Jack Patel Final Thesis HQ 200116.Pdf
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DEGREE OF DOCTOR IN EDUCATION (INTERNATIONAL) THESIS TITLE OF REPORT: EXPLORING AN UNDERGRADUATE ECONOMICS CURRICULUM: AN INVESTIGATION OF LECTURERS IN THE UK AND SINGAPORE SUPERVISOR: DR JACEK BRANT DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY AND ASSESSMENT AUTHOR: JEETENDRA (JACK) PATEL Declaration and Word Count I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Word count (exclusive of appendices, the list of references and bibliographies but including footnotes, endnotes, glossary, maps, diagrams and tables): 45,809 words Signed JPatel. Date _____20/1/16_____ Associated Publications Patel, J. (2014), ‘An Investigation into Teachers’ Perceptions of a PBL Environment at a HE Institute in the Middle East’, Paper presented at Joint 7th Biannual SELF and ERAS Conference, Singapore, September 2013. Patel, J (forthcoming 2015), ‘Exploring an undergraduate economics curriculum: An investigation of lecturers in the UK and Singapore’, Paper presented at Bahrain Polytechnic, Annual Conference, Manama, May 2015. Patel, J (forthcoming 2015), ‘Exploring an undergraduate economics curriculum: An investigation of lecturers in the UK and Singapore’, Paper to be presented at ERAU Asia, Singapore, August 2015. Patel, J (2014), ‘An Investigation into Teachers’ Perceptions of a PBL Environment at a HE Institute in the Middle East’, Paper presented at the 7th Annual Higher Education Summit – Asia, Singapore, October 2015. 2 Abstract This investigation of economics education in the UK and Singapore aims to explore an undergraduate economics curriculum. My premise is a belief that young adults have the right to access an excellent economics education at university so that they can better understand the world around them to make informed choices as participants in society. Although the 2008 global financial crisis and subsequent Euro-zone crisis have contributed to a resurgence of economics at both secondary school and university level, neo-classical economics was limited in its ability as to explain the crisis. Both students and teachers have since combined to synthesise and enact a change in the undergraduate economics curriculum. My thesis investigates one such curriculum innovation in undergraduate level economics; the CORE project, which has been piloted at UCL from September 2014. Taking an analytical approach, I investigate the CORE project and its implications on the teaching of undergraduate economics at a Singapore- based American University. I utilise qualitative data by way of primary data; collected using group interviews and email surveys with professors in economics and education and secondary data, by way of curriculum artefacts. I collected, transcribed, coded and analysed this qualitative data manually, allowing for a holistic discussion around the critiques, features and educational implications of the CORE project and non-CORE undergraduate economics curriculum. I observed that while the CORE project is a positive step, it represents an evolutionary change towards a revolution in undergraduate level economics. I argue that the ontological and epistemological basis of neo-classical economics is limited, needs critiquing and possibly reconceptualising. By challenging economics’ reliance on over-simplified theories, concepts and economic models, teachers can create an engaging, dynamic learning environment where students’ understanding of the subject can be deepened. My study recommends the incorporation of the Bhaskarian notion of ‘critical realism’ as the conceptual framework in Economics and in particular, the adoption of a ‘retroductive’ approach (Bhaskar, 1979) to improve the teaching of undergraduate level economics. (249 Words) 3 Acknowledgements My thesis represents the culmination of my learning journey on the EdD (International) programme at the UCL Institute of Education and combines the key elements I am most passionate about in academic research, namely: Pedagogy, Curriculum and Economics. I am not only lucky but extremely grateful that I have a supervisor who not only matches my enthusiasm, drive and energy for this area of research, but surpasses it. This thesis would not have been possible without my supervisor, Dr Jacek Brant at the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment. I would like to thank him for providing me with his assistance through his supportive and helpful comments, suggestions, recommendations and ideas. Through Dr Jacek Brant’s expert guidance throughout the entire EdD process, I have been able to absorb these ‘nuggets’ of information which in turn allowed me to produce this substantial piece of writing which I can be forever proud of. I would also like to thank my lecturers and EdD colleagues at the