ECONOMIC CURRICULA IN SOUTH PACIFIC HIGH
SCHOOLS:
WHAT SHOULD THEY INCLUDE?
Mike Horsley
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to highlight a number of issues related to the
development of Economic Curricula in middle and senior Secondary School. It
may possibly have implications for the tertiary level as well. It is also hoped
that the points raised may generate discussion which could be useful in
evaluating what may be presently offered and guiding the development of any
future offerings in the Region's Secondary Schools.
The South Pacific is an area that is experiencing educational growth and
change in its commercial curricula. Indigenous prescriptions are being
developed in Accounting, Commerce and Economics. However, most
Economics courses at secondary level continue to be based on Cambridge
Curricula (U.K.) for some island nations such as Kiribati and Vanuatu and on
New Zealand School Certificate and University Entrance Courses for the
remaining U.S.P. countries. Fiji, however, has introduced Economics at the
Form 7 level and is presently planning a Form 5 Economics course. Perhaps in
the future other regional countries may wish to offer Economics courses also.
Developing indigenous Economics courses presents a number of difficulties.
Professor Todaro has warned that:
introductory economics courses in developing nations too often
become no more than disguised versions in scope and content of
courses used in developed countries. Thus they naturally tend to
give undue emphasis to economic models and contemporary
problems important to the developed countries to the neglect of
those which may be more appropriate for the developing world.1
Already Economic Curriculum developers from Papua New Guinea (writing
about tertiary courses) have suggested that the aims, objectives and content
prescriptions of economics education for preparing students in a developing
country in the Pacific require careful thought and analysis.2 It is the contention
of this paper that Economic curricula should be based on the educational
needs and economic characteristics of South Pacific societies if relevance,
usefulness and learning are to be maximised by students studying Economics.
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Some Aims for South Pacific Economics Curricula
Economics Curricula may offer the societies of the South Pacific some
important contributions to their educational and training programmes.
1. Economics is a basic component of business or managerial expertise.
Professional competence for people at senior levels in industry,
government, co-operatives and retailing in many cases requires a
knowledge of certain economic principles and ideas. Economics is an
element of the higher secondary or tertiary training for accountants,
small businessmen and managers, who must be conversant with some
economics in fulfilling their employment functions. It must be
remembered in this context that most South Pacific nations face an
acute shortage of trained managerial and technical personnel and that
their training is an urgent priority for manpower planning programmes.
2. Economics provides a foundation for the development of economic
literacy. Fuller participation in the cash economy and decision making in
social and political life are demanding increased knowledge of
economics and commerce. Wider socio-economic changes in society
may require more formal training in financial management and practical
commerce. Hence arguments and plans advanced and accepted for
economic literacy in first world countries such as New Zealand and
Australia acquire increased importance when considered for the South
Pacific. There is a growing recognition that the diverse peoples of the
Pacific need to became more "businesslike", if they are to respond
adequately to the new opportunities and challenges facing the
development of their nations. This business acumen can be enhanced by
economic study.
3. As a subject itself Economics attempts to analyse economic, political
and social events in a logical and rational way. However the deeper
understanding derived in this way needs to be developed in the context
of the problems and possibilities of the South Pacific nations themselves
if it is to be of practical benefit to students and the wider society.
The major disadvantage of studying 'metropolitan courses' based on the
economies of developed societies is to neglect the important economic issues
vital for Pacific peoples. Such courses could logically be described as
'Economics as a foreign language'.3 The important issue to which indigenous
curricula should contribute are those based on wider cultural impact and
nature of continuing western economic development in the South Pacific. For
example, one of the difficult questions Pacific people face is whether their
emerging economic systems, based increasingly on an essentially capitalist
mixed economy, require for their successful operation complementary social,
cultural and political forms to exist. Economics courses in the South Pacific
may deepen understanding of such issues.
48
Developing Economics Prescriptions
Developing an Economics prescription in the South Pacific would require
careful consideration of a number of interrelated questions:
(1) What are the 'central concepts' or 'core topics' which are necessary or
vital for effective and meaningful economic understanding?
(2) What features and characteristics of South Pacific economics warrant
inclusion in prescriptions?
(3) What abilities, skills, motivation, understanding and experiences do
students possess prior to their study in the courses?
(4) After a realistic appraisal of what possible options living in the South
Pacific may entail, what contribution can the topics make to the students
'preparation for life'?
