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Who's Afraid of Their Economics Classes? Why are Students Apprehensive about Introductory Economics Courses? An Empirical Investigation

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  • Mary Ellen Benedict
  • John Hoag

Abstract

This paper investigates why students are apprehensive about their principles of economics classes. Using data collected on 399 students from a large, midwestem public university in the 1998 academic year, the authors examine whether there are demographic differences in levels of apprehension and what are the reported reasons for apprehension. The study includes a descriptive analysis and a probit analysis and concludes that: (1) course reputation is the main reason reported by students as the reason for being apprehensive; (2) females tend to be more apprehensive than males; and (3) increased math ability reduces apprehension levels for males and females. The authors suggest that preparatory sessions for those students weak in mathematics and alternative teaching methodologies may reduce the level of apprehension in the introductory courses.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Ellen Benedict & John Hoag, 2002. "Who's Afraid of Their Economics Classes? Why are Students Apprehensive about Introductory Economics Courses? An Empirical Investigation," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 46(2), pages 31-44, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:46:y:2002:i:2:p:31-44
    DOI: 10.1177/056943450204600203
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos J. Asarta & Austin S. Jennings & Paul W. Grimes, 2017. "Economic Education Retrospective," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 62(1), pages 102-117, March.
    2. Leiv Opstad, 2023. "The Relationship Between Norwegian Business Students’ Attitudes Towards Mathematics And Success In Business Education," International Journal of Teaching and Education, European Research Center, vol. 11(1), pages 47-60, December.
    3. Gregory M. Randolph, 2016. "Laissez-Colbert," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 61(2), pages 217-228, October.
    4. Raboy, David G., 2017. "An introductory microeconomics in-class experiment to reinforce the marginal utility/price maximization rule and the integration of modern theory," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 36-49.
    5. Susan Pozo & Charles A. Stull, 2006. "Requiring a Math Skills Unit: Results of a Randomized Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 437-441, May.
    6. George Orlov & Douglas McKee & Irene R. Foster & Daria Bottan & Stephanie R. Thomas, 2021. "Identifying Students at Risk Using a New Math Skills Assessment," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 97-101, May.
    7. Ignacio Sarmiento Barbieri & Eric Chiang & José Vázquez, 2024. "Do Human Proctors and Anxiety Affect Exam Scores in Open-book Online Exams? A Field Experiment," Working Papers 320, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    8. Nadia Asandimitra & Achmad Kautsar, 2017. "Financial Self-Efficacy on Women Entrepreneurs Success," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(11), pages 293-300, November.
    9. Kim P. Huynh & David T. Jacho-Chávez & James K. Self, 2015. "The Distributional Efficacy of Collaborative Learning on Student Outcomes," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 60(2), pages 98-119, September.

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