A paradigm for learning economic concepts based on cognitive development and learning theory is offered as a guideline for teaching and research. Discussion is divided into two sections. The first section establishes the model's theoretical framework, which is based on two propositions. The first of these is that economic knowledge is not a fixed…

This final report on the inservice education of secondary science teachers for the teaching of science via Science Technology Society (STS) materials lists the major objectives of the project as: (1) write four instructional modules with a science, society and technology focus which address special concerns and needs of the underserved and…

Reports on a national survey of 207 undergraduate economics instructors. Although the lecture method still dominates, many instructors noted that they had integrated more participatory activities such as class discussions, group activities, and instructor questions into their instruction. Includes statistical tables showing characteristics and…

Describes an innovative instructional technique for teaching the economic analysis of public policies. Teams of four to six students with different skills and different tasks work together as economic decision making units in a series of instructional simulations. Discusses implementation, activities, and assessment. (MJP)

Reports on a study of introductory college economics textbooks on the quality and quantity of coverage of the economic status of women and minorities. Finds that textbooks still have a tendency to exclude women and minorities from the general discussion and disguise the multiplicity of explanations for observed differences. (CFR)

Utilizes two-dimensional price and output graphs to demonstrate the way that the price-level elasticity of aggregate demand affects alternative monetary policy rules designed to cope with random aggregate supply shocks. Includes graphs illustrating price-level, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), nominal GDP, and nominal money supply targeting.…

The basic measurement topics of reliability, validity, and norms as they apply to the major norm-referenced cognitive and affective instruments in economics education are discussed to provide researchers with a framework for judging technical quality. Because the topic of measurement is neglected or given improper treatment in much research work…

Maintains that there is an inconsistency in the regression analysis of the data presented in Maureen J. Lage and Michael Treglia's 1996 article, "The Impact of Integrating Scholarship on Women into Introductory Economics." The authors admit the error, correct it, and report no difference in their original conclusions. (MJP)

Uses test questions from the Basic Economics Test (BET) to reveal that elementary students are capable of understanding economics concepts. Maintains that neither ethnic background nor parental income makes a difference in economic learning. The most statistically significant determinant of improved scores was the extent to which a concept was…

Presents an annotated bibliography intended to inform nonspecialists of microeconomic research in poor countries. Six areas of research are discussed: household economics, health/nutrition and income, poverty measurement and analysis, agrarian technological change and labor markets. The section on labor markets also discusses saving, credit, and…

Illustrates how, using introductory-level microeconomic models, an instructor can show various economic theorists' explanations of short run employment and output fluctuations. Identifies the competing schools of thought as old Keynesian, new Keynesian, and new Classical (which includes real business cycle theorists). Includes illustrative graphs…

Maintains that most graduate-level economics textbooks rarely mention the need for consumers to be above their minimum wealth position as a condition for market equilibrium. Argues that this omission leaves students with a mistaken sense about the range of circumstances under which market equilibria can exist. (MJP)

Articulates five phases of integrating women's studies issues into a traditional curriculum. Examines the impact of integrating phase three, applying accepted economic theory to the realm of women, in an undergraduate introductory economics course. Includes a curriculum comparison of traditional and gender-inclusive courses. (MJP)

Rectifies the unsatisfactory textbook treatment of the finite-sample proprieties of estimators of regression models with a lagged dependent variable and autocorrelated disturbances. Maintains that the bias of the ordinary least squares estimator is determined by the dynamic and correlation effects. (MJP)

Asserts that the primary goal of economics education is to help students understand the economic world around them and make more informed personal and social decisions. Reviews comparative studies of economic education and student achievement in the United States, Japan, Germany, Austria, Australia, and the United Kingdom. (CFR)