As Finnish university admissions are reformed, more information is needed on the relationship between performance in prior education and later academic achievement. Transition to university is a critical period, and low performance in prior education is associated with challenges in later study. In the present study, law students' (n = 426)…

This study sought to examine the nature and dimensions of prior knowledge among undergraduates in an economics course at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). A total of 22 law and 55 economics students enrolled in two economics courses were given a 154-item domain-specific knowledge test, which was then analyzed independently by three…

This study sought to determine the effects of prior knowledge on the achievement of undergraduates in an economics course at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). A total the four law and seven economics students were given four instruments to test prior knowledge of economics, presented with a learning unit from the course "Economics…

This paper reports an investigation that was done ex post facto, examining the hypothesis that within economics courses defined economics students achieved better results than did law students in the same courses. This should not be the case if the courses are truly multifunctional. Information on an economics and money course and a course on the…