Crisis in Economics studies and a renewal proposal: learning experience to reconnect with students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36881/yachay.v14i2.1170Keywords:
economic crisis, renewal of Economics studies, orthodoxy-heterodoxy relations, active and participatory learning experience, positive and normative economicsAbstract
This paper offers an active and participatory learning experience in Economics, designed to reconnect students who have shown a certain disengagement from their field due to the excessive focus on econometrics established by the Neoclassical Synthesis (which was the mainstream from the end of World War II until the Great Recession of 2008). The main objective is to reconnect students with their studies and economics with the rest of the social sciences and the underlying social reality, through the use of platforms with real data and its interpretation using theories of complex social phenomena. Methodologically, the experience is based on improved practice over three years, at Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain), with the support of international visiting professors, there has been workshops and courses to revitalize Economics studies based on theoretical and methodological frameworks from heterodox approaches (more oriented towards the positive analysis of complex social phenomena and their changes, rather than focusing on designed, normative, and supposedly predictive models). These workshops also utilize open digital platforms from Central Banks (especially the US Federal Reserve) to work with real data, thus fostering students' digital literacy and preparing them for their future careers. As results, this paper provides the keys to replicating this experience at other universities.
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