James N. Wetzel

Linking Teacher and Student Learning Styles with Student Achievement and Attitudes

The authors present an innovative model for economic education research on teaching methods at the university level. The results suggest that student achievement and attitudes toward economics might be improved by a better match between the teaching style of instructors and the learning style of students.

Factors affecting student retention probabilities: A case study

A comprehensive model of retention based on Tinto’s goal commitment and institutional commitment combined with financial considerations is evaluated for the case of an urban public university enrolling large numbers of non-traditional students. The model was evaluated using data from all freshman and sophomore students over the years 1989–1992. White and minority students were also analyzed separately to determine if there were different sensitivities to various enrollment factors. Academic and social integration factors were found to be the most significant factors in persistence in these years. Financial considerations were of less importance in the persistence decision.

A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THE FREQUENCY OF PART-TIME ENROLLMENT AND THE PERSISTENCE OF STUDENTS WHO ENROLL PART TIME

Longitudinal data from the 1990/94 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey is used to evaluate the frequency of part-time enrollment and the persistence of students who ever enroll part time. We find that part-time enrollment is twice as common as cross-sectional estimates indicate, with between 40% 50% of the student population attending part time during at least one nonsummer term within 5 years of their initial enrollment. In total, between 52% 62% of the sample either stops out for a term or enrolls part time. The persistence of this nonstereotypical population is surprisingly high, with between 40% 60% still enrolled or graduated within a 5-year period. By comparison, 60% of those who always attend full time and never stop-out persist. These figures suggest that policymakers should direct more attention to those enrolled part time.

An Analysis of Student Enrollment Demand.

Abstract This paper analyzes the sensitivity of white and black enrollment yields to changes in real net cost at a large (21,000), urban, public university over a six year time period (1988–1993). Estimation is by GLS random effects and controls for a number of financial, academic, and qualitative variables. The major conclusion is that, while enrollment yields are generally insensitive to changes in net cost, sensitivity for blacks is roughly two-thirds higher than for whites. This would suggest that since minority students have been responding positively to financial aid, cuts in grant funding by state legislators or Congress may restrict minority access to higher education in the future. [ JEL I21]

The Influence of Learning and Teaching Styles on Student Attitudes and Achievement in the Introductory Economics Course: A Case Study.

Research on the impact of learning style preferences is very rare in economic education. This article reports the results of a project in which the students preferred learning style and the instructors teaching style were included as variables in a regression model. Those favoring independent styles achieved significantly more than students favoring dependent styles. Changes in student attitudes towards economics were also taken into account. The researchers assert that the addition of these variables also “greatly increases the power of the model to explain variation in student achievement and attitudes concerning economics.”

Estimating the benefits of recreation under conditions of congestion

Abstract The public provisions of free or below cost outdoor recreation sites has resulted in the use of various methods to evaluate the demand. One method is to use travel cost as a price proxy. However, this mechanism does not take into account problems raised by congestion. This paper shows that the use of the travel cost method will always underestimate the true benefits provided by recreation at a site because of the role of congestion. The results are important because they identify a source of bias in measuring benefits of outdoor recreation and suggest how it may be corrected.

The Important Learning Dimensions in the School of Business: A Survey of Students and Faculty

Abstract A 23-question instrument was administered to 155 undergraduate business students and 40 business faculty members at Virginia Commonwealth University during the fall 1998 semester. The purpose of this study was to determine the similarities and differences in attitudes of the two populations on factors that influence student learning. The results showed that the two groups had similar opinions about the major factors that affect learning. Professors and students both felt that the professor provided a major input in the learning process of students. The important learning dimensions included the delivery of the material, which translates into (a) presentation clarity, (b) enthusiasm for teaching, and (c) fairness and quality of the exams.

Measuring Student Scholastic Effort: An Economic Theory of Learning Approach.

Wetzel asserts that “… using levels of achievement as the dependent variable may miss the major benefits of a particular teaching method, namely less effort and time spent studying economics and additional leisure time …” He then discusses the McKenzie-Staaf model, which is derived from the work-leisure model of wage theory, and asks if it is possible to construct an “effort variable.” Wetzels paper reports the results of an attempt to develop an “effort variable” and examine its relationship to certain student characteristics. In fact, three different “effort variables” were constructed and tested. Both the results and the techniques employed should be of interest to all economic education researchers.

A qualitative response model of student performance on a standardized test

SummaryA national sample of high school students who took the Test of Economic Literacy was analyzed by the use of probit analysis and OLS to determine what factors influence high levels of performance on an achievement test. The statistically significant factors were combined SAT scores, the teachers course work in the subject matter, whether the teacher has a high degree of enthusiasm toward the teaching of the subject, and, for students who scored over 30 on the TEL, whether the student does more than two hours of homework a night.

Scholastic Effort: An Empirical Test of Student Choice Models.

A measure of student effort based on time and the efficiency of its use was found to be significant in several learning models. The report discusses variations of a generalized learning model, different definitions of student input, and the use of pre-TUCE scores as a variable. The authors ask whether the pre-TUCE is more appropriate as a measure of economic knowledge or as a proxy for student aptitude. The findings and methodology should be of considerable interest to others doing research on student effort.