Browsing by Subject "economics education"

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    Developments in the production of economics PhDs at four research-intensive universities in South Africa
    (2017) de Jager, Phillip; Frick, Liezel; van der Spuy, Pieter
    AbstractThere is a national drive to increase PhD production, yet we know little about how this imperative takes shape within different disciplines. We therefore set out to explore recent developments and the current status of the PhD in economics at four South African research-intensive universities. A data set of all economics PhDs produced in these commerce faculties during the period 2008–2014 was analysed to determine whether the departments of economics responded to the call for increased doctoral production, and the role the PhD by publication might have played in the process. How an increase in quantity might influence doctoral education in the respective academic departments was also considered by supplementing the quantitative data with perspectives from heads of department at the four institutions. The notable increase in doctoral production over the time period studied shows that national and international trends have influenced doctoral education in economics departments within South African research-intensive universities. Increased usage of the PhD by publication has implications for policy and pedagogical practice within these departments, especially as there seems to be limited available supervisory capacity. Other changes in departmental practices, such as the entrenchment of a research culture and the promotion of collaborative research amongst students and staff, also contributed to maintain quality in doctoral education.
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    Open Access
    Measuring the impact of educational interventions on the academic performance of black academic development students
    (Southern African Comparative and History of Education Society, 2012) Smith, Leonard
    This article uses statistical analysis to estimate the impact of educational interventions in the first and second-year microeconomics courses on black academic development students' examination and final course marks. The results suggest that the educational interventions in the first and second years had a positive impact on the academic performance of the academic development cohorts, relative to a comparable group of mainstream students, in both the first and second-year courses. The results imply that the impact of interventions is more pronounced in respect of black students, and that the determinants of academic performance differ for black students relative to the student body as a whole. Finally, the implications of the results for education policy and research are considered.