Libertarian Economic Perspectives in Education: Pathways to Integrating the Austrian School
Résumé
Long dominated by Keynesian theory, which emphasizes government intervention and aggregate demand management, economic education has Critics counter that this intellectual homogeneity limits exposure to other economic theories as the Austrian School, which stresses free markets, spontaneous order, and methodological individualism. This paper investigates the viability and consequences of including Austrian economic ideas into modern education therefore promoting a diverse pedagogical approach. The historical and modern integration of economic models in educational curriculum was evaluated by means of an extensive literature survey. Important areas of concentration included course structures, textbooks, and policy implications in secondary and higher education. In order to underline methodological and pedagogical variations among Austrian economics, Keynesianism, monetarism, and post-Keynesian theory, the study also used a comparative analysis. Results show that influencing policy debates and curriculum construction, Keynesian economics still rules as the predominant paradigm in economic education. The study reveals major obstacles to the integration of Austrian economic theory include institutional preferences, a lack of committed resources, and academic ideological resistance together with institutional preferences. Still, the increased interest in alternative economic theories during times of financial crisis and the emergence of digital learning environments offer reform chances. The paper comes to the conclusion that encouraging a more balanced economic education framework can improve students' critical thinking, intellectual variety, and economic literacy. Among the recommendations are curriculum revisions, the addition of specialist electives, using digital tools, and support of institutional transformation. Incorporating Austrian economic ideas will help students to have a comprehensive awareness of policy consequences and market dynamics
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