Empowering economic development: Integrating economic-related issues into secondary school curricula

Amir Toghyani Khorasgani, Jahanbakhsh Rahmani and Narges Keshtiaray
Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran

In today's rapidly evolving global economy, it is essential to equip young learners with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the workforce and contribute to economic development. Education is a vital driver of human capital and development in countries, and the effectiveness of any educational system depends heavily on its curriculum. This article studies the pivotal role of the curriculum in shaping education and its contribution to economic development. We examined four components (objectives, content, teaching-learning methods, and evaluation) of secondary school curricula in G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA) and Iran to present a set of proposed concepts for the Iranian curriculum with a focus on economic features. A comparative strategy with four qualitative stages (description, interpretation, juxtaposition, comparison) was used. The proposed concepts are arranged in three layers: the first includes improvement of scientific skills; technical skills; and process skills. The second includes study of world history and geography, and other countries' languages and cultures. The third includes altruism for others, and health and environment. Our study serves as an introduction to the skills and abilities needed by Iranian students to compete in the real world. It also provides a concise outline of some of the essential competencies for tomorrow's society and workplaces.
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Authors: Amir Toghyani Khorasgani is a PhD candidate in curriculum development, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. His fields of interest are curriculum development, comparative education and educational sciences. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4871-4099 Email: amir.toghyani@yahoo.com Dr Jahanbakhsh Rahmani (corresponding author) is an Associate Professor in curriculum development at the Department of Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran. He has worked on the effects, aspects and implications of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2525-5416 Email: rahmani@khuisf.ac.ir Dr Narges Keshtiaray is Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran. She is Associate Editor and an Editorial Board member for the journal Research in Curriculum Planning (https://jsr-e.isfahan.iau.ir/?lang=en) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6313-5197 Email: keshtiaray@gmail.com Please cite as: Toghyani Khorasgani, A., Rahmani, J. & Keshtiaray, N. (2024). Empowering economic development: Integrating economic-related issues into secondary school curricula. Issues in Educational Research, 34(1), 297-320. http://www.iier.org.au/iier34/toghyani-khorasgani.pdf