ARTICLE
26 October 2026

Research on the Teaching Reform and Optimization of University Economic History Courses Under the Background of New Liberal Arts and Digital Economy

Ying He1*
Show Less
1 School of Economics and Management, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai 201701, China
erd 2026 , 8(9), 88–94; https://doi.org/10.26689/erd.v8i9.15868
© 2026 by the Author(s). Licensee: Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty Ltd, Australia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The in-depth advancement of new liberal arts construction and the comprehensive penetration of the digital economy have reshaped economic operation modes and industrial development forms, putting forward new standards for the cultivation of compound and innovative talents in economics and management in universities. Traditional economic history courses are confronted with many problems, including solidified teaching modes, lagging content updates, superficial integration of digital technologies, insufficient practical teaching, and utilitarian evaluation mechanisms, which fail to meet the talent cultivation demands of the new era. Based on the interdisciplinary, digital, and practical educational concepts of new liberal arts and combined with the digital transformation trend of university education, this paper systematically sorts out the core dilemmas and underlying causes of current economic history teaching. From four dimensions of curriculum content iteration, intelligent teaching innovation, practical teaching system improvement, and diversified evaluation reconstruction, a feasible teaching optimization system is constructed. This study promotes the in-depth integration of professional theories, digital technologies and industrial practice, and resolves the disconnection between classroom teaching, disciplinary innovation and industrial upgrading. The research results can effectively improve the teaching quality of economic history courses, optimize the talent cultivation system for economics majors, and provide theoretical and practical references for the digital transformation of humanities and social science courses in universities.

Keywords
University education
Economic history course
Teaching innovation
New liberal arts
Digital economy
References

[1]   Zhang GP, Wang KT, Shi Y, 2022, Analysis of the “Four-in-One and Four-Dimensional Integration” Compound Talent Cultivation Mode of New Business Education. China Higher Education, (11): 50–52.

[2]   Jones M, 2020, Research on Theoretical Integration and Content Innovation in Economic History Teaching. History and Education Review, 8(4): 45–52.

[3]   Mokyr J, 2021, Historical Evolution Logic and Educational Enlightenment of Modern Digital Economy. The Journal of Economic History, 81(3): 789–812.

[4]   Brown G, 2020, Interdisciplinary Teaching Reform of Social Science Courses in Contemporary Universities. Journal of Higher Education, 10(4): 112–120.

[5]   Van Zanden JL, 2021, Transformation and Reform of Economic History Research in the Digital Age. European Review of Economic History, 25(2): 310–325.

[6]   Zhao CY, Wang L, Cao H, 2025, Constructing Economics Curriculum System Under the Background of Intelligent Digitalization. China Education Daily, 01-16(08).

[7]   Freedman R, 2021, The Educational Value of Economic History in Modern Economics Teaching. Journal of Economic Education, 50(2): 134–142.

[8]   Smith K, 2022, Digital Teaching Innovation and Classroom Interaction Optimization of Social Science Courses in Universities. Educational Technology Research, 42(8): 156–163.

[9]   Wang YY, Zhu T, Zheng YH, 2023, Intelligent Educational Products Boosting the Digital Transformation of Education: Value Orientation, Practical Logic and Promotion Strategies. Modern Educational Technology, 33(7): 16–24.

[10] Gray S, 2021, Research on Practical Teaching and Talent Cultivation of Applied Economics Courses. Journal of Applied Education, 39(6): 201–208.

[11] Hao Q, 2024, Research on Talent Cultivation Mode of Economic and Management Majors from the Perspective of Industry-Education Integration. Logistics Engineering and Management, 46(7): 105–108.

[12] Xie H, Lv J, Xue SY, 2023, Research on the Assessment System Construction of Humanities Courses Under the Blended Teaching Mode. Innovation Education Research, 11(10): 3020–3025.

[13] Zhu JT, Xie YH, 2023, Construction of Teaching Innovation Evaluation System for University Courses Under the Background of “Double First-Class” Construction. Journal of Continuing Higher Education, (4): 70–75.

[14] Cui XP, Zhang HQ, Du YX, Qian JM, Su W, 2022, Research on the Construction of University Smart Classroom Teaching Mode from the Perspective of Deep Learning. Digital Education, (3): 34–41.

[15] Miao YJ, Zheng JX, 2025, Research and Practice on the Training Mode of Applied Talents in Economics and Management Majors. Foreign Economic Relations & Trade, (04): 145–148.

Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Share
Back to top