10:21 a.m., July 29, 2009----The 2008 global financial crisis has generated more interest in studying economics among high school students throughout the U.S. and around the world, according to teachers studying for the University of Delaware master's degree in economics and entrepreneurship for educators, a program designed to strengthen the economic and entrepreneurial content of instruction at the primary and secondary school level.

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Twenty-five educators from across the U.S., China and the Philippines this week completed the first of two summer sessions leading up to a University of Delaware master's degree in economics and entrepreneurship for educators

"With the global financial crisis, there have been a lot of questions raised by students about how, what caused it and when it will end," said Mildred Megarbo, an instructor in the School of Arts and Sciences at De Davao University in Davao, Philippines.

Megarbo said that while the effects of the crisis are yet to become fully evident in the Philippines, the immediate indications are the return of many Filipino workers who have lost their jobs abroad.

Crystal Gildea, who teaches modern problems, sociology and public policy at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., an affluent suburb of Minneapolis, said the financial crisis has struck all levels of society and high school students are taking note and asking questions.

"Students are starting to see it in their neighborhoods: They are starting to see businesses closing down and neighbors losing their homes, and they would like to understand why that is happening and what can be done to make it better," Gildea said. "They can see that it is affecting everyone across the board."

Jerry Lozier, a government and economics teacher at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, said that his students' growing interest in the economy was evident when President Barack Obama visited the school in March 2008 during the election campaign.

"He fielded a lot of questions and there were a lot of questions about the economy," Lozier said. "It became clear these were real issues."

James O'Neill, professor of economics and director of the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) in the Lerner College of Business and Economics, said the program, which also explores methods of providing greater opportunity for interdisciplinary work in math, science and social sciences, has become very popular.

The four-part program includes summer courses in basic economic concepts, financial education, strategies for entrepreneurship and economic teaching strategies, money and banking, international trade, micro/macro applications and a curriculum seminar with continued emphasis on entrepreneurship and workshop organization and delivery.

Gildea, who encourages her students to engage in discussions about public policy issues and the decisions that the government makes, said the UD program has provided her with additional teaching tools and methods to broaden the students' perspectives.

During the school year between the sessions, the educators will develop an economic education implementation design including entrepreneurship and take courses in economics, entrepreneurship and education or transfer credit hours that they have previously earned in those subjects, O'Neill said.

Delaware Secretary of Education Lillian M. Lowery, who spoke to the educators about the challenges and opportunities in education administration, said the financial crisis has underlined the need for financial literacy.

"All it can do is enhance what they do in the classrooms," Lowery said of the UD program. "If we don't do something to educate the next generation of our children about fiscal solvency, we are doomed to repeat history in a very negative way."

Lynith Marte, an instructor in the School of Business and Governance at De Davao University, said the UD program has become even more relevant because it gives the teachers more ideas on how to make the connection between real economic events and the course material in textbooks.

"We would like to use the same," Marte said of the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE) method that she learned and also observed in a high school class. "They were able to relay the information and get the attention of the students. If I could do that, I'd be more than happy. It's a good experience for us."

O'Neill said CEEE, which is affiliated with the Council for Economic Education and its EconomicsAmerica Schools Program and network, aims to develop meaningful economic education and entrepreneurship programs around the world and to establish a network of educators who can help instruct teachers in effective methods of teaching economics and entrepreneurship in elementary and secondary schools.

The program included visits by the educators to the Economic Policy Institute, the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, and the International Finance Corp. (World Bank).

The program is supported by an endowment fund and generous sponsorship by Bank of America, Foundation for Teaching Economics, the Council for Economics Education, and the Kitchen Table Foundation.

Article by Martin A Mbugua
Photo by Ambre Alexander