Options
How prior economic education influences beginning university students’ knowledge of economics
Happ, Roland; Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Olga; Förster, Manuel (2022): „How prior economic education influences beginning university students’ knowledge of economics“. Bamberg: Otto-Friedrich-Universität.
Publisher Information:
Year of publication:
2022
Pages:
Source/Other editions:
Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training,10 (2018), 5, S. 1-20, ISSN: 1877-6345, 1877-6337
Year of first publication:
2018
Language:
English
Abstract:
Background
When beginning higher education studies in business and economics students bring with them diverse knowledge and experience in the field, which could affect their success in the program. Differences in prior economic education pose challenges to the teachers in higher education as they have to decide which knowledge of economics the students have. This is important for preparing the lessons in higher education. In this paper, we investigate how prior economic education influences beginning university students’ knowledge of economics.
Methods
We administered items from the German adaptations of the test of economic literacy and the test of understanding college economics, both developed by the national council on economic education, to assess the general knowledge of economics and specific knowledge of micro- and macroeconomics of 511 beginning students at two universities in Germany.
Results
Participants who had completed vocational training or a course in economics as a major subject at secondary school (“Leistungskurs Wirtschaft”) performed significantly better on items relating to general economics and macroeconomics; however, there was no significant difference in performance on items relating to microeconomics between the comparison groups. Attendance of an upper secondary school specializing in economics (“Wirtschaftsgymnasium”) has no significant effect when controlling for these two learning opportunities and other personal characteristics. In addition, we performed regression-analytic modelling to examine the correlation between economic knowledge and personal factors such as gender, grade on university entrance examination, and migration background and found effects depended on the economic content area assessed.
Conclusions
The study demonstrates that there is a heterogeneity in students’ knowledge of economics when beginning higher education studies in business and economics. The results of this research highlight the importance of designing target-oriented teaching methods that take into consideration the study-relevant (prior) knowledge of beginning students.
When beginning higher education studies in business and economics students bring with them diverse knowledge and experience in the field, which could affect their success in the program. Differences in prior economic education pose challenges to the teachers in higher education as they have to decide which knowledge of economics the students have. This is important for preparing the lessons in higher education. In this paper, we investigate how prior economic education influences beginning university students’ knowledge of economics.
Methods
We administered items from the German adaptations of the test of economic literacy and the test of understanding college economics, both developed by the national council on economic education, to assess the general knowledge of economics and specific knowledge of micro- and macroeconomics of 511 beginning students at two universities in Germany.
Results
Participants who had completed vocational training or a course in economics as a major subject at secondary school (“Leistungskurs Wirtschaft”) performed significantly better on items relating to general economics and macroeconomics; however, there was no significant difference in performance on items relating to microeconomics between the comparison groups. Attendance of an upper secondary school specializing in economics (“Wirtschaftsgymnasium”) has no significant effect when controlling for these two learning opportunities and other personal characteristics. In addition, we performed regression-analytic modelling to examine the correlation between economic knowledge and personal factors such as gender, grade on university entrance examination, and migration background and found effects depended on the economic content area assessed.
Conclusions
The study demonstrates that there is a heterogeneity in students’ knowledge of economics when beginning higher education studies in business and economics. The results of this research highlight the importance of designing target-oriented teaching methods that take into consideration the study-relevant (prior) knowledge of beginning students.
GND Keywords: ; ; ; ;
Studienanfänger
Schulische Vorbildung
Ökonomische Bildung
Hochschulökonomie
Berufsausbildung
Keywords: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
vocational training
course in economics as a major subject
upper secondary school specializing in economics
prior economic education
business and economics
test of economic literacy
test of understanding college economics
heterogeneity
beginning university students
DDC Classification:
RVK Classification:
Type:
Article
published:
May 27, 2022
Permalink
https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/53935