Conference and seminar sessions in Inclusivity and internationalisation

More Seats at the Table: Diversifying the Economics Degree

Who addresses diversity, inclusion, and gender issues in undergraduate introductory economics in 2020?

• Extended abstract

Engagement, empathy and communication – teaching economics to business students

An increasing number of economics tutors find themselves teaching economics modules to business students. It is common for both staff and students to view economics and business as two distinct disciplines, with each having little to contribute to the understanding of the other. This misunderstanding has created a vicious circle making economics increasingly difficult for business students to engage with economics, and for tutors to engage with business students. From our experience, some of the causes of this vicious circle include the following: First, we often select topics that are perceived by students to have little relevance to the rest of their degree. Second, we struggle to find ways to communicate the purpose of economics and to explain economic concepts due to their subject-specific language and tools. Third, we focus frequently on the tools rather than their application, as evidenced by an overreliance on mathematics and diagrams, often at the expense of intuition and application. To overcome these problems, we suggest a series of constructively aligned activities that facilitate empathy and engagement with economics. This requires economics tutors to think carefully about the materials they cover, the way they communicate them and the way they assess. Our paper provides guidance and practical examples drawing from our own experiences in teaching economics modules to business students. Our aim is to make the teaching of economics a more rewarding experience for both staff and students alike.

• Presentation

Widening Participation: academic and careers success. A case study

UK research on the academic and career achievements of students from a disadvantaged background suggests that "Young people from less advantaged backgrounds are less likely to enter a professional job on leaving university" (Macmillan et al., 2013) and that "students who attended one of the 20% of secondary schools with the highest proportions of free school meals (FSM) eligible pupils are, on average, 5.4 percentage points more likely to drop out, 11.0 percentage points less likely to complete their degree and 21.8 percentage points less likely to graduate with a good degree than pupils who attended one of the 20% of secondary schools with the lowest proportions of FSM-eligible pupils." (Crawford, 2014). This paper adds to this existing body of research by investigating the educational and career attainments of students from a widening participation background who graduated with an economics degree from Queen Mary University in London. The evidence from four cohort of students (about 300 students in total) suggests that 1) widening participation is not an obstacle to educational attainment which, instead, can be better explained by previous school performance (A-level scores); 2) there is some evidence that students from a WP background have a lower probability of securing a graduate position. Furthermore, the quality of the degree classification and ethnicity seem to have some role in explaining the likelihood to secure a graduate position. The research is still ongoing and data from the latest cohort of graduates will add some further helpful evidence and will shed some further light on the relationship between disadvantaged background and academic and professional achievements.