"Sharing central bank knowledge" - the Deutsche Bundesbank's economic education activities
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Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
33
“Sharing central bank knowledge” –
the Deutsche Bundesbank’s economic
education activities
The Deutsche Bundesbank reaches out to the general public through a diverse range of printed
materials, online resources and public events, providing information about its legal mandate,
the tools it uses and the extent to which it achieves its objectives. This type of information has
long been sought after, particularly by schools, especially since monetary policy is on the upper
secondary school curriculum in several of Germany’s federal states. This is why, a number of
years ago, the Bundesbank developed a range of educational resources and events tailored
primarily to the needs of teachers and schoolchildren.
This economic education programme provides a basic grounding in the areas of money, mon-
etary stability, central banks and the financial system. It aims to enable the general public to
gain a better understanding of the importance of price stability as well as the tasks of the
Bundesbank and the Eurosystem. The focus is on “central bank knowledge”, which is essentially
derived from the Bundesbank’s core areas of responsibility: monetary policy, the financial and
monetary system, banking supervision, cash management and cashless payments.
The Bundesbank has recently redesigned its economic education programme, improving its
substance and significantly expanding its volume. As part of this overhaul, the Bundesbank’s
Money Museum was reopened to the public in December 2016 following a major revamp of
its layout and contents.
Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
34
Aims and contents of eco- public has an idea of the central bank’s tasks,
goals and tools, as well as the extent to which
nomic education activities
it achieves its objectives – and, not least, if it
understands which economic policy objectives
Central bank’s The Eurosystem central banks have a legal fall outside the central bank’s remit.
stability-
oriented policy
mandate to maintain price stability in the euro
also needs area over the medium term. The Bundesbank’s The Bundesbank’s economic education activ-
public support if
long-term price
economic education programme is designed to ities therefore use a variety of approaches to
stability is to be help fulfil this mandate. That is because one of give its different target groups a basic ground-
maintained
the most important factors in preserving long- ing in the topics of money, monetary stability,
term price stability is knowing that the general central banking and the financial system. The
public understands and supports the stability desired outcome is a deeper public under-
orientation of monetary policy and trusts the standing of the importance of monetary stabil-
central bank’s work. Building and maintaining ity as well as the tasks of the Bundesbank and
this trust can be achieved more readily if the the Eurosystem. At the same time, the Bun-
Areas of economic education
Economic education
A combination of awareness, knowledge, skill and attitude necessary
to manage everyday situations in which economics plays a role and to engage competently with
economic issues at a private, business, national and global level.
Desired outcome: economically aware citizens
The Bundesbank’s economic
education programme Financial literacy
Sharing “central bank knowledge” Private money
and raising awareness of central matters/personal finances
bank tasks
Entrepreneurship Work/career
education
Entrepreneurial knowledge Labour rights/
and skills career guidance
Business/commerce
Other areas
Business economics
Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
35
desbank’s outreach activities help it fulfil the en their role as multipliers who pass on the
accountability and reporting obligations it has central bank knowledge they acquire to large
towards the general public as an independent numbers of schoolchildren over the course of
central bank. Economic education differs from their careers. Working together with teachers
the Bundesbank’s other communication activ- therefore allows the Bundesbank to maximise
ities in two respects, one being that it largely the benefit of its educational resources, which
involves conveying basic knowledge, the other can be best achieved by focusing on teachers
that it is tailored to specific target groups. covering monetary policy topics. Besides reach-
ing out to incumbent school teaching staff,
“Central bank The focus of the Bundesbank’s economic ed- the Bundesbank’s programme is also aimed at
knowledge”
is one area
ucation activities is on sharing “central bank trainee teachers who are either still at university
of economic knowledge” – that is to say, the subject matter or in practical training.
education
is mainly geared to the Bank’s core areas of
responsibility, which are monetary policy, the Depending on which federal state they are in,
financial and monetary system, banking super- German schools treat the subjects of econom-
vision, the provision of cash, and cashless pay- ics, finance and currencies with different levels
ments. By sharing central bank knowledge, the of importance and cover them in different are-
Bundesbank covers one specific area of eco- as of the curriculum. As a result, monetary pol-
nomic education (see the chart on page 34). icy is not part of teacher training courses every-
where in Germany, or makes up just a fraction
The Bundesbank’s economic education pro- of the syllabus. Against this backdrop, the Bun-
gramme does not directly cover financial liter- desbank’s economic education programme al-
acy, which deals with private money matters, lows teachers to find out for themselves about
or the topics of investor and consumer protec- central banking or brush up on their existing
tion. However, it does explain issues and instru- knowledge.
