Open AccessWhat Matters In Economics Teaching And Learning? A Case Study Of An Introductory Macroeconomics Course In South Africa
Author(s) -
Jen Snowball,
Magda Wilson
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of college teaching and learning/journal of college teaching and learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2157-894X
pISSN - 1544-0389
DOI - 10.19030/tlc.v3i11.1659
Subject(s) - attendance , course (navigation) , mathematics education , face (sociological concept) , quality (philosophy) , economics education , psychology , economics , macroeconomics , sociology , economic growth , social science , primary education , engineering , epistemology , philosophy , aerospace engineering
In many universities, economics lecturers now face the challenge of dealing with large, diverse classes, especially at undergraduate level. A common concern is the non-attendance at lectures of unmotivated (conscript) students. Poor lecture quality, as reflected in student evaluations of teaching (SETs), is often blamed for lack of attendance and consequent poor performance. This paper presents the results of a student assessment of a macroeconomics 1 course, coupled with a self-assessment of their own input into the course. The results obtained, using econometric models, suggest that students inputs and attitudes to the course are equally, or more, important than lecture attendance itself.