Transcript Exploring the links between research and teaching in Economics Dr Linda Juleff, Edinburgh Napier University Economics Network Project 2008-09

Exploring the links
between research and
teaching in Economics
Dr Linda Juleff, Edinburgh Napier
University
Economics Network Project 2008-09
Objectives
 To examine the perceptions of
economists with respect to the links
between (subject based) research and
teaching
 To examine the ways in which research-
teaching linkages are used to enhance
students employability skills via
engagement with the research process
Background (1)
 Funding council agenda re the “value for
money” of research and knowledge transfer in
terms of the transmission of research into
teaching at (particularly) undergraduate level
 HEA interest in research teaching linkages and
the development of employability skills
 Economics Network has 6 case studies relating
to the links between research and teaching on
its website
Background (2)
 QAA (Scotland) Research Teaching
Linkages: Enhancing Graduate Attributes
Enhancement Theme – 9 discipline
based reports
 Question: Is Economics a Business and
Management related discipline or an Arts
and Social Sciences related discipline?
Background (3)
 Answer: Economics is mentioned just
twice in the Business and Management
report and not at all in the Arts and
Social Sciences report
 In both cases it is argued that the
hierarchical nature of the discipline
inhibits research and teaching links
especially at years 1 and 2.
Theoretical Framework - Types of
Research-Teaching Linkage
 Research led (or research informed) – teaching
subject content
 Research tutored – learning focussed on
students writing discussion papers or essays
 Research based – students undertaking inquiry-
based learning
 Research oriented – teaching processes of
knowledge construction in the subject
 (Healey, 2005)
Evidence from the 2005
Economics Network Lecturer
Survey (1)
 82% of respondents believed that research
played a positive role in their teaching.
Examples:
 “Empirical findings from the research
complements theoretical understanding of the
topics covered in teaching” (research
led/research informed)
 “Provides issues for class discussion” (research
tutored)
Views from the 2005 Economics
Network Lecturer Survey (2)
 58% of respondents agreed that teaching and
research are complements in some respects
and substitutes in others.
 30% thought that they are complements and
not substitutes
 4% stated that they are substitutes and not
complements.
Views from the 2005 Economics
Network Lecturer Survey (3)
 “More effort should be made to integrate the two”
 “Departments need to exploit the synergy between
research and teaching”
 “Advanced teaching is research informed”
 “Advancing research keeps teaching current”
 “I am not using my research in my teaching since I am
teaching different stuff from my research”
Focus Group Pilot Study
 Three focus groups undertaken at a
single conference
 Random mix of academic staff – 5 to 6
per group - drawn primarily from across
the UK but some from overseas
 Primarily lecturers/senior lecturers
Focus Group Results (1)
 Q1 How do stakeholders perceive the link
between research and teaching in economics?
 “A lot of staff see research and teaching as
substitutes”
 “Research is very specific in economics and is
difficult to include in teaching”
 “A lot of universities use PhD students to teach
who aren’t good at teaching”
Focus Group Results (2)
 Q1 How do stakeholders perceive the link between
research and teaching in economics?
 “Students are not equipped to deal with research
(undergraduate)”
 “Employers want evidence based arguments and some
research is not (though may be in the long term..) …more
interested in what you can use economics for”
Focus Group Results (3)
 Q2 What skills/graduate attributes do economists value
most?
 “Critical thinking skills – need to be able to apply theories”
 “To identify key aspects of a problem and what the first
steps in problems solving would be”
 “Awareness of policy implications”
 “Economic intuition”
Focus Group Results (4)
 Q3 “How does economics research inform programme or
module development?”
 “Incentive structure for lecturers to spend time on
teaching doesn’t encourage research-teaching linkages”
 “New topics according to research interests”
 “Update the reading list with new papers”
 “New approaches are guided by research”
Focus Group Results (5)
 Q3 “How does economics research inform programme or
module development?”
 “Varies enormously – particularly as academic research
is unlikely to inform a level 1 module”
 “Economics research generally should influence module
development – maybe at 3rd year…2nd and 3rd year
should be more journal driven”
 “Good to start teaching the research approach at level 1”
 “Difficult to do….class size matters”
Focus Group Results (6)
Q4 Is your department’s teaching research led, researchtutored, research based or research oriented?
 “Research led”
 “Research led….depends on level….graduate level more
so”
Conclusion
 On the basis of the (limited) evidence reported here:
 the tension between research and teaching that exists in
some other disciplines appears to exist within economics
 there appears to be a link between the level of a
module/programme and how/the extent to which research
is used within that module
 research led approaches are most common but research
tutored, research based and research oriented
approaches are also used, although these particular
terms may not be used in practice
Economics Network
Resources
 http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/ugresearc
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h/
Outlines some of the methods currently being used in the
US (mainly for final year courses)
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/dissertatio
ns
Discusses issues relating to undergraduate final year
dissertations
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/showcase/research
6 case studies of how research and teaching can be
linked
References
 Healey, M. (2005) Linking research and
teaching exploring disciplinary spaces and the
role of inquiry-based learning, in Barnett, R.
(ed.) Reshaping the university: new
relationships between research, scholarship
and teaching, pp.30–42. Maidenhead: McGrawHill/Open University Press.
 http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/projects/lec
_survey2005.htm