Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
PLoS One. 2020 Feb 5;15(2):e0228505. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228505. eCollection 2020.
Despite the importance of acquiring economic competencies at the secondary level and the worldwide popularity of economics in higher education, there is almost no research on the effects of economic competencies on economics student retention. Based on a longitudinal sample of 538 high school students in Switzerland, this study provides the first results on this topic. The longitudinal study took place from 2011 to 2016 and comprised two points of measurement. Economic competencies were measured multidimensionally and comprised knowledge and skills, as well as attitude, value-oriented dispositions, interest and motivation. Different student retention models were adapted and combined to explain student retention in the field of economics. According to these models, students' academic and social integration are key mediators to predict their retention. Based on these theoretical explanations, structural equation modelling was then used to test the long-term effects of high school students' economic competencies at the end of upper-secondary school on their retention in studying in the field of economics. The results show that economic competencies predict economics students' academic integration (as measured by grade point average) but not their social integration. Additionally, the data confirm that academic and social integration are strong mediators for their retention. In addition to economic competencies, students' cognitive abilities, prior schooling (school grades, school profile, and school type) and perceived family support predict student retention in economics. Overall, economic competencies account for a substantial proportion of the variance in student retention. Against this background, the results indicate that fostering high school students' economic competencies plays a crucial role in their study success in the field of economics.
尽管在中学阶段获得经济能力非常重要，并且经济学在高等教育中也在全球范围内普及，但几乎没有研究关注经济能力对经济学学生保留率的影响。本研究基于瑞士 538 名高中生的纵向样本，首次提供了关于该主题的研究结果。该纵向研究于 2011 年至 2016 年进行，包括两个测量点。经济能力的测量采用多维方法，包括知识和技能以及态度、价值观取向、兴趣和动机。不同的学生保留模型被适应和组合，以解释经济学领域的学生保留率。根据这些模型，学生的学术和社会融合是预测其保留率的关键中介。基于这些理论解释，然后使用结构方程模型来测试高中生在中学结束时的经济能力对他们在经济学领域学习的保留率的长期影响。结果表明，经济能力预测了经济学学生的学业融合（以平均绩点衡量），但不能预测他们的社会融合。此外，数据证实学术和社会融合是其保留率的强有力的中介。除了经济能力，学生的认知能力、先前的学校教育（学校成绩、学校概况和学校类型）和感知到的家庭支持也预测了经济学学生的保留率。总体而言，经济能力在学生保留率的差异中占很大比例。在此背景下，结果表明，培养高中生的经济能力对他们在经济学领域的学习成功起着至关重要的作用。
