Economics

for Social Change

Economics for Social Change offers a holistic approach to exploring the economic issues facing everyone in the 21st century. There are opportunities for students to follow paths based on personal passions and interests, and to tailor learning to reflect their own interests and experiences, allowing for an individualised learning journey. Students will conduct independent research into economic issues on a local, national and global scale. They will explore what is currently being done to try to solve these issues. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will explore and develop alternative solutions to economic issues, which will develop critical thinking, risk-taking, and research skills that can be applied to other subjects and life beyond school.

The Economics course moves away from focusing on traditional, classical economics towards 21st-century thinking, and provides students with the skills necessary to participate fully in a rapidly changing world. Students will critically and ethically evaluate economic issues, collaborate meaningfully with others, and use economic understanding in the pursuit of meaningful and purposeful change.

Course Aims

Develop an understanding of the economic issues facing individuals, communities, and economies in the 21st-Century.
Develop critical thinking, research, and risk-taking skills by exploring possible solutions to these economic issues.
Develop the capacity to critically and ethically evaluate economic issues through varying perspectives in the pursuit of meaningful and purposeful change.
Empower student autonomy to guide their own learning in each unit, based on their passions and interests, which will ignite a desire to make a difference in the world.
Explore and develop possible solutions to local, national, and global economic issues through the use of coursework, such as collaborative team tasks, presentations, report writing, and interdisciplinary projects.

Course Outline

Economics for Social Change will provide the opportunity for students to learn and apply key economic knowledge through a real word context. It will provide students with the autonomy to apply their understanding of economics to their passions and interests. This will foster the development of self-management skills and encourage more deep and meaningful connections between the course content and the world around them. They will develop investigative and analytical skills in order to better understand how different communities and individuals around the world are trying to solve major economic issues. This will help to forge ongoing connections between economics inside and outside of the classroom.

This course will provide students with a supportive learning environment that encourages them to take risks and challenge traditional economic thinking. Through the use of coursework involving collaborative team tasks, presentations, report writing, and interdisciplinary projects, students will develop their capacity to act as critical thinkers, collaborators, communicators, and self-managers. This course aims to create lifelong economists that view the subject as a vessel for positive change in the world around them.

Grade 9

Economic Thinking: This unit provides a general introduction to economics and explores how we need to redesign cities and communities for the 21st-century
Ethical Consumerism: First, we explore how markets operate and the social costs we have created due to our over-consumption and production of goods and services. Then, we evaluate how governments and consumers can encourage more ethical consumption to help reduce these external costs to society.
Improving People's Lives: The focus of this unit is on Developmental Economics and how we can use economic policies to reduce poverty and improve everyone's lives in society.

Grade 10

Engineering Economic Growth: This unit delves into the use of government policies to generate sustainable economic growth while balancing other macroeconomic objectives.
Global Economy: We explore what international trade is and the factors that influence how much trade takes place between countries.

Skills Developed

Economics for Social Change is a course that will provide multiple opportunities for students to develop and practise the following skills:

Critical Thinking
Communication
Decision Making

Self-Management
Research
Collaboration

Risk-Taking

Assessment

Assessments vary in their form and purpose, ranging from coursework involving collaborative team tasks, to presentations, report writing, interdisciplinary projects, and end-of-year examinations.

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