Education and training – economic theory and empirical research 2400-ENSM091C
The seminar will start by covering the main economic theories related to education and training: human capital theory and signaling theory. We will also discuss lessons from cognitive science and education research related to effective teaching methods.
Then we will discuss research in economics of education, including:
- research on the quality of teaching in primary and secondary schools
- research on the labour market prospects of graduates of schools and higher education institutions
- macroeconomic studies linking the quality of human capital with economic and social development
- international studies comparing education systems and educational policy at the country level.
Finally, we will focus on practical examples using the most commonly used and publicly available datasets with measures of human capital (student or adult achievement): PISA, PIRLS, TIMSS, PIAAC and others. In this section we will work on practical examples in Stata, which can then be adapted by students for their own research projects. Students will be also asked to present their own research questions and results of their research.
Schedule:
1. Key theories of human capital formation.
2. Cognitive science and education research on effective teaching methods.
3. Methods and examples of empirical research in economics of education.
4. International research on the impact of human capital on economic development.
5. Comparative studies analyzing education systems and the impact of education policy on the quality of education.
6. Overview of publicly available databases that can be used for research on education and human capital.
7. Student presentations on selected topics.
8. Thesis outline and research plan covering selected issues related to education and human capital.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
1) Knowledge of human capital formation theories and empirical research in economics of education.
2) Ability to describe results of your own empirical research or conduct a review of existing research that will allow you to write your master thesis.
Knowledge:
Upon completion of the course, the student has good understanding of key economics of education theories and empirical research results and methods.
Skills:
Student can analyze data from empirical studies and critically evaluate statistical methods used in the analyzes.
Student can collect and conduct a review of literature.
The student can translate the research results into a language useful for public policy makers or business.
Student can describe research hypotheses, propose different methods of their verification, conduct their own research and describe in a clear way their results.
Social competence:
The student can communicate in a clear and concise manner the conclusions of the review and the results of his research.
The student can relate the results of her/his research to actual public policies and key policy debates.
Assessment criteria
Passing the seminar in the 1st semester: based on the outline of the master thesis and accepted research questions
Passing the seminar in the second semester: on the basis of progress in preparing the thesis
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: