WHAT ECONOMICS IS IN IT FOR ME?
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All 6 aims of the Curriculum have Economics
and Business within each aim.
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Economics is present in all 4 areas of the
curriculum (as is business):
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Resource allocation and making choices
Business environment
Consumer & financial literacy
Work and work futures
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It is doubtful that the curriculum aims can be met
without a strong consideration of Economics as
part of the focus of content and skills.
There will be many ways that schools approach
how the Curriculum will be implemented.
We may need to be very actives as teachers of
Economics and Business to ensure our curriculum
received the treatment it deserves and warrants
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Subject/discipline backgrounds will vary and
it may be taught by”
A. Teachers who have tertiary qualifications in
both business and economics
B. Teachers who have tertiary qualifications in
either business or economics
C. Teachers who have tertiary qualifications in
neither economics or business.
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What group do you fall in to?
* Have taught both economics and Business?
* Have taught Business but not Economics?
* Have taught Economics but not Business?
Economics background–
tertiary?
Year 12?
None at all?
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A Social Science that studies the decisions
made by individuals, households, businesses,
governments (and other groups) about how
scarce resources are allocated in attempting
to satisfy unlimited needs and wants.
Under Aust. Curriculum, E & B is placed within
the Humanities Learning Area (includes
History, Geography, and Civics & Citizenship)
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Content:
As the Curriculum is not yet finalised and
accepted by ACARA, there has not yet been a
detailed elaborations prepared for E & B.
The suggestions offered here have been
developed by a few experienced teachers of
Economics, and should not be taken as a
definitive or exhaustive listing.
A detailed elaborations will most likely be
developed QCAA.
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Year 5 – Consumer choices – needs,
wants, resources, limited resources, land,
labour, capital and enterprise/entrepreneur,
consumer choices, scarcity
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Opportunity cost – choices about alternative uses
of resources and the need to consider trade-offs
Effects of consumer and financial decisions on
individuals, broader community and the
environment.
Why businesses exist (to make a profit by
providing goods and services that
consumers/households need and want)
Ways of providing goods and services – scales of
production AND forms of ownership (sole trader
to Multi-national corporation )
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Central economic focus is THE MARKET, and WORK
- supply, demand, price, market, consumers,
producers, shortage, surplus,
- types of markets – subsistence, commercial market,
on-line market etc..
- entrepreneur – characteristics and roles
-Work – why individuals work (income, personal
satisfaction, etc.);
types of work (volunteer to full time work, unskilled
to highly skilled [qualifications], employed to selfemployed)
Income – return on labour, rents, dividends, transfer
payments (social security).
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Market focus again
Markets, government, types of markets,
government intervention,
rights and responsibilities of consumers and
businesses,
types of businesses,
Influences on ways of work
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Global links –
economy, economic system, Asia, global
economy, interdependence (economic,
political, cultural,)
international trade,
financial risks,
competitive advantage and offshoring,
cost-benefit analysis
Roles and responsibilities in the workplace
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GDP,
economic performance,
criteria – efficiency, equity, externality,
living standards, variable living standards and
economic development, economic
management,
productivity, economic growth,
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Economics Texts for Yr 11 and 12 e.g.
Economics for the Real World, Cave et al,
Pearson/Cengage, 2010.
Texts written for E and B – CUP, Jacaranda,
Pearson etc.
Texts written for the Victorian VELS 7-10
course (E & B resembles the existing vELS
course to some extent
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Economics teacher/s in your school If
Economics is offered)
Teachers trained in Economics, but not
teaching the subject
QETA – will have some resources available but
will be in a password protected environment.
Ed Qld C2C Curriculum (available on Scootle
for non-gov’t schools, although copyright
materials may be an issue)
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So many available it is difficult to find them at
times
You Tube – over 5 million Economics
videos
Some sites such as Financial Basics and ESSI
Money, CBA Financial Literacy materials, ASIC
Smart Money site, RBA, Bank sites provide
financial references
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TES – Australian site, free but you must
register to use the site
www.tesaustralia.com
EconEdLink – US site – has thousands of
lessons, can be searched via year levels or
concepts etc. Must join – it’s free too!
www.econedlink.org
BIZ ED – UK site – free, no need to join. Mainly
senior secondary but has some useful
videos/simulations etc..
www.bized.co.uk
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Sharing with other teachers and schools
BEAQ/QETA role in this?
BEA may have some sharing of materials as
well.
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Questions?
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Discussion?
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School approaches will be many and varied
Range from subject specific to integration
with other subjects (planned or unplanned)
Need to share approaches that schools adopt
to the Curriculum?