An Approach to Testing the Effectiveness of the Teaching and Learning of Economics in High School

Does Lecture Attendance Matter? Some Observations From a First‐year Economics Course at the University of Cape Town

“…Using a continuous age variable (age at the start of the academic year), a strong positive relationship between age and performance in ECO110F MCQs was found. This is in agreement with international experience (Myatt and Waddell, 1990 and Anderson et al, 1994). (iv) Matric subjects.…”

“…The impact of verbal and writing abilities is less clear, with Myatt and Waddell (1990) finding a significant positive relationship, and Williams, et al (1992), Anderson, et al (1994) and Edwards (2000) finding an insignificant relationship. A growing international consensus is developing that economics as a subject at high school increases a student's performance in introductory economics at university level (Lumsden and Scott, 1987; Myatt and Waddell, 1990;Brasfield, et al, 1993; Durden and Ellis, 1995). Before 1990 most studies concluded that completion of economics at high school is at best irrelevant, and at worst, harmful, in its effect on students' performance in university economics courses (Brasfield, et al, 1993).…”

“…With few exceptions the literature indicates that school grades (aggregate of all subjects) and ability in mathematics are the most important determinants of success (Anderson, et al, 1994; Durden and Ellis, 1995;and Edwards, 2000). The impact of verbal and writing abilities is less clear, with Myatt and Waddell (1990) finding a significant positive relationship, and Williams, et al (1992), Anderson, et al (1994) and Edwards (2000) finding an insignificant relationship. A growing international consensus is developing that economics as a subject at high school increases a student's performance in introductory economics at university level (Lumsden and Scott, 1987; Myatt and Waddell, 1990;Brasfield, et al, 1993; Durden and Ellis, 1995).…”

“…An issue that has generated much research is the perceived differences in performance between different ethnic groups, and, more importantly, between males and females. Despite controlling for other factors, many studies find that female students perform significantly worse in economics than male students (Siegfried, 1979;Heath, 1989;Myatt and Waddell, 1990;Evans, 1992;Anderson et al, 1994), and are less likely to proceed with more advanced courses in economics than male students (Horvath et al, 1992). This is often ascribed to the weight that is placed on multiplechoice type questions as the preferred testing mechanism in introductory economics (Siegfried, 1979;Lumsden and Scott, 1987), the lack of female role models (Rask and Bailey, 2002), and the fact that the subject is presented in a "female-unfriendly" manner (Ferber, 1984;and Feiner, 1993).…”

The Effect of Student Characteristics on Achievement in Introductory Microeconomics in South Africa

“…Studies that find prior exposure to economics an advantage include Attiyeh and Lumsden (1972) and Myatt and Waddell (1990). In the latter, principles students who had taken high school economics did better, but there was no significant benefit at intermediate level.…”