Student attitudes toward economic pluralism: survey-based evidence

Abstract

A university education should enable and improve students' cognitive abilities. An effective curriculum can help achieve this objective. Teaching that economics is more than just neoclassicism, for example, could aid the transition to higher stages of cognition. That said, even erstwhile supporters are sometimes reluctant to take this step for fear that students may become confused. Also open to question is how much students really develop an ability to select among various paradigms, or if they simply exit a course with their professor's biases. To answer these questions, a survey was conducted among students enrolled in several sections of a Contending Perspectives in Economics course. The data suggest that, far from being disillusioned, they exit the course with great enthusiasm and increased confidence, although somewhat influenced by the instructor's school of thought.