Untitled Document

Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship
for Educators

PROGRAM POLICY STATEMENT
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Global communication has had an enormous impact on the kinds of knowledge the general public needs. The marketplace of the 21st century will require even entry-level workers to possess an understanding of economics and entrepreneurship which workers of the 20th century developed on the job. As a result of these dramatic changes, schools are now being challenged to train students in economics and entrepreneurship so that they can perform competently and competitively in the dynamic workplace of the next century.

The National Council for Economic Education is working to expand the number of school districts with effective K-12 economic education programs with regional and national efforts promoting economic education and entrepreneurship. However, many teachers and most students still lack an understanding of both basic economic principles and entrepreneurship. Some may never have received instruction during their school experience; others may have had teachers who lacked the knowledge and skills needed to teach these topics effectively.

Recent studies by the Gallup organization, Federal Reserve Banks, and other institutions show economic illiteracy still to be a grave problem in the United States. A majority of high school students are taught little or nothing about how businesses or the economy works. Fewer than 40 percent of the general public can correctly answer questions on basic economic concepts, relationships, and ideas used in discussions of economics. This same poorly informed public actively advocates government development of economic policies to deal with the federal budget deficit, unemployment, and inflation. Economist Mancur Olson remarked on the power of this economically uninformed general public:

The Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware recognized the lack of economic education early in 1981. To meet this educational need, the Center initiated its first two-year graduate program, which offered educators the opportunity to earn a Masters degree in Economics for Educators. The objective was to train master teachers in economics and to develop a network of educators who would develop economic standards, write curriculum, and train other teachers to acquire an understanding of the role of economics in the curriculum. Through the 1980's, this new emphasis on economic education brought about an increased awareness of the role of entrepreneurial skills in preparing students for the future. Entrepreneurship provides a real-life link between a student's education and the student's life-long goals. Teaching entrepreneurship helps students realize the value of math, language, and communication skills, promotes the development of self-esteem, and prepares students to make responsible decisions in their daily lives. The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Inc. of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reported that the nation's schools should do more to teach about entrepreneurship and starting a business. In the 1990s, the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware responded to this growing need by expanding the scope of the Master's program to formally include entrepreneurship. The program became the Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE).

The University of Delaware's Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE) program is unique in its approach to this educational crisis. Many programs exist which train teachers to teach entrepreneurship and economics to their elementary and secondary students. Delaware' s program also trains teachers to teach students. Far more importantly, educators who graduate from the Delaware program are equipped to train others to teach entrepreneurship and economics because they understand entrepreneurship and economics, are versed in the National and State standards; and have been trained to develop programs that will have district-wide, state-wide, and even nation-wide impacts on the education of children in economic and entrepreneurial skills.

The MAEEE program has produced a network of educators who have helped shape and implement the role of entrepreneurship and economic education at all levels across the nation. Graduates of the program come from urban, suburban, and rural areas and teach at all levels of the academic community. They represent over 40 states. Many MAEEE graduates have been appointed to local, state, and national task forces and committees working to develop and implement standards for economic education. Program graduates have helped develop local and regional assessment tests, field-tested economic assessment items for standards committees, field tested materials for Federal Reserve Banks and major publishers, developed curricula for schools throughout their respective districts and states, and been active in School-to-Work initiatives. The director of the Alaska Council on Economic Education notes that due to the leadership of three Delaware graduates, economics has just been made a requirement for graduation in Anchorage schools. The three proved we could develop effective high school economics courses, lobbied the School Board for approval, and wrote the curriculum guidelines for the required courses. The director of the Division of Unique Schools Services of the East Orange, School District in New Jersey comments, "Your Master of Arts for Educators in Economics and Entrepreneurship program is building for our schools a cadre of teachers who are expert in the field of entrepreneurial and economic education. Skills that our teachers are gaining in your program afford us individuals who are fine curriculum writers/revisionists, educated staff developers, and outstanding instructors."

