Schools
The main focus of attention is on educating children and youngsters in Economics. Our research and development projects are geared up towards improving lessons in Economics. In pursuit of this aim, theory and practice are connected in a systematic way, employing modern learning methods with a heightened focus on supporting learning processes digitally.
Teacher training and continued professional development
For Economic Education to reach school-aged children, competent teaching practitioners with subject-specific and pedagogic knowledge are required. The Institute for Economic Education offers teachers professional qualifications whilst they are at work in the classroom. These courses take place in a bi-modal form: face-to-face and digital learning platform delivery. Numerous blending learning courses have already been delivered in almost every German federal state and in international projects.
Population
Evidence suggests that knowledge of economic interrelationships among the general population is not very prevalent. To meet the need for information and widening awareness, the Institute of Economic Education offers extra-curricular courses aimed at particular target groups.
Education policy
Lessons in Economics are not a given in the German educational system. It is more likely for Economics to be taught as part of a broader school subject area, e.g. together with politics, geography, technology or sociology. This has an impact on the quality of Economic Education in schools and at universities because the school subject is the decisive context for action in school-based learning processes. For this reason, IÖB advises on educational policy, particularly relating to the challenges of seriously establishing Economic Education in the German school system.