An assessment of an economics and entrepreneurship curriculum for middle level students

This dissertation describes the implementation of one curriculum program, To Market, To Market, in the Lincoln Public Schools\u27 seventh grade Exploring Business classes. It provides an assessment of the instructional effectiveness of this program designed for students and teachers in the middle grades. The results of this study will advance the understanding and teaching of economics and business at the middle level including the level of knowledge and attitudes toward economics and entrepreneurship. This study will also serve to assist the district in curriculum implementation and instructional strategies and techniques used in this course. The data for this assessment were collected during the 1995–96 school year from the students and teachers in the Exploring Business classes within the Lincoln Public Schools\u27 nine middle/junior high schools. These teachers and students were surveyed pre and post to determine their knowledge and attitudes towards economics and entrepreneurship. The results from this investigation describe the knowledge and attitudes of these two groups and include information on the continued use of the curriculum program. The results of the study demonstrated that the seventh grade students benefited from the Exploring Business course in the form of increased knowledge and improved attitudes towards economics and entrepreneurship and related issues. Teachers\u27 confidence and knowledge of economics and entrepreneurship also improved as a result of the teacher-training component in this study. The curriculum used in this study is appropriate for middle level students when accompanied with staff development. The findings of this study are important in that they serve as feedback to the district and teachers of the Exploring Business courses as they are offered in the Lincoln Public Schools and may also serve also as a guide to other courses offered at the middle level. The implications of this study are relevant to other economic educators who work with school districts at the local, state, and national levels to improve economic literacy among our youth