This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the multimedia-assisted Problem Based Learning model and digital simulation on students' critical thinking skills. This is a quantitative quasi-experimental study, with a pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. The population consisted of 431 tenth-grade students at SMA N 3 Semarang, and the sample consisted of 72 students. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Data collection methods included pretest and posttest, student questionnaires that had been tested for validity using SPSS Version 31, and observation sheets. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, and N-Gain test. The results showed that the use of PBL assisted by digital simulation was more effective than the use of PBL assisted by interactive multimedia. This was seen from the average posttest results in the experimental class, which was 79.03, while in the control class it was 74.22. Then, the N-Gain test score for the control class was 49.94 or 50%, which was categorized as ineffective. Meanwhile, the N-Gain of the experimental class was 61.50 or 62%, which is classified as moderately effective. Researchers are expected to further expand the learning model used according to needs and conditions and select learning media that are interesting but also suitable for learning activities.
Using American Community Survey microdata, the authors of this study explore college graduates' occupations by major, focusing on the economics major. They identify the most common occupations for mid-career workers whose highest degree is a bachelor's degree and report median income by occupation. They also study industries where economics majors are employed and find 54.6 percent work in one of four industries: finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; and retail trade. Finally, they replicate and extend previous findings on average earnings by major and confirm that economics is a top-10 high-earning major, with one of the highest self-employment rates among all majors, and that rankings by average income are insensitive to whether income is measured using total income or wage income alone.
Economic literacy has extensive consequences for savings, investments, and financial well-being. Several studies report a gender difference favoring males, posing a threat to gender equality. However, evidence addressing factors underlying the gender gap is inconsistent. Using a representative sample of German high school students (N = 1,958), the authors investigate gender differences in economic literacy and potential explanatory factors. Results confirm a substantial gender gap favoring boys (0.25 SD). Regression and decomposition analyses reveal math ability and interest in economics as important drivers for the gap. Confidence and risk aversion also contribute, while most socialization variables show little relevance. Controlling for effort increases the gap, suggesting previous studies may have underestimated it. This study provides implications for policy interventions to mitigate the gender gap in economic literacy.
Integrating research and teaching in higher education remains both a challenge and a priority. Although evidence in economics suggests a negative correlation between research quality and student satisfaction, embedding research-led activities within the curriculum may enhance student motivation and engagement. The authors of this study implement a dedicated Instagram account as a supplementary resource across four undergraduate courses at two universities. The initiative aimed to introduce research-led teaching practices, increase student engagement, and connect academic content to students' everyday experiences. The findings indicate a positive association between student interaction with the account and academic outcomes, including relative performance, final grades, and course completion. These effects were particularly pronounced among students with specific learning difficulties, suggesting that social media may support more inclusive teaching practices.
The number of undergraduate economics degrees awarded by United States colleges and universities stagnated from 2010 through 2013. Growth accelerated in 2014, rising 25 percent over the next five years, but then abruptly stopped. From 2018 through 2023, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded declined annually, losing 11 percent over the period. The decline ended in 2024, and has been followed by a 4 percent rise in 2025.
Utilizing a sample of 562 economics instructors across 416 public colleges in 34 states during the 2023 academic year, the authors address a notable gap in the literature by examining the labor market for full-time economics faculty within public Associate of Arts (AA)-granting institutions in the United States. Descriptive regression analysis indicates significant positive returns to holding a PhD and negative returns to holding an MBA relative to an MA. For the subsample with available seniority data, holding a PhD, additional years of seniority, higher teaching loads, and journal publications are positively associated with salaries. Although AA faculty's primary focus is on teaching, a small share engage in research, consistent with patterns observed at liberal arts colleges and among clinical teaching faculty.
The authors describe a new, low-cost approach to increasing content relevance and student engagement in Principles of Microeconomics by organizing classes around cohesive themes. While continuing to teach standard introductory material, a themed approach uses supplementary readings, assignments, and examples related to specific topics throughout the semester. University of Richmond instructors piloted themed sections for Principles of Microeconomics in fall 2022 and spring 2023 on crime, inequality, and dating. The authors provide an overview of the themed approach, including the institutional environment in which it was implemented, examples of how the themes relate to economic principles, and instructor and student perceptions of the benefits and difficulties of themed classes. A general framework and guidance for other instructors to use when implementing themes is also included.
The research in this article examines a "Data Fest" approach that combines big data and social issues with a collaborative and community-engaged event. The authors describe Data Fest and present quantitative and qualitative analyses from three years of pre- and post-survey data collected at Data Fest events. Changes from pre- to post-surveys suggest Data Fest was associated with increased economic analysis skills, an increased sense that econometrics was relevant to real-world issues, a greater growth (rather than fixed) mindset toward learning economics, and enhanced confidence. Student narratives illustrate the importance of a fun and supportive environment as well as the accountability to a community stakeholder.
The Council for Economic Education released the third version of the National Content Standards in K-12 Economics in 2025. The third edition is a wholesale reorganization of the previous version. While the content of the standards remains true to the past versions, the reorganization has resulted in standards that look more like a course as opposed to a collection of concepts. The addition of a new standard on technology, the introduction of a dedicated international standard, an update of monetary policy content, and the inclusion of new concepts like network effects provide a needed update to the content of the standards.
Students often struggle to learn the prisoner's dilemma (PD) game concepts. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of an in-class PD game in enhancing students' comprehension of dominant strategy and Nash equilibrium. The author's research gathers data from students enrolled in principles of microeconomics at a community college from spring 2022 to fall 2023. Regression results demonstrate that, ceteris paribus, students in sections randomly assigned to participate in the PD game outperform their unassigned counterparts in their performance on a pop quiz.