MAEEE graduates have been instrumental in the spread of economic and entrepreneurial literacy not only among their own students, but among literally thousands of other educators, whom they train in entrepreneurship and economic concepts as well as in methods of translating those concepts into terms and activities for their own students. Collectively, MAEEE graduates have led approximately 600 in-service workshops, and have trained over 15,000 other educators. Two California graduates of the program founded the California Association of School Economics teachers, which has over 200 members and holds an annual meeting. One graduate, hired by the Greater Cincinnati Center for Economic Education, directed a program that provided economic education for approximately 2,500 teachers a year. Clearly, the MAEEE program at the University of Delaware has had a profound impact on the spread of entrepreneurial and economic literacy throughout the United States.

The degree, starting in 1981, was originally the Master's of Instruction in Economic Education and was administered by the Center for Economic Education through the College of Education. In 1992 the degree was moved to the College of Business and Economics and changed to the Master of Arts for Economic Educators. Since entrepreneurship has been added to the content, the degree has become the Master of Arts in Economic Education and Entrepreneurship for Educators.

The degree is administered through the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship. The Center works through the Department of Economics in the College of Business and Economics. All course changes and/or additions must be approved by the Department of Economics. The summer program has three economics professors teaching; they include David Black, James Butkiewicz and Eleanor Craig. Other faculty members in economics, business and education are used for topics which relate to their area of expertise.

The general goal is to have 25 students in each class. This number may vary by 2-3 students; however 25 participants appears to be an optimal number regarding the individual and group attention required while on campus.

A brochure announcing the program is distributed to the National Council on Economic Education Network. This network consists of over 200 centers for economic education located on university and college campuses throughout the United States. Center directors are asked to screen applicants prior to making formal application to the University of Delaware. The center directors serve as an important screening process which reduces the final number of applicants actually applying to the University of Delaware.

Total Credits Required: 30 credits of which at least 24 must be economics courses at the 600 level or above. Twenty-four credits are taken at the University of Delaware and up to 6 credits in an appropriate area can be transferred to the University of Delaware.

ECON 671	Microeconomics for Economic Educators	3
ECON 672	Macroeconomics for Economic Educators	3
ECON 673	Curriculum Strategies for Elementary Economic Educators	3
ECON 674	Curriculum Strategies for Secondary Economic Educators	3
ECON 678	Monetary and International Trade Theories for Economic Educators	3
ECON 679	Contemporary Issues for Economic Educators	3
ECON 677	Practicum in Economic Education	6

Each student may transfer up to 6 graduate credit hours in education or economics. Graduate credit earned at another institution will be evaluated at the written request of the student. Such a request should be submitted to the Director of the MAEEE program using a Request for Transfer of Graduate Credit form. A maximum of 6 credits required for the degree will be accepted provided that such credits: (a) were earned with a grade of no less than B-, (b) are approved by the student's adviser and the Director of the MAEEE program, (c) are in accord with the student's approved plan of study, (d) have not been applied to another degree, (e) are not older than five years, and (f) were completed at an accredited college or university. The credits, but not the grades or quality points, are transferable to University of Delaware graduate records.

Year 1
	Summer Winter	9 semester credit hours 3 semester credit hours
Year 2
	Summer Winter	9 semester credit hours 3 semester credit hours
		______________________
	+	24 hours 6 transfer credits approved by program director
	Total	30 credit hours

Students who do not complete their research option/implementation program for graduation during the spring of their second year, will be required to pay a sustaining fee for the following fall semester. An additional sustaining fee will accrue each semester until graduation requirements have been fulfilled.

Each out-of-state student beyond a 125 mile radius will receive an annual stipend to assist with room and board costs while on campus each summer during the two cycles f the program.

Tuition is generally provided for a total of 24 hours of graduate credit, 12 credit hours each year. Each student is responsible for transferring 6 hours of graduate credit that must be approved by the program director and not used for another graduate degree program. Consideration will be given to applicants who are willing to pay their own tuition along with the other costs of the program, i.e. (room and board and travel expenses to the University of Delaware each summer session).