Thinking Like Which Economists? Powerful and Authentic Social Studies Through New Perspectives in Economics Education

• In Event: Culture, Economics, Literacy, and Out-of-Classroom Experiences in Social Studies Education

Abstract

This paper explores the consistently stated goal of economic education: teaching students to think like an economist. Finding that this pursuit has been narrowed to refer to thinking like a select group of economists in a specific paradigm, I offer three other economic perspectives along with relevant economists who think about economics through communal, religious, and storytelling lenses. These perspectives are useful to explore the failures of the status quo in economic education and are also essential components of powerful and purposeful social studies education. Additionally, I offer lesson ideas for each of the three perspectives with discussion suggestions for teachers and students seeking to broaden their economic horizons.

Author

• Neil Shanks, Baylor University