Georgia Council on Economic Education

1
History of Economic Education in Georgia

• Dr. David Martin
• Executive Director
• Georgia Council on
• Economic Education

2
Beginnings

• Creation of the Chair of Private Enterprise
• Junior Achievement
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
• Center for Business Economic Education, Georgia
  State University
• Developmental Economic Education Program

3
Foundation

• Georgia Council on Economic Education
• Mills B. Lane, CS National Bank, 1972
• Todays Network
• 12 university-based Centers for Economic
  Education
• 117 cooperating public school systems and
  independent schools

4
Action in the form ofCourse Requirements

• Georgia Board of Education Mandate 1976
• Three courses
• Principles of Economics/Business/Free Enterprise
• Personal Finance
• Career Education

5
Response in the form ofAdditional Support

• Invest-In-America
• Foundation for Economic Education
• A-T-O (Figgie International)
• National Science Foundation
• local Chambers of Commerce
• Hugh OBrien Youth Foundation
• Students in Free Enterprise
• Agency for Instructional Technology

6
Response in the form ofAdditional Support

• Distributive Education Clubs of America
• Future Business Leaders of America
• Future Farmers of America
• Future Homemakers of America
• Vocational Industrial Clubs of America
• Vocational Opportunities Clubs of America

7
Action in the form of Formal Curriculum

• Quality Basic Education Act
• Quality Core Curriculum
• economics, personal finance and career education
  objectives integrated throughout the K-12
  curriculum capped by a required high school
  economics course

8
Response in the form ofAdditional Support

• Georgia Council introduces the Stock
  Market Game
• Junior Achievement introduces in-class programs
  such as Project Business and Applied Economics

9
Action in the form ofState Assessments

• Iowa Test of Basic Skills
• at grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• 19 to 31 of test items are economics related
• Georgia High School Graduation Exam
• mandated economics course not included
• End-of-Course Test
• implementation delayed

10
Response in the form ofAdditional Support

• Mini-Society
• AP Micro and Macro Economics
• International Baccalaureate
• Ag in the Classroom
• Global Achievers
• Foundation for Teaching Economics
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

11
Response in the form ofAdditional Support

• Georgia Consortium for Personal and Financial
  Literacy
• founded by leaders from the
• Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
• Consumer Credit Counseling Service
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
• Georgia Council on Economic Education
• Junior Achievement

12
Economics and Personal Finance
13
1976 Mandates

• Principles of Economics/Business/Free Enterprise
• Personal Finance
• Career Education

14
Principles of EconomicsMandate

• Georgia is one of 14 states requiring
• students to successfully complete a
• course in economics in order to graduate
• from high school.

15
Demandate

• Personal Finance and Career Education
• were demandated prior to full
• implementation. The reasoning was that
• these topics should be integrated across
• the curriculum.

16
Different Origins

• Career Education vocational
• Economics liberal arts
• Personal Finance Business Education and Family
  Consumer Sciences

17
Dropping the Personal Finance Requirement

• Opportunity Cost
• Not a rigorous course
• Lack of a Champion

18
Personal Finance Status Today

• Personal finance objectives infused throughout
  the QCC (mathematics, social studies, family
  consumer sciences, business education, and
  others)
• Mandated principles of economics course includes
  personal finance applications

19
Personal Finance Status Today

• Elective personal finance course in the
  mathematics and business education departments
  (in some districts a requirement)
• Personal finance and career education frequently
  included as middle school exploratory courses

20
Vision

• Students leaving school
• prepared for their economic
• roles as workers, consumers,
• and citizens.

21

• Economics is the
• science of decision
• making.

22
Mission

• To help teachers teach economics
• to students in the public and
• independent schools of Georgia.