The Professional Development of Graduate Students for Teaching Activities: The Students’ Perspective

This article provides insight into the skill-development activities of graduate students at U.S. institutions providing graduate education in economics. The authors document the extent of student participation in and preparation for teaching-related activities while in graduate school, finding that more than 50 percent of students are involved in teaching-related activities such as grading, leading recitation sections, and teaching their own sections and that most were satisfied with their preparation. Important differences in participation in these activities are highlighted by assistantship assignments, institution rank, and gender. Findings suggest that programs could do more to prepare students for participation in teaching specific professional activities after graduation.