It is not possible to discuss (3) and (4) at this point because these questions
would relate to a specific curriculum. What might be of assistance to
economic curriculum developers is to discuss the idea of 'central concepts' of
economic study which may be specifically applicable to the South Pacific.
The concept of a 'core' of economic concepts has received widespread atten-
tion.4 Generally, writers in this field claim that core topics include economic
methodology and certain content.
An Approach to Economic Study
The notion of methodology essentially refers to our 'approach' to economic
issues and problems. This may include some concepts but basically the First
World has focused on such fundamental problems in economic study as 'ob-
jectivity', value judgements and analysis. This type of approach should be of
particular concern to economic curriculum planners in the South Pacific. It
would be appropriate to extend the concept of approach to stress the relation-
ship between economics as a subset of a wider social system. Therefore, in
the case of Pacific economics forced to respond to rapid socio-economic
change and development a priority should be to examine the relationships bet-
ween economic and associated cultural and social developments. In this con-
text, it is interesting to note the approach that Professor Todaro claims has
guided the preparation of his text:
(a) Economics should be taught in the context of the major problems of
development and underdevelopment...from an institutional as well as an
economic perspective.
49
b. Economics should concentrate on the real world of contemporary
economic development problems in contrast to presenting economic
principles as a set of abstract concepts applicable to any and all
societies.
The full nature of the approach discussed can be made clear by relating it to
basic economic topics.
Basic Economic Concepts Applicable to the South Pacific
The study of basic economic principles is essential in developing economic
understanding. The problem for curriculum planners is to select content from
an ever-growing body of economic knowledge. Some research in this area has
advanced four core areas of economic study as a minimum for economic
study as a minimum for economic understanding.6 Each of these four areas
will be discussed in relation to South Pacific economies. Also the structure of
these economies requires consideration of another two areas.
1. Scarcity and Choice
This area requires the study of the economic problem: wants, resources,
economic systems, exchange and so on. The notion of scarcity has generally
been taught as a basis of the concept of choice and through that price theory.
Perhaps one of the failings of economics generally has been to neglect the line
of argument which suggested that if resources are scarce then how can
economic systems conserve them. The unavailability of many resources in the
Pacific makes their depletion a serious concern. Elementary (external)
economics courses currently studied in the South Pacific tend to assume that
prices conserve resources. However, in the Pacific prices in many cases are
only a minor factor in allocating, developing and conserving resources. Pacific
economies are almost completely dominated by agriculture and much of it is
of a subsistence or semi-subsistence nature. Consequently an indigenous
curriculum should stress changes in subsistence agriculture, land tenure, rural
development plans, etc. as the main themes in its treatment of scarcity, choice
and resources.
In the context of economic systems it should be stressed that values
determine wants and preferences and hence economic organization and
resource allocation (and ultimately welfare). Therefore, the importance of
values should be stressed, especially in considering problems involving
cultural change.
2. Economic Efficiency
For a given value system students should understand the basis of maximizing
50
production by proper utilization of resources. However, technological change,
specialization, efficiency and the like must be studied in the context of Pacific
economies. It is important to note that these economies possess small (but in
some cases growing) industrial sectors, that they are experiencing gradual
changes in agriculture and are characterized by small markets dominated by
large external firms. Consequently, overconcentration on detailed theories of
market structure and the treatment of 'marginal analysis' in depth would seem
inappropriate.
3. Income Distribution
The source and distribution of incomes must be studied against the
background of economic dualism, growing urbanization, unemployment
problems, increased availability of Western education and changes in
economic aspirations. Courses which do not focus on these issues may
neglect the most important concerns South Pacific economies face.
4. Aggregate Output and income
Pacific nations generally have development plans designed for growth —
some in contrast to declared aims for the retention of rich cultural and social
heritages. Indeed economic study should illuminate the need to understand
why these are contradictory aims. The efficient use of resources to maximize
growth and the ability of the government to influence the economy and plan
for economic change should be studied in relation to these Pacific concerns.
Heavy emphasis on manipulating Keynesian national income models and
alternative monetarist theories may be unwarranted.
5. In addition to the above, meaningful understanding of Pacific economies
demands consideration of the relationship between International Trade and
the Domestic Economy. Past colonial history, the degree of openness,
dependence on aid, and reliance on exports for economic growth play vital
roles in domestic economic policy. The importance of this would warrant
considerable stress in any South Pacific prescription.
