A new partnership, launched at The University of Manchester on 30 April, will see existing teachers offered training to deliver A Level economics alongside their core subject.
The three-year programme, which will be piloted in the North West before eventually being rolled out across the UK, aims to make the subject more accessible to students from a wider range of backgrounds. The training will be made available at no cost to the teachers or schools.
Economics is currently offered as an A Level subject at just over half of non-selective state schools in England, compared with 90% of selective schools and 82% of independent schools. This partly reflects a shortage of qualified economics teachers – made worse by very low levels of new teachers choosing to specialise in the subject.
Professor Fiona Devine, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at The University of Manchester, said: “The teaching, research and development of economics has a long history at The University of Manchester. Our commitment to equity and diversity across our work is paramount, and this initiative, building on the research from FFT Education Datalab, highlights that we still have much to do. We’re extremely proud to work alongside the Bank of England in producing more teachers of economics.”
Professor Angela Davies, University Academic Lead for Lifelong Learning, Flexible Learning Programme at The University of Manchester, said: “At The University of Manchester, we are passionate about creating flexible, lifelong learning opportunities to help individuals, organisations and sectors adapt to an ever-changing world. This collaboration with the Bank of England offers flexible professional learning to bridge the gap in teaching economics. Our first cohort of teachers starts in September with plans to roll the programme out across the UK in the coming years.”
