This thesis reports on a research program to study learning in economics utilising non-traditional research methodology. The study aimed to achieve four inter-related objectives. Research in other disciplines (Meyer and Cleary, 1998; Meyer and Eley, 1999; Eley and Meyer, 2004) show that there are important factors influencing learning that are unique to the discourse of a discipline. The first objective of this study was to construct an instrument that captured students' cognitive ability that was specific to learning in economics. The psychometric properties and validity of this construct (called economic thinking ability), and the influence of students' pre-course economic thinking on their learning approaches and academic performance were investigated. Traditional economics education research typically utilises a single end-of-semester score as a measure of learning output. This research program utilised multiple measures of academic performance. By investigating the determinants of academic performance in three assessment types commonly used in introductory economics, namely essay assignment, multiple choice question (MCQ) exam and exam essay, it examined the limitations of the traditional single-score approach. Most traditional input-output learning models in economics education bypass the learning 'black box' (Shanahan et al., 1997), which is the learning approach the student utilises. The third objective of the research program was to construct a learning approach instrument that was sensitive to different assessment contexts so as to investigate the mechanism by which the learning inputs influenced academic performance in economics. This research program also measured students' general learning approaches for assessments utilised before the commencement of their economics unit, and investigated the stability and changes of learning approaches. Based on empirical research evidence and survey findings, it has been observed that many economics students do not possess the ability to apply economic concepts in real world situations. The fourth objective of this research program was to explore the issue of knowledge transfer in economics education. To investigate this issue, students' economic thinking ability was examined at the end of the course using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. The key findings obtained from this research program are: The discipline-specific construct of economic thinking ability possesses sound psychometric properties and predictive validity. Students' pre-course economic thinking ability was found to measure cognitive ability different from pre-course academic aptitude and have important effects on learning approaches. The determinants of academic performance were shown to be assessment specific. This observation provides an explanation of the inconsistency of findings by the traditional input-output approach that utilises a single measure of learning output in economics education. By examining the mediating role of learning approaches in the learning process, it was found that there were important differences in the mechanism by which different personal learning inputs impacted on academic performance in different assessment contexts. Lastly academic performance and post-course economic thinking ability were found to measure different dimensions of learning outcome. The thesis concluded that economics education as investigated in this research program focused mainly on acquisition and reproduction of knowledge and technical skills in routine academic situations rather than making connections of economic concepts to real world experiences. Implications for teaching and further research in economics education were also discussed in this thesis.

Thèse (M.Ed.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, en association avec Universidade do Estado da Bahia, 2004. / Bibliogr.: f. [120]-127. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 107-109).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-109). Also available in print.

abstract: Pediatric obesity is a continuing concern in the United States. Preventative intervention methods in the form of nutrition education, including hands-on cooking lessons may improve personal choices for healthy eating. This study assessed the effectiveness of Arizona State University’s Camp CRAVE, a one-week course promoting healthy eating and teaching basic cooking skills. Children ages 9-13years (mean 10.3years, n=31) participated in a pre- and post-test survey to assess if the one-week course would increase self-efficacy to cook at home and increase knowledge of nutrition. The course showed significant increase in the participants’ nutrition knowledge and preference for healthier food options. There was a significant improvement in the children’s confidence levels to prepare meals at home. Further research on family socioeconomic status and parental perception of cooking at home would be beneficial. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2017

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to provide information on factors influencing the choice of an academic major and demographic characteristics of students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs administered by home economics units in the California State University system. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) to analyze the relative importance of reasons which influence students' choice of an area of study or major and the sources of information used in the decision process and (2) to compare the students' responses on the basis of area of study, gender, age, ethnicity, enrollment status, and marital status. The majority of the students were single, White, females between the ages of 18 and 24. Approximately 80 percent of the respondents represented three of seven areas of study: food and nutrition, interior design, and textiles/clothing/merchandising. Two-thirds of the students had changed their majors one or more times. The most frequently cited last major was business. Respondents rated the reasons for choosing an area of study "moderate" to "extremely high" in importance; ratings assigned to the information sources were "extremely low importance" to "moderate importance." Statistically significant differences in the mean importance scores were found for students grouped by ethnicity and area of study. However, there was no relationship between the means and the background variables age, marital status, and enrollment status. Students are influenced by a variety of factors when choosing an academic program. More emphasis is placed on personal reasons including interest in the program and personal skills and career-related factors, including preparation for a career and job opportunities, than factors identified as service and experiential. The college catalog is the most important source of information. In general, people are of greater importance as information sources than media items. Recommendations for recruitment strategies include: develop on- and off-campus programs designed to stimulate interest in the home economics areas of study, implement a career development plan, coordinate the academic unit's recruitment plan with the university plan, and intensify public relations activities directed towards the university, public, and professional communities. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

The aim of this thesis is to explore the interplay between economics, gender, and materiality in an economic sector that has received little attention from performativity scholars: agriculture. During the early 20th century, Swedish agricultural education was organized along gendered lines. I study how male and female schools differed in their economics education. In so doing I will explore the question: How were economic and non-economic agents assembled in Swedish lower agricultural education during the first half of the 20th century? To answer this the thesis follows a rural domestic school and an agricultural school, intended for female and male students respectively. The method is a qualitative text analysis of firstly archival material from the schools, secondly textbooks in agricultural economics and bookkeeping, and thirdly Swedish Government Official Reports. The main finding is that performance of economic theory creates both the economic and the non-economic. The farm as a unit of production and reproduction was split into home and business, in an act of interessement. The two forms of smallholder education were reformulated as agricultural education and domestic education, thereby placing the young men in a productive sphere and the young women in a domestic, reproductive sphere. Economic agents were assembled in the agricultural school as resources for qualculation were provided, not least through economic and agronomic quantification. In the rural domestic school, conversely, resources for qualculation were removed as women’s farm labor was framed as an expression of immeasurable maternal love. The economic actor was thus assembled in relation to his female Other. In summary, performing the economic man means performing economic and performing man.

The purpose of this research is to examine the socio-economic legacies of the French Protectorate in Morocco and the attitude of modern-day Moroccans to that legacy, through a series of in-depth interviews with a wide range of people who lived through colonialism and came after it. I use these interviews alongside documents of the time and the findings of contemporary commentators to chart the establishment of the Protectorate's social and economic policies in Morocco and how they destroyed the traditional infrastructure and cultural heritage of the country to replace them by a more - modern and civilised - westernised system. I argue that, although some good did come from French colonialism in Morocco, these policies were not viable and so, when decolonisation came about, the country was unable to sustain itself and, therefore, had no choice but to continue to look to France both financially and educationally. Through highlighting how France transformed every aspect of Moroccan life to match that of la Métropole, this research shows why Moroccans find it so hard to shake off their colonial past, why they continue to use the French language in business, politics and education and why, unless Morocco steps out of the shadow of its former occupier, and make its own way in the world, they feel it will never be truly independent.

No description available.