6. As I have suggested in this paper one of the essential priorities of
economics courses in this region is to examine the relationship between
economic and other aspects of the social and culture system. This
examination should not be separated and distinguished from the study of the
other core areas mentioned but should complement the topics and underly the
approach to the preparation of each core area.
Types of Economics Prescriptions
These five concepts represent an economic core of concepts and topics which
may establish a minimum of understanding in economics in the Pacific.
51
However, there is no single accepted way of structuring this content both
within a curriculum or for teaching purposes. For example the above content
could be organized around:
a. a 'welfare' prescription based on the economic aspirations of society and
the forces which shape economic decisions and economic welfare; or
b. a 'sector' prescription based on the various important sectors of the
economy; or
c. an 'economics systems' prescription based on how the economic system
functions in comparison to other economic systems; or
d. a 'problems and ideas' prescription based on the important economic
problems facing a society and the appropriateness of policies to deal
with such problems; or
e. a 'principles and concepts' prescription emphasizing fundamental con-
cepts and principles of economic analysis and their application to
specific contemporary case studies; or
f. an 'economics for living prescription' designed to equip students with
skills, knowledge and attitudes to guide them in responding to their
economic environment.
The organization of a prescription's content and selection of the type of
prescription would ultimately depend on the aims of economics curriculum
developers. However, in all of these prescription types, curriculum planners
will have to carefully balance the relative weights given to economic analysis
based on theory and models and economic description based on Pacific
economies.
This weighting has been a much discussed controversy. The great danger
usually attributed to overstressing theory is that students become so absorbed
with models and theories that they fail to know, understand and appreciate
their own economies. This danger could be accentuated in the Pacific where
many of the theories and models are based on the experiences of developed
nations rather than Third World countries.7 Thus the teaching of theories for
their own sake should be avoided. Most secondary economics courses in New
Zealand and Australia now emphasize studying, analysing and thinking
critically aout the real world rather than drilling students in analytic techni-
ques and theory. in view of the importance of economic issues generally in
Pacific societies it would seem most appropriate to stress them in indigenous
prescriptions as well.
CONCLUSION
W. John Smyth, writing on Economics Education in Papua New Guinea, has
summed up the concerns of this paper:
If ever there was a need for enthusiastic and enlightened economic cur-
52
riculum designers, developing countries must surely present a for-
midable challenge ... Instead of a set of meaningful, relevant and at-
tainable objectives, backed up by a coherent body of core concepts in
economics, we find instead, rigidly imposed courses that have been
directly transplanted from some developed country ... What is
desperately needed is some kind of moratorium amongst teachers and
educators directed towards the isolation of a core of indispensable
economic concepts specifically suited to the requirements of students in
a developing country.
These concerns will need consideration by future economics curriculum
developers.
(The author wishes to thank Mr. Bernie O'Donnell of USP for his valuable
suggestions in the preparation of this paper.)
NOTES:
1. M. Todaro, p. xix.
W . J . Smyth
I am indebted to Dr Herbert Mason of USP for this phrase.
K.G. Lumsden and R.E. Attiyeh. Also D. Whitehead.
M. Todaro, p. xx.
K.G. Lunsden and R.E. Attityeh. Also L. Senesh.
M. Todaro, pp. 28-30.
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Hayden, M., ed., Courses of Study in Economics, V.C.T.A. Publishing,
Melbourne, 1977.
Lumsden, K.G. & "The Core of Basic Economics", Economics Educa-
Attiyeh, R.E., tion Project, Economics, Summer 1971.
Robinson, K. & Eds., Extending Economics Within the Curriculum,
Wilson, R. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977.
Senesh, L., "Teaching Economics Concepts in Primary Grades" in
Lee, N., Ed. Teaching Economics, E.A., London,
1967.
Sevele, F., "Rural Employment and Rural Development in the
Pacific Islands", S.P.C., New Caledonia, Occasional
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Sevele, F., South Pacific Economies: A Statistical Summary,
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Smyth, W . J . "Economics Education for Living in a Developing Coun-
t r y " , A Curriculum for Living, Papers from the
53
A.C.T.A., University of Melbourne, V.C.T.A., 1976.
Todaro, M.P. Economics For a Developing World, Longmans,
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Whitehead, D. Ed., Curriculum Development in Economics, Heinemann,
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