Broadening Perceptions of Economics in a New Introductory Economics Sequence
41 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2020
Date Written: August 2020
Abstract
We report on a comprehensive curricular reform aimed at communicating to students early in their study of economics the broad range of social issues that economists study while engaging them in active learning strategies. Overall, we find that the curricular reform increased interest in taking additional economics courses and majoring in economics, broadened students’ views of what economists do, imparted more content to students, but did not have a differential impact on interest in majoring in economics of female students, students of color, or first generation college students. A curriculum that engages students in empirical work on important social issues early in the major appeals to all students, resulting in more majors from both under and overrepresented groups, but generating little impact on the percentage of students who major in economics from underrepresented groups.
Keywords: active learning, perceptions of economics, underrepresented students
JEL Classification: A22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation