Economics is a social science which means it studies society and relationships between people. Economists analyse many different aspects of human behaviour and decision-making within and between markets, organisations and countries.
Economics is not really about money, instead it is about the decisions that we take in our everyday life – from whom to date, whether to buy a house or which job to apply for. For every choice we make as individuals or as a society, there is a cost and a benefit. The three agents that make these decisions are classified as households, firms and governments.
Students study at A level only. During the programme of study, students will develop knowledge, skills and understanding of a range of concepts covered by the specification, broadly categorised into micro and macro economics. These key concepts underpin the complex contextual based learning developed throughout the course. Additionally, students will acquire a valuable set of transferable skills: powers of analysis and evaluation when writing extended essays; advanced numeracy via the demands that 10% of the assessment will be some form of calculation and require mathematical knowledge; and reasoning ability when tackling multiple choice questions.
In summary students will learn to;
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of economic concepts, processes, techniques and procedures.
Apply knowledge and understanding of economic concepts, processes, techniques and procedures in a theoretical context, and to then apply the knowledge to everyday real world examples.
Analyse, interpret and evaluate a range of issues, to make judgements and reach conclusions.
The specification is designed to emphasise the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics. The former has markets and market failure as its core, while the latter takes a wider look at the operation of the economy as a whole. The department delivers the material by following the AS/A2 approach. The AS spec is delivered in the first year, followed by the remaining parts of the A2. Within each year, the delivery is split into first micro, and then macro. Essentially, this new subject features an introductory year, where the students get a full grasp of the nature of the subject. In the second year, more rigour is introduced, as existing topics are explored further, with some additional topics. However, there are instances where second year material is introduced in the first year, where it is seen as being useful and appropriate.
A range of teaching strategies are employed to ensure students transfer content from their long term memory. This includes regular class knowledge and skills tasks and quizzes to help embed key facts and concepts, often but not always delivered as a warm up exercise. Key glossary, definition and diagram tests are used to increase students' language development and academic expression. As the course progresses, more emphasis on skills and examination technique are apparent, especially once the topics arrive that require high level analysis, judgement and evaluation. Students learn in a variety of ways, often working in pairs or groups. They are encouraged to be vocal in class, in many cases intersecting with each other.
| Subject Documents |
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| ECONOMICS Curriculum Overview |