Associate Professor Buly Cardak and a team of researchers from La Trobe Business School have published new research in the Southern Economic Journal showing that a fresh approach to teaching introductory economics improves student performance across a range of business disciplines.
Associate Professor Cardak says the study addresses a pressing issue in economics education: how to design introductory courses that not only teach economic principles effectively but also foster transferable skills.
The study examined the impacts of a student-centred, real-world, data-driven approach to economics education initiated by Dr David Walker and Professor Sue O'Keefe. The approach incorporated a new text developed by the Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics (CORE) project, an international collaborative project aiming to reform introductory economics education through an open-access textbook called The Economy.
“Students who studied CORE Economics achieved significantly higher average marks in subsequent subjects than those who studied an alternative curriculum,” says Dr Cardak.
“This suggests that the CORE curriculum, and new teaching approach, not only improves understanding of economic principles but also cultivates transferable skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and self-directed learning.”
“It also demonstrates that pedagogical design in economics can enhance academic outcomes across other disciplines.”
Associate Professor Cardak adds that the findings support the broader adoption of the CORE curriculum and these pedagogical approaches.
“By showing that teaching methods matter, we contribute to a growing body of work advocating for more engaging, rigorous, and inclusive economics education.”
