Hardback
Reforming Economics and Economics Teaching in the Transition Economies
From Marx to Markets in the Classroom
9781840645415 Edward Elgar Publishing
This comprehensive and impressive volume presents the first book-length, multi-country investigation of reform of economic education in transition economies. Authors from the West and from transition economies describe the major changes in economics content and instruction that occurred in schools and universities throughout nations in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union from 1989 to 2000.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
This comprehensive and impressive volume presents the first book-length, multi-country investigation of reform of economic education in transition economies. Authors from the West and from transition economies describe the major changes in economics content and instruction that occurred in schools and universities throughout nations in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union from 1989 to 2000.
Nine of the chapters discuss specific countries – Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Other chapters describe reforms in the undergraduate economics curriculum at Moscow State University, Kiev State University, and Belarus State University. One chapter reports the findings from a five-nation study of the effect of economics programs to retrain teachers on the economic understanding of secondary students. Another chapter explains the important role of economic education in creating support for public policy reforms in a nation. The results from multi-national surveys of public attitudes toward economic reforms and the market economy are analyzed in one chapter. The book concludes with an insightful explanation of the major ‘change agents’ responsible for the reform of academic economics and the teaching of economics in the transition economies.
Anyone interested in economic education, transition economies, or educational reform in schools and universities will find this book a unique and fascinating reading.
Nine of the chapters discuss specific countries – Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Other chapters describe reforms in the undergraduate economics curriculum at Moscow State University, Kiev State University, and Belarus State University. One chapter reports the findings from a five-nation study of the effect of economics programs to retrain teachers on the economic understanding of secondary students. Another chapter explains the important role of economic education in creating support for public policy reforms in a nation. The results from multi-national surveys of public attitudes toward economic reforms and the market economy are analyzed in one chapter. The book concludes with an insightful explanation of the major ‘change agents’ responsible for the reform of academic economics and the teaching of economics in the transition economies.
Anyone interested in economic education, transition economies, or educational reform in schools and universities will find this book a unique and fascinating reading.
Critical Acclaim
‘. . . the book has much that is of interest, especially in the country studies with the detailed information they provide about educational reform in the transition countries. It is of value to a number of readerships, especially teachers of economics, academics and others interested in the process of transition from state socialism and in emerging markets.’
– W.J. Morgan, International Journal of Educational Development
‘The book provides a fascinating overview of many of the issues, achievements and continuing difficulties involved in one of the central educational issues of recent years. The accumulation of country studies helps to provide a broadly consistent picture of problems and difficulties leavened by genuine successes and achievements. . . the book provides an excellent coverage of the issues and problems facing educators in those contexts and is to be commended to anyone interested in these issues, whether at academic or policy-making levels.’
– Neil Kay, The Economics of Transition
‘The volume is of greatest interest to those pursuing issues of the implementation of economics education and its impact at an elementary level on economic understanding and attitudes. Through generally careful statistical analysis it shows what can be done even in a most difficult environment, as well as the constraints on change imposed by Soviet legacies. It is a valuable addition to the literature on economics pedagogy.’
– Richard E. Ericson, Slavic Review
– W.J. Morgan, International Journal of Educational Development
‘The book provides a fascinating overview of many of the issues, achievements and continuing difficulties involved in one of the central educational issues of recent years. The accumulation of country studies helps to provide a broadly consistent picture of problems and difficulties leavened by genuine successes and achievements. . . the book provides an excellent coverage of the issues and problems facing educators in those contexts and is to be commended to anyone interested in these issues, whether at academic or policy-making levels.’
– Neil Kay, The Economics of Transition
‘The volume is of greatest interest to those pursuing issues of the implementation of economics education and its impact at an elementary level on economic understanding and attitudes. Through generally careful statistical analysis it shows what can be done even in a most difficult environment, as well as the constraints on change imposed by Soviet legacies. It is a valuable addition to the literature on economics pedagogy.’
– Richard E. Ericson, Slavic Review
Contributors
Contributors: N. Aksenenko, V. Bikse, J. Brant, M. Chepikov, S.L. Cobb, J. Dick, J. Grunloh,A. Kovalenko, A. Kovzik, D. Lines, J.S. Lopus, C.R. MacPhee, T. McKinnon, V. Melnyk, S. Odorzynski, B.J. Phipps, S. Ravitchev, A. Skiba, D.C. Stoicescu, S. Szczurkowska, A. Voikova, G. Vredeveld, W.B. Walstad, M. Watts
Contents
Contents: Foreword Part I: The Academic and Public Policy Transition in Teaching Market Economics 1. The Academic Transition from Marxism to Market Economics 2. Attitudes Toward Markets and Market Reforms in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 3. Reforming Undergraduate Economics Instruction in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine: Curriculum, Personnel, and Clientele Issues 4. The Effects of Teacher Programs on Student Economic Understanding and Market Attitudes in Transition Economies 5. Economic Education as the Missing Link in Georgian Policy Reform Part II: Country Reports on Reforming Economic Education 6. Economics Instruction in Belarus 7. Economic Education Reform in Bulgaria 8. Economic Education in Kyrgyzstan 9. Economic Education in Latvia: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 10. Poland: Teaching Economics Before, During, and After the Transition 11. Economic Education Reform in Romania 12. The Status of Economic Education in Russia 13. Economic Education in Ukraine Part III: Conclusion 14. Reforming Economics and Economics Teaching in the Transition Economies: Agents of Change and Future Challenges Index
