HPU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education is a driving force for expanding economic education across Hawai'i.
Over the past three years HPU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education (CEEE) has become a driving force for expanding economic education across the state. Through its Economics for Hawai’i Teachers course, the CEEE has taught economic principles and provided guidance on how to incorporate grade-appropriate economic content into all subjects areas to over 800 public and private school K-12 teachers across six islands. The feedback from this initiative has been extremely positive, with teachers commenting that there is a clear lack of knowledge amongst Hawai’i teachers to be able to effectively teach economics standards, and that more citizens need to be educated in this important area of our lives for the well-being of the nation.
The famous 'Diver and Surfboard' diagram.
This fall the CEEE has also started training its first cohort of teachers on its Economics Curriculum Praxis course to pass the Economics Praxis exam, and thereby become highly qualified in the State of Hawaii to teach a high school economics course. As a follow-on course to Economics for Hawai’i teachers, the aim of the Economics Curriculum Praxis course is to increase the number of qualified economics teachers within the state. Over the longer term it is hoped that this additional economics teaching capacity will make it possible for the Hawai’i Department of Education to join the 28 other states in the union such as California and New York which have implemented a high school economics course graduation requirement.
In partnership with Hawai’i Council on Economic Education, the CEEE also organizes the Hawai’i State High School Econ Challenge, which takes place at HPU’s Aloha Tower Marketplace every April. The Econ Challenge is the premier economics competition for high school students in Hawaii, testing micro and macroeconomic principles as well as knowledge of international economics and current events. Winners become the Hawaii state champions, and progress to the national competition semi-finals. Last year teams from I’olani, Kalani, Kamehameha, and Maryknoll competed for top honors.
The CEEE is additionally the curator of the Hawai’i Teachers Economics Library, an online repository of Hawaii-centric economics lesson plans, teaching resources, and educational opportunities, that is co-built by the Hawai’i K-12 teachers taught on CEEE courses. On this site teachers from Hawai’i and around the world can source top-notch lessons and teaching tools for their courses including the now famous ‘Diver and Surfboard’ student memory aid for how Demand and Supply interact – hint Divers dive down, and Surf’s Up!
The CEEE will also be advising HPU on its recent initiative to incorporate entrepreneurship education and practice into its curriculum across all departments university-wide, empowering HPU students and the local community to develop entrepreneurial values and skills, and build a more robust economic future for our great state.