ments which have a bearing on these areas (for
example, What is a share? What is a loan?) if Young people are the second major target Another im-
portant target
the context requires. group for the Bundesbank’s economic educa- group: the
tion activities. The focus here is on students in younger
generation
upper secondary education, given that central
Target groups of the Bundes- banking-related topics (especially monetary
bank’s economic education policy) are mostly taught to these older school-
children at both general secondary schools
Target groups The Bundesbank’s economic education pro- and vocational schools. Learning resources are
of the
Bundesbank’s
gramme consists of lectures and educational also available for primary and lower secondary
economic materials, the latter available in printed format school pupils, although these levels have not
education:
teachers,
or online for download from the Bundesbank’s been a focus of the Bank’s lectures in the past.
schoolchildren website. In target group terms, the programme
and students
mainly reaches out to teachers, trainee teach- Another group at which the Bundesbank’s
ers, schoolchildren and students of econom- range of economic education services is aimed
ics. That said, the learning resources, certain are students whose courses cover aspects of
lectures, and the Money Museum adjacent to monetary policy. Both students of econom-
the Bundesbank’s Central Office in Frankfurt ics-related subjects, and also those studying
am Main are available for use by the general economics as a non-core subject, such as law
public, too. students, normally need extra information and
also use the educational resources provided by
Main target Teachers are the main target group of the Bun- the Bundesbank.
group: teachers
desbank’s economic education activities, giv-Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
36
Economic education in an international context
and in the field of research
Much like the Bundesbank, many other central Financial Education (INFE) under the aegis of
banks offer educational materials that are spe- the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
cifically designed for use in a school classroom and Development (OECD). This network was es-
setting. Such services are provided by virtually tablished in 2008 and currently counts just un-
all Eurosystem central banks, including the Euro- der 100 public institutions from more than 70
pean Central Bank, as well as by the US Federal countries as full members. The INFE draws up
Reserve and the Swiss National Bank, for exam- international recommendations and guidelines
ple. The available materials range from comics to on financial education. Furthermore, the INFE
textbooks with worksheets, and include online coordinates international comparative studies to
games along with educational films accessible determine, for example, the level of financial lit-
via the internet. eracy in various countries.
While some other central banks are also active Questions relating to general knowledge about
in the area of financial literacy, the Bundesbank financial matters are also of relevance to the
has focused its range of educational media on field of economic research. This is the context in
conveying central bank knowledge. The Bundes- which the Bundesbank’s Research Centre ded-
bank does, nonetheless, monitor developments icates itself to this topic. The Bank’s Research
at both the national and international level in Centre investigates, for example, what relation-
the field of general financial education. In this ship exists between the level of financial literacy
connection, the Bundesbank – just like the Fed- and households’ investment and savings deci-
eral Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) – is sions.
a member of the International Network on
Economic education activities clude ministries of education and educational
performed by Central Office authorities, as well as teacher training institu-
tions. Germany has a very heterogeneous ed-
and Regional Offices
ucation system because education falls within
the remit of each state government. The decen-
Central Office Both the Bundesbank’s Central Office in Frank- tralised approach which the Bundesbank takes
plans and
coordinates
furt am Main and the Regional Offices are re- to its economic education activities means that
education sponsible for the Bank’s economic education it can make suitable allowances for the diverse
activities and
develops
activities. Central Office manages the strategic idiosyncrasies of each federal state when plan-
resources planning and coordination of education activi- ning and holding lectures and teacher training
ties and is responsible for developing and up- seminars. The Bank can therefore deliver events
dating educational resources and their quality that are tailored to suit the particular needs in a
assurance. Its tasks also include designing the specific region.
