The Longitudinal Effects of Economic Education on Teachers and Their Students

Teacher education in economics is essential if high school students are to have an opportunity to learn economics. Teachers need to develop a solid understanding of economics through course work because students cannot be expected to learn what teachers do not know. In fact, research in economic education at the high school level has found that the number of economics courses taken by teachers has a positive and consistently significant effect on the economic learning of students (Becker, Greene, and Rosen 1990; Bosshardt and Watts 1990). For most teachers, however, the amount of course work in economics is limited. Studies of teacher education programs at colleges and universities show that most prospective social studies teachers (the ones most likely to teach economics in the schools) take about four college credit hours of course work in economics, and only 11 states have specific requirements for course work in economics for teacher certification (Walstad 1992). Although some teachers can correct deficiencies in their economic education by taking in-service courses and workshops, these programs are of short duration and often limit content coverage to the level of a one-semester principles course. Taking just one or two courses in economics is inadequate preparation in the view of a distinguished national committee of economists and educators that