would not motivate young people to try things out themselves.
Another problem: Women are often not discussed as role models, as managers, as entrepreneurs, but rather in a clichéd way. Instead, men in leadership positions are portrayed as supermarket bosses talking to their cashiers. “It’s problematic what kind of image is being conveyed,” sums up Goldschmidt.
Mistakes instead of motivation
The study makers also noticed serious errors – such as the fact that Poland had introduced the euro. An example for calculating citizen’s money is also incorrect. There are also ethically questionable examples. When it comes to the subject of the minimum wage, one of the books examined speaks of “people who are of no use as skilled workers,” Goldschmidt quotes from one of the books. “To treat people like this seems more than questionable to us.”
Researcher calls for more economic education
The conclusions of the study: Economic education needs to be strengthened because it is neglected in the classroom. It’s about bringing the economy to life, conveying how the economy works and how economics can help solve certain problems.
Economic education must be error- and ideology-free, technically sound, realistic and taught by well-trained specialists. The authors also demand that it must be part of the training and further education of teachers. “There is a lot to improve.”