overarching public image for the Bundesbank’s
economic education activities and running the To support these activities, the Bundesbank’s Cooperation
with teacher
Money Museum, including the lecture service. Central Office and Regional Offices work with a training
large number of universities in the field of teach- institutions
Regional The Bundesbank’s nine Regional Offices plan, er training and cooperate with economic insti-
Offices organise
lectures and
design and run the lectures that form part of tutions. It has arrangements with universities in
network in their the Bank’s economic education services in their Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt, Kiel, Leipzig and Saar-
regions
local area. Their tasks notably include network- brücken, for example. In addition, it maintains
ing with schools, higher education institutions a wide range of contacts with teacher training
and educational establishments, which also in- institutions in the respective federal states.Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
37
Cooperation with teacher training institutions (selection)
– Akademie für Lehrerfortbildung und Personalführung, Dillingen an der Donau
– Akademie für Politische Bildung, Tutzing
– Landesinstitut für Lehrerbildung und Schulentwicklung (LI Hamburg)
– Institut für Lehrerfort- und -weiterbildung in Mainz und in Saarbrücken
– Institut für Qualitätsentwicklung an Schulen Schleswig-Holstein (IQSH)
– Landesakademie für Fortbildung und Personalentwicklung an Schulen, Esslingen
– Landesinstitut für Schulqualität und Lehrerbildung Sachsen-Anhalt (LISA)
– Multiplikatorennetzwerk ökonomische Bildung in Hessen
– Sächsische Bildungsagentur (SBA)
– Thüringer Institut für Lehrerfortbildung, Lehrplanentwicklung und Medien (Thillm)
Deutsche Bundesbank
Networking Another way in which the Bundesbank works they are also available to the general public.
with institutions
for economic
with other providers of education programmes The Bank’s flagship educational resource is
education and is by networking with the relevant institu- Geld und Geldpolitik (Money and monetary
teachers
tions for economic education. These include policy), a book aimed at pupils in upper sec-
the Institute for Economic Education (IÖB) ondary education. This cornerstone of the Bun-
in Oldenburg, the Center for Economic Edu- desbank’s work in economic education can be
cation (ZÖBIS) in Siegen and the Association traced back to previous publications that have
for Economic Education in Secondary Schools been undergoing continual improvement since
(VÖBAS), to name just a few. The Bundesbank 1970. The book teaches its readers about cash,
also boasts its very own stand at didacta, Ger- book money, banking and financial supervision,
many’s major annual education fair, to help European monetary policy and its institutions,
it stay in touch with teachers. What is more, and the international financial and monetary
the Bank showcases its economic education system. It explains the basics, provides histor-
programme at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book ical context and discusses more recent devel-
Fairs, as well as at a variety of consumer fairs. opments in the wake of the financial and sov-
Teachers can also sign up for the Bank’s reg- ereign debt crisis. In addition, each chapter is
ular newsletter to find out about the latest accompanied by teaching materials that can
economic education activities and upcoming be used in the classroom in conjunction with
events. the book. An online version of this book, which
tackles topics in greater depth and contains
links to other websites for further reading, is
Wide range of educational also available.
resources on offer
The resources available to lower secondary Resources for
lower secondary
“Geld und Geld- All the Bundesbank’s educational resources, schoolchildren currently comprise modular and primary
politik” – the
Bundesbank’s
be they in print or electronic format, are de- worksheets and factsheets on topics such as schools
flagship veloped and produced centrally. The offering money, monetary stability and monetary union,
economic
education
comprises resources that, for the most part, with even more resources scheduled for roll-
publication are specifically designed for use in schools. out in 2017. As for primary school pupils, the
The entire repertoire of resources can be found
on the Bundesbank’s website,1 meaning that 1 www.bundesbank.de/educationDeutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
38
Bank’s offering includes the publication Mein on the topic of price stability, which comprises
Euro – Spiel- und Rechengeld (My euro – play a film and supplementary teaching resources.
and counting money), which comes complete The film follows two young people who find
with worksheets. There is also a reading book themselves in situations where their lives are
entitled Dem Geld auf der Spur (All eyes on the directly affected not only by money and price
money trail). stability but also by monetary policy measures
undertaken by the Eurosystem. As well as in-
Additional In addition, the educational section of the cluding both a German and English-language
resources
available on
Bundesbank’s website is home to a variety version of the film, the media package includes
the website of statistical charts containing economic and a barrier-free version with an audio description
monetary policy data for use in the classroom. track. Produced in 2015, the media package
These include, for instance, charts on con- won the Comenius EduMedia Award, a pres-
sumer price inflation, exchange rate changes tigious prize for digital educational media
and policy rate developments. The charts are awarded by the Society for Pedagogy, Infor-
updated quarterly and can be downloaded di- mation and Media (GPI).
