A Preliminary Report on the Efficiency of Introductory Economics Courses

This article is the first report of a project in which the efficiency of the introductory economics course at Queen's University in Canada is being examined. Finding that the TUCE “relies too heavily on a knowledge of U.S. institutions,” Crowley and Wilton assembled a set of questions from several sources (including TUCE items adapted to the Canadian situation). Taking into account the student's initial understanding of economics, sex, major field, student year, the instructor's ability to arouse and maintain interest, and the amount of time spent on the course, the authors employ a regression model with student score on the posttest as the dependent variable. Their findings, although preliminary, add to the growing body of research on the introductory course and suggest some interesting possibilities. Among these possibilities is the fact that some “natural” learning may occur among students not exposed to a formal economics course.