The authors of this article demonstrate how Hazlett's (1996) adaptation of the Lucas Islands model can be integrated into an intermediate macroeconomics course to strengthen student learning. In the classroom game, students act as workers making labor supply decisions under imperfect information about the aggregate price level, thus generating real-time data on forecasts and labor choices. A structured post-game lecture then uses these data to show how individual price-expectation errors produce a short-run supply relationship consistent with the Lucas supply curve. The instructor can use these results to connect theoretical predictions with empirical testing. The authors argue that this interactive approach is associated with greater confidence in macroeconomic modeling and self-reported understanding of theory while enhancing engagement with both theoretical and empirical aspects of macroeconomics.
This article's authors present a novel, easy-to-use lesson plan for the first day of class. Designed for small to large introductory-level economics courses, the lesson plan describes two primary activities: asking students about their understanding of economics within an active learning framework and having them work in groups to research current economists. This lesson plan offers an efficient way for undergraduate students to gain a better understanding of potential topics of study within economics on the first day and connect with their classmates. This brief intervention may help improve diversity in economics by informing students about the field of economics, showcasing a variety of role models, and giving students the opportunity to begin to make connections with their instructors and classmates on the first day.
The landscape of U.S. economics departments has shifted to include teaching-track faculty alongside traditional academic roles. The authors present findings from a comprehensive national survey of teaching-track faculty across public and private universities, as well as liberal arts colleges, offering valuable insights into backgrounds, motivations, and experiences of individuals in these positions, shedding light on work responsibilities, time allocation among teaching, research, and service, and other aspects of their roles. Additionally, responses to Likert-style and open-ended questions provide deeper understanding of perceptions regarding diversity and inclusion efforts, the impact of student mental health concerns, and overall job satisfaction. The analysis explores potential variations in measures by gender and institution type, culminating in salary regression analyses that investigate factors contributing to salary disparities across these subgroups.
The author of this article uses demand-and-supply diagrams to study a production economy with a num & eacute;raire, providing elementary proofs to fundamental economic results. He demonstrates that the competitive outcome lies within the core of the economy's market game and illustrates core convergence to the competitive equilibrium when the market thickens. He further explains the impossibility of efficient trade under private preferences and incentive constraints. His graphical approach makes economic theory more accessible and unified for learning and teaching.
Immigration is a topic of great concern in public opinion, but there is extremely limited analysis of how to teach it at the post-secondary level. The authors of this article developed a lesson plan to explain this topic in an upper-level labor economics class, using Fink's categories of significant learning, building on students' individual experiences to develop theoretical understanding, data literacy, and awareness of normative analysis. The plan includes reflection on personal histories, data analysis, role-playing, and debating activities. This approach can be implemented in other economics courses with the goal of increasing relevance, inclusiveness, and students' sense of "belonging" in the discipline.
The authors of this article discuss ideas for incorporating the study of happiness and other measures of self-reported or subjective well-being (SWB) into undergraduate economics courses. They begin by motivating why economics students would benefit from learning about SWB, and then proceed to provide examples of ways to introduce this topic into different parts of the curriculum: macroeconomics, microeconomics, and upper-division electives.
Economic education research has taught us a considerable amount about pedagogy and student learning, but much of what we know comes from studies and experiments run at single institutions in classes taught by just one or two instructors. As a result, educators must contend with two major drawbacks in most studies: low statistical precision and limited generalizability. Multi-site coordinated experiments are a way forward in pushing the boundaries of knowledge in education and pedagogy, but such studies encounter recruitment and coordination challenges. The authors of this article discuss the Economic Education Network for Experiments (EENE), a new organization dedicated to overcoming these challenges and building a sustainable and thriving community of economic education researchers from around the world working on large-scale collaborative projects.
This article's authors describe a multi-year survey project designed to investigate relevance, belonging, and growth mindset (RBG) in undergraduate economics classrooms as well as to advance the ongoing conversation about increasing gender and racial diversity in economics. This endeavor is motivated by the idea that change at scale will require learning from identity-focused institutions-including women's colleges and minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The project encouraged capacity building at MSIs with a mini-conference of participating schools to spur shared learning. Faculty from a variety of schools met for a deep dive into the data with the expectation that networking and collaboration would yield insights for improving inclusion in economics. This work illustrates how to engage faculty serving a wide array of students in improving economic education.
Although the "credibility revolution" in economics has incentivized research focused on estimating causality, many scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) researchers have not adopted econometrics methods aimed at identifying causal effects. After providing a general overview of the types of studies often conducted in economic education research, the author of this article describes several causal estimators that SOTL researchers might consider, including difference in differences, regression-discontinuity, and instrumental variables. The discussion also highlights how researchers should carefully select treatment and comparison groups, use estimators appropriate to their setting, and engage in robustness checks of their results.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have become an essential tool for economists. The credibility revolution in empirical economics emphasizes research designs that identify causal effects, and random treatment assignment is seen as the gold standard. Implementation can, however, be a challenge in many applications. The field of economic education is uniquely positioned to learn from RCTs, given the ability to test interventions in the classroom or at educational institutions. We discuss what is needed to run an RCT effectively in an educational setting, drawing from the experimental literature on topics such as student success in higher education and diversity in undergraduate economics. They additionally outline quasi-experimental approaches that can be used when treatment cannot be randomized.