rectly from the website, so teachers can readily
incorporate them into their own teaching ma- Germany’s public broadcaster in the federal “Kinderfunk-
kolleg Geld”
terials. Teachers are also welcome to down- state of Hesse, Hessischer Rundfunk, also ranks in cooperation
load infographics featured in the Geld und among the Bundesbank’s cooperation part- with Hessischer
Rundfunk
Geldpolitik book, which provide a condensed ners. As part of the hr2 radio station’s “Kinder-
overview of various topics – the composition funkkolleg”, a course of audio lectures for chil-
of the ECB Governing Council being just one dren covering various topics, the two partners
example – and likewise put them straight to developed the 25-part series “Kohle, Cash und
use in a classroom setting. Pinkepinke” (Dosh, cash and dough) on various
money-related topics, which was broadcast
Yet another resource on the Bundesbank’s once a fortnight starting in October 2015 and
website is its extensive glossary, which contains was made starring children, for children. These
around 700 terms and acronyms from the field episodes are also available for download as
of central banking. Many glossary entries in- podcasts on a separate website, which, as well
clude links to related entries and in-depth Bun- as boasting a wide range of teaching materi-
desbank articles. als, is home to audio puzzles, reports on school
media projects and glossary entries.2
Animated edu Another resource that the Bundesbank’s web-
cational films
site uses to explain complex and abstract top-
shine light on
complex topics ics from the world of central banking as clearly Lectures and seminars
as possible are animated educational films, for
which a unique graphic concept was devel- Expanding on the Bundesbank’s diverse and Lectures form
second pillar of
oped. Furthermore, the website features inter- varied range of educational resources are its Bundesbank’s
active applications such as an inflation/defla- lectures and seminars, which form the second economic
education
tion calculator and a quiz. pillar of its economic education programme. programme
These events are offered nationwide and indi-
Media package Every now and then, the Bundesbank teams vidually tailored to each target audience’s re-
on price stability
produced with
up with other public sector institutions to pro- quirements, not least as a result of Germany’s
federal states’ duce educational resources. Working together education system differing from state to state.
media institute
with the FWU Institut für Film und Bild in Wis- The topics that these events should ideally cov-
senschaft und Unterricht, the joint educational er and the audience’s educational background
media institute for Germany’s federal states,
the Bundesbank developed a media package 2 www.kinderfunkkolleg-geld.deDeutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
39
The new Money Museum: a unique venue which makes
learning an experience
The Bundesbank established the Money After more than ten years of faithful ser-
Museum back in 1999 as a venue dedicat- vice, elements of the exhibition were slow-
ed to economic education. Its presentation ly beginning to show their age, not just in
of the topic of monetary policy and use terms of their content and design, but also
of an attractive repertoire of multimedia with regard to the technology. This prompt-
were so pioneering that it inspired a great ed the Bundesbank‘s Executive Board to
many other central banks to emulate these decide in 2011 that the Bank‘s Money
approaches. Since opening its doors, the Museum needed to be overhauled. In De-
Bundesbank‘s Money Museum has wel- cember 2013, following a public call for ten-
comed around 40,000 visitors a year, most ders, the Executive Board awarded a con-
of whom are schoolchildren. tract to Stuttgart-based museum planning
Photograph: Uwe NölkeDeutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
40
Photograph: Uwe Nölke
specialists Milla & Partner to design and world. Thematically, the exhibition does not
build an exhibition space that best imple- mirror the structure of the Bundesbank as
mented the Money Museum approach de- an institution but looks at money from the
veloped by the Bank‘s Directorate General vantage point of a central bank. It reflects
Economic Education. After three years of critically on a number of issues on the basis
intensive cooperation between Bundesbank of examples taken from history.
experts and more than a dozen external
firms, Bundesbank President Jens Weid- The Money Museum lets the general public
mann reopened the Money Museum, as learn and experience for themselves what
planned, on 16 December 2016. money and central banks stand for. Central
banking topics can be somewhat abstract,
The Money Museum invites visitors to learn so the exhibition makes them more ap-
the basics about money, its history and the proachable by embedding them in everyday
tasks and responsibilities of central banks. situations that visitors will probably encoun-
Its overriding message is the importance of ter in real life (for example, a bank branch,
stable money for the economy and socie- a supermarket or a bureau de change). In-
ty at large. In its new and revamped form, dividual display cases present topics specif-
the exhibition presents the Bundesbank as a ically for children. More than 40 interactive
central bank that, within the context of the media stations use playful approaches to
Eurosystem, performs essential tasks to safe- present exhibition content (including quiz-
guard the functional viability of money – na- zes, memory games and puzzles) and im-
tionally, throughout Europe and around the part more detailed knowledge.Deutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
41
Photograph: Uwe Nölke
Most of the exhibition is accessible to per- the entrance of each themed area is what
sons with disabilities. A conscious decision is known as a “supersign”, which offers a
was made to position wall captions, images “speed read” of the key issues and messag-
and graphics at different heights, and key es in each area. The museum boasts dedi-
statements are written in large, high-con- cated rooms (cabinets) which present indi-
trast type. There is an audio guide to the vidual topics in greater detail and provide
exhibition for the visually impaired, and the an immersive experience for visitors.
