We spoke with Jennifer Brandsberg-Engelmann, Educator and Lead Author of Regenerative Economics, and Feline Tecklenburg, Political Economist and co-founder of the think-and-do-lab Wirtschaft ist Care (Economy is Care) to discuss their collaborative work around renewing Economics education in secondary schools.
- What’s the story behind your work?
J: My current work is the project lead and lead-authorship of the project Regenerative Economics for Secondary Schools. It started from a student initiative in the UK from SOS-UK and Teach the Future together with Kate Raworth and others, to rewrite the economics curriculum for England. Since then, I’ve worked to bring it to life as a global project, to reform economics education in secondary schools, an area that has been largely neglected in economics education efforts.
F: I co-founded Wirtschaft ist Care (Economy is care), a Swiss-German think-and-do-lab committed to the reorganisation of the economy around its core business – the satisfaction of care needs worldwide. Our work mediates between civil society, specifically the German-speaking Care Movement, and political institutions. We share knowledge about the importance of both unpaid and paid care work as the foundation of society and the economy, and we advocate for policies that change structural economic inequalities.
J/F: Our collaboration started with a moment of serendipity! We met at an online meeting hosted by Hot or Cool Institute and connected a few days later to talk about a collaboration on Topic 2: Households of the Regenerative Economics secondary school textbook. Feline became the expert academic support for that work, helping to define the scope and intellectual inputs for the topic, as well as reviewing and providing feedback on the text. The work was published this past summer and has attracted a lot of interest from economics teachers who have never been exposed to the care economy.
- What kind of progress have you seen your work making? And towards what?
The overall aim of this specific project is an online, open-access textbook for teachers all over the world that works as an example for future economics curricula. So far, we have published 3/7 topics: an introduction, households, and markets. Still to come: commons, state, money and finance, and international exchanges. We work with teachers around the world in different contexts to integrate the materials into their mainstream, mandated courses. The modularity of the materials enables teachers and students to select bits and pieces when they see opportunities.
Additionally, we lobby institutions directly and indirectly for reform of mandated economics curricula. There are four institutions starting reviews of their economics courses now: the International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International Education, the Netherlands, and England. We are finding footholds for contributing to those processes. The next 12 months will be critical to shift these institutions in the right direction.
- What makes your work distinct?
Regenerative Economics is a course that examines both what is going wrong in our current economies and the proposals for how our economies could be designed for human and ecological wellbeing. It is structured on Raworth’s embedded economy model, with four provisioning institutions: households, markets, commons and the state.
Including the household as a provisioning institution is an important innovation in the course. Households are given the same priority in the course as markets, commons and the state. It is crucial for any future-fit economic model to acknowledge that care work is the heart of any society and therefore economy. Every single one of us depends on the care of other people, from cradle-to-grave, as well as on care for healthy ecosystems. We need to design our way of living around care, in a caring economy, if we want a good life for all within planetary boundaries. It is essential that young people in school get the chance to learn about the vital role of care in our economies.
- How does your project fit into the ‘new economy’ field as a whole?
Most of the focus on new economics education has been at university level, but students’ understanding of the economy is formed much earlier than that. And teenagers have more power to shape social norms than we might think, in their households, schools, social networks and beyond.
Secondary school courses shape students’ thinking about what the economy is, the economy’s purpose and our roles within it. If we can shift these courses to regenerative narratives and practices, students will be able to question the status quo and be better equipped to seek out experiences and opportunities in the new economy field, including at universities offering new economy courses. At last year’s P4NE Gathering in Rotterdam, we talked about getting students to ‘vote with their feet’ as another leverage point to get universities to reform economics.
- What could people who read this newsletter do to support your work?
Secondary school curricula are infrequently revised, every 7-10 years or so in most systems. Right now we know about four influential institutions starting review of economics: the International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International Education, and the national curriculum authorities of the Netherlands and England (as a part of complete national review). We believe they may be more likely to make substantial reform if they move together.
In your communications, include secondary school economics as a point of interest and advocacy. If you are a Netherlands or UK-based organisation, call on education authorities working on economics courses to revise the curriculum to centre on care and other regenerative values.
Share the project with your networks and with interested teachers.
If you have connections to education authorities with influence over economics education in secondary schools, in or beyond the four mentioned here, please connect with us.
Www.regenerativeeconomics.earth
https://wirtschaft-ist-care.org/
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