Open Letter for a Course in Regenerative Economics
An invitation to secondary school educators & staff to support the creation of a Regenerative Economics course
This open letter supports the creation of a free, open-access classroom-ready course in Regenerative Economics. All secondary school educators and administrators worldwide, from all school types and systems, are invited to join us by signing to show your support for this initiative.
We, the undersigned secondary-school educators and administrators, want to equip our students with the knowledge and skills needed to create a future of human and ecological thriving.
In our view, today’s mainstream economics education is failing to do this. In some cases, mainstream economics education perpetuates the degenerative economic systems we have inherited by:
framing the economy as separate from society and nature;
assuming that endless economic growth is desirable and possible;
ignoring the vital, regenerative role of household care and of the commons in the economy;
using outdated models that paint humanity as essentially self-interested and competitive; and
reducing the student’s role to being a passive recipient of narrowly-framed information about the economy, rather than supporting student agency to understand and catalyse economic transformation.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students leave secondary and tertiary economics education courses and programs without the foundations and insights they need to help create economies that can meet human needs within planetary boundaries. This must change.
Through their Track Changes project, the student organisations Teach the Future UK and SOS-UK invited teachers and academics to collaborate in revising secondary economics curricula. Through this work, a new syllabus in Regenerative Economics has been developed that reframes students’ understanding of the purpose and workings of the local-to-global economy. The syllabus was co-created by secondary educators, researchers, and academics including Kate Raworth, David Bollier and Emily Jones.
This Regenerative Economics syllabus:
frames complex, adaptive economic systems as embedded in and dependent upon social and natural systems;
presents the economy, including business and finance, as a means to achieve social and ecological wellbeing, rather than as an end in itself;
recognises the importance of multiple provisioning systems - the household, the market, the commons and the state - and highlights their interdependence;
explores the role, impact, and ethical responsibilities associated with the international exchanges of a country, its businesses and its residents;
helps students understand their own lived experience in the economy, and how they can be part of transforming current economic systems to meet human needs within planetary boundaries.
To turn this Regenerative Economics syllabus into a classroom-ready course, the next step is the development of a comprehensive, free, open-access online textbook with learning activities and assessment models that enhance student agency.
We ask funders to provide financial support for developing the proposed free, open-access Regenerative Economics textbook and supporting materials.
Once these resources are developed, we are interested in piloting part or all of the Regenerative Economics course in our schools to learn about and help co-create teaching methods for introducing and applying these concepts with students.
Together, we can accelerate the paradigm shift in economics education to provide secondary-school students with the education and skills that they seek and deserve.
Yohanes Andika Tjitrajaya | Lecturer | Parahyangan Catholic University | Indonesia
Robert Austin | Lecturer in Physics | Purdue University | USA
Amyaz Moledina | Professor of Economics | The College of Wooster | USA Katherine Fey | Head of T&L | Pate’s Grammar School | UK
Cat Ho | Practitioner-Researcher Critical Economic Literacy and Teacher | University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign and Dulwich College | Singapore / China
Marina Perunovska | IB Economics Teacher | NOVA International Schools | North Macedonia
Zachary Czuprynski | Sustainability Coordinator & Educator | Prescott College | USA
Noémie Vauthey | Teacher | Collège de Grand Champ | Switzerland
Add your school or education organisation by signing the open letter!
