Between regulation and instruction: a cross-linguistic comparison of Swiss grammar school curricula exemplified by the subject “economics and law”

Abstract

Due to the federal education system in Switzerland, grammar schools’ curricula differ between cantons and even between schools. Such differences may become apparent in a curriculum analysis regarding a specific subject, in our case “economics and law”. This study focuses on economic education and compares curricular content between subject types and across language regions. We compiled a representative dataset and qualitatively analysed subject content in these curricula by a multidisciplinary coding system. The results show that the curricula of the introductory subject are heterogeneous and those of the major subject are rather homogeneous. In the German-language curricula the two subfields of “economics” and “business administration” are equally weighted, whereas in the Roman-language curricula, “economics” is more dominant. We conclude that the so-called “variants of a capitalist spirit” become evident across language regions and are reflected in grammar school curricula. Furthermore, schools use various conceptions of economic education, especially in the introductory subject. Our findings on cultural differences in economic education may be fruitful for curriculum analysis in other subjects and for future curriculum design.