A Comparative Study of Economic Training as a Component of Elementary School Curriculum in Scotland, China, and Australia, and its Implications for Such a Training in Iran

Given the importance of economic training, it has been successfully incorporated in the elementary school curricula in Australia, China, and Scotland. However, the absence of such topic within the Iranian curriculum requires a model based on the successful experiences of these countries. The selected three curricula were initially described, then interpreted, categorized, and finally compared and contrasted. The similarity between the selected countries seem to be in the goals of economic training which are defined in the two domains of knowledge and skills, while their difference is in Australian emphasis on the concurrent use of all three domains of knowledge, values, and skills. In the way of organization having a common course in social studies, and in the area of learning opportunities, the emphasis on activity, inquiry, debate, and their related technologies are other similarities. China stands aside when it comes to valuing economic literacy as an extra-curricular activity.