UCL IOE for their support and encouragement at all times throughout the EdD course, particularly during the taught courses and IFS process. I am also grateful to Professor Wendy Carlin at the UCL Department of Economics for allowing me to gain first-hand insight into the CORE project through her support and encouragement. I am indeed thankful to all of the lecturers in the UK and Singapore that participated in my study by sharing their insights, curriculum material, thoughts, frustrations and opinions to aid me with my data collection. I extend my gratitude to my family and friends who have been very supportive by making me laugh and more importantly in exercising restraint and patience with me while I was facing the challenge of researching and writing up a paper of this magnitude. I dedicate my thesis to the late Roy Bhaskar, former IOE World Scholar and founder of critical realism for his theory which serves as the epistemological foundation of my thesis. Lastly, I want to express my love and gratitude to my dear wife and soul-mate Nadya, whom I was lucky to meet at the UCL IOE on this doctoral course. Unwavering in her love, support and care throughout the doctoral process, she serves as a continuous source of inspiration to me. 4 Table of contents Declaration and word count 2 Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of contents 5 Table of figures 10 List of acronyms 12 Reflective statement 13 Chapter 1 1.0 Introduction 20 1.1 Background 20 1.2 Rationale 20 1.3 Personal context 23 1.4 Critiques of mainstream economics 25 1.5 The different schools of economics: A historical perspective 26 1.6 A call for change 29 1.7 The CORE project 30 1.8 Research Questions 31 Chapter 2 2.0 Conceptual framework 33 2.1. Andragogy 33 2.2 Critical realism 34 2.3 The real, actual and empirical domains 35 2.4 Retroduction 36 2.5 The DREIC model of enquiry 37 2.6 Agency and social structures 38 Chapter 3 3.0 Literature review 40 5 3.1 What is the purpose of education? 41 3.2 Why study economics? 42 3.3 A brief history of capitalism 44 3.4 Government reaction to the financial crisis 45 3.5 Overview of students’ and lecturers’ surveys 48 3.6 Transferable skills 50 3.7 Economics education in Singapore 50 3.8 Reflective practice 54 3.9 Curriculum and curriculum reform 56 3.10 Curriculum design and development 57 3.11 Examples of curriculum innovations in economics 57 3.12 Experiential learning 60 3.13 Constructivism and PBL 61 3.14 The use of case studies 63 3.15 Student engagement 64 Chapter 4 4.0 Methodology 66 4.1 Research questions, methods and strategy 66 4.2 Case studies 67 4.3 Semi-structured interviews 69 4.4 Targeted email surveys 70 4.5 Curriculum artefacts 72 4.6 Thick description 73 4.7 From research questions to research strategy 74 4.8 Data collection and sampling 75 4.9 Potential sources of bias and possible remedies 77 4.10 Ethical considerations 80 Chapter 5 5.0 Findings and analysis 82 5.1 Openness 82 5.2 User friendly 83 6 5.3 Interactivity 84 5.4 Historical contextualisation 85 5.5 Contextualisation through visualisations 87 5.6 Access to further readings and definitions 88 5.7 Summary of CORE curriculum artefacts 90 5.8 What are the goals of the CORE curriculum? 90 5.9 My coding process 90 5.10 The results of my coding process 93 Chapter 6 6.0 Discussion 104 6.1 Discussion around the CORE project 104 6.1.1 Has economics lost touch with the ‘real world’? 105 6.1.2 Student engagement 107 6.1.3 Assessment in the CORE curriculum 108 6.1.4 The role of technology and innovation 109 6.1.5 Open access 110 6.1.6 Pluralism and the CORE Curriculum 112 6.1.7 Fostering deep learning through the CORE curriculum 113 6.1.8 PBL in the CORE curriculum 114 6.1.9 The CORE curriculum and a ‘body of knowledge’ 115 6.1.10 The CORE curriculum and the heterodox approach to economics 117 6.2 Surveys with undergraduate economics lecturers at UK universities 119 6.2.1 The current state of economics 119 6.2.2 Pluralism in economics 121 6.2.3 Recommended changes to the undergraduate economics curriculum 122 6.2.4 Views on the CORE project 124 6.3 The Singapore-based American university economics curriculum 124 6.3.1 What are the features of the Singapore-based American university economics curriculum? 125 6.3.2 The developer to instructor memo 125 6.3.3 Course description, goals and learning outcomes for microeconomics 128 6.3.4 Course description, goals and learning outcomes for macroeconomics 132 7 6.3.5 What are the goals of the Singapore-based American university economics curriculum? 135 6.3.6 Summary of a Singapore-based American university’s curriculum artefacts 135 6.3.7 The economics curriculum at the Singapore-based American university 136 6.3.8 Contextualised learning 137 6.3.9 Critical realism in economics 139 6.3.10 The call for a new economics curriculum