Unit 2
Foundational Objectives

Concept: Economic Decision Making

Knowledge

• now that economics is a study of the way in which societies make decisions about the goods and services they will produce to meet the wants of its citizens.

• now that standard of living is a measure of the quantity and quality of the goods and services available to people.

• now that industrial societies are based on a complex system of political and economic organizations known as an infrastructure which make possible the production of goods and services.

• now that the beliefs and values of a society will affect its social and political organization which in turn will affect its economic organization.

• learn to use the following analytical skills:

• defining the main parts;

• describing cause-effect relationships;

• describing how the parts of a whole are related to each other.

• Learn to make hypotheses based on reasonable assumptions and inferences.

• Practise stating how the parts are related to each other and to the whole.

• Practise constructing concept maps as a means of analyzing data.

• What are the honest ways of doing comparisons?

• Upon what criteria should economic decisions be evaluated to determine what are wise and unwise decisions by society?
  • profit?

  • efficiency?

  • tradition?

  • humanity?
• What criteria should be the basis for deciding what are wise and unwise decisions by society?

Core Material for Unit 2

Note:

• each unit represents 20 % of the available class time for the course; and

• the material which appears in highlighted print should be considered core.

With the remainder of the material not marked core, teachers may choose to work through all, some or none of these items. This material should be seen as an opportunity to individualize instruction for students with different levels of intellectual ability and motivation. Often an adjustment to the pacing of instruction is all that is required to allow the learner to obtain maximum benefit from instruction. Some students require less time to assimilate curricular concepts while other students could benefit from a slower pace. Teachers may also choose to substitute locally developed material in optional areas where it is appropriate. Such material should reflect community interests and must also meet the foundational objectives of the course.