The birth of the subject of economics in pre-university education took place in 1863. In that year the subject of staathuishoudkunde, as economics was then called in the Netherlands, emerged on the timetable of a new school type offering pre-university education: the Hogere Burgerschool. This study traces the heady events surrounding the subject of economics, starting in 1863 and focusing on the intrinsic development of the subject. The guiding principle of the study is constituted by three possible educational ideals: economics education may have as its purpose to provide an introduction to the economic science, it may want to prepare students for future participation in society, or it may try to stay close to the student by taking their experiences and questions as a starting point. The study takes place on two levels, on that of the discussions on the subject of economics, and on that of actual economics education itself. Discussions on the subject reveal an initial scepticism which is overcome only with difficulty around the year 1930. Noteworthy is the fierce battle about what direction to go in, which broke out in 1975, and may be interpreted as a conflict between educational ideals. As far as actual economics education is concerned, the main focus shall lie on the leading teaching methods for economics. They form the sole available source for the entire 150-year period of analysis. Research into teaching methods concentrates on the question what (combination of) educational ideal(s) is/are characteristic for the teaching methods from a certain period.