entire exhibition is captioned in German
and English. One of the exhibition‘s highlights is a 12.5
kilogramme bar of gold which visitors are
The exhibition is ideal for self-directed vis- permitted to touch and lift. At the heart of
its. By arrangement, visitors can enhance the exhibition tour lies a 360° cinema. Three
their museum experience by making use of films use stimulating and thought-provok-
educational services such as guided tours, ing elements to immerse visitors in different
discovery tours and workshops, and a lec- experiences and challenge them to reflect
ture service for school groups and students. on, question and discuss what they see.
Since its renovation, the Money Museum
now houses three lecture rooms for pres-
entations and discussions, as well as a mu-
seum education room.
The tour leads visitors through the four
themed areas: “Cash”, “Book money”,
“Monetary policy” and “Global money”. In
each one, the left-hand side of the outer
wall of the tour route explains the current
and general context and illustrates the
central bank‘s tasks in that particular field.
The interior wall, meanwhile, explores the
theme from a historical perspective. AtDeutsche Bundesbank
Annual Report 2016
42
are determined upfront. This format aims to Quality assurance
enable participants to pose questions and crit-
ically discuss topics. As well as taking place on The Bundesbank has measures in place to as- Internal
evaluation
Bundesbank premises, events are also hosted sure the quality of its economic education activ-
by external venues such as schools, universities ities. Working groups from the Regional Offices
and teacher training institutions. Teacher train- and Central Office prepare standardised pres-
ing seminars tend to last anywhere between entation slides on lecture topics for which de-
half a day and a full day, whereas events for mand is greatest. As well as making it possible
schoolchildren typically consist of a 90-minute to leverage synergies when preparing lectures,
talk, including time for discussion. Meanwhile, this approach also safeguards their professional
events for students are normally offered in con- quality, ensures that presentations have a con-
ventional formats such as lectures and semi- sistent look and guarantees that they are up-
nars spanning one or several days. dated on an ongoing basis. On top of this, all
lectures are evaluated internally by means of
High demand In 2016, total attendance figures across participant surveys, which enables speakers to
for lectures
more than 1,600 economic education events receive direct feedback from their audiences.
reached around 52,000. Now that the Mon-
ey Museum has reopened following its closure Evaluation specialists from Univation – Institut External
evaluation
for renovation, lectures will also resume at the für Evaluation Dr. Beywl & Associates GmbH
Bundesbank’s Central Office in 2017. As a re- assessed the range of economic education ser-
sult, it is safe to assume that total attendance vices offered by the Bundesbank at the end
figures at such events are likely to rise further. of 2015/start of 2016. This exercise set out to
explore whether the existing economic edu-
Further to the established lecture programme, cation services were properly tailored to their
Bundesbank President Dr Jens Weidmann has target groups, had the desired reach and met
been meeting with teachers from all over Ger- their outlined objectives. An external academic
many once a year since 2013 to exchange advisory committee made up of distinguished
views on current monetary policy issues and university lecturers from the field of economic
the manner in which they are taught in the education also played a role in the evaluation.
classroom. Dr Weidmann has also been regu-
larly meeting with schoolchildren in a similar This external evaluation concluded that the
format since 2014. Bank’s range of services should be maintained
and refined, affirming that the Bundesbank’s
Generation €uro Another of the Bundesbank’s tasks in the field economic education services are expedient,
Students’ Award
competition
of education is the coordination at the na- rated highly by the target groups and bear the
tional level of the Generation €uro Students’ hallmarks of the Bank’s expert status and neu-
Award competition, an initiative set up by the trality. It also confirmed that the programme
European Central Bank. In this competition, stood out on account of the high degree of ex-
teams of school pupils from euro-area coun- pertise provided, its up-to-date content and its
tries tackle questions on monetary policy. The real-world applicability. The reach of the Bank’s
German final of this competition is held at the economic education services and the extent to
Bundesbank’s Central Office, with the subse- which the respective target groups are familiar
quent European final being hosted by the Euro- with them were noted as points with potential
pean Central Bank. for further development. In addition, the pro-
vision of teaching and learning materials was
cited as another area with room for improve-
ment. There are plans to repeat this external
evaluation every five years.You can also read
