Didactic research within economics and business economcs education

At Ghent University, the educational master's degree in economics has started since the 2019-2020 academic year. This project will strengthen the didactic research in the economics and business economics field. In Flanders, Economics is no longer a specific subject for a particular educational programme in secondary education. Since September 1, 2019, financial-economic competences have been added as 1 of the 16 key-competences that all pupils must achieve. In the recent years, the demand and the need for more financial literacy in secondary education has been popping up regularly, both nationally and internationally.

This research will fit in this recent research flow. This project will be multi-layered. An extensive study of the available international literature on (economic) didactics is undoubtedly an indispensable building block. In addition, the research questions will, to a large extent, be based on current teaching practices, as well as on the innovations in the educational landscape and the perceived everyday needs within the educational field. Firstly, the aim is to investigate the effectiveness of new teaching methods within financial-economic literacy. In addition, the effect will be examined on the learning process, mental well-being and perception of the pupils and teachers. The focus will be on several population levels: tertiary education, secondary education, and teacher training programmes. The transitions from one level to the other will be phased, though always in dynamic interaction. Moreover, different stakeholder groups will be consulted: current and future teachers of (business)economics, students and pupils, and school boards and larger educational institutions. The multi-actor data collection takes place iteratively and through mixed methods. Both quantitative data (questionnaires) and qualitative data (case studies and interviews) will be collected, in order to map out the educational reality in all its aspects. In addition, theoretically founded hypotheses can be translated into an empirical research design: by means of a quasi-experimental intervention method, an actual teaching practice can be manipulated. The specific value of this project is therefore twofold: academic and practical/societal. On the one hand, being an academic subdomain, didactic research within (business)economics education has been underexposed until now and is therefore to some extent still undiscovered territory. On the other hand, the generated knowledge serves to support the educational master's programme, which is, as it were, the gateway to future education. The skills that prospective teachers acquire through this training are thereby extended and/or intensified. Their later pedagogical-didactical teaching methods can thus be raised to a higher standard.