Schumpeter's 'vision' and the teaching of principles of economics to resource students

Abstract

Sixty years ago, Schumpeter’s Presidential Address to the American Economic Association discussed the ‘vision’ underlying the research of individual economists. A similar concept can be applied to different groups of students studying economics. Resource students, obliged to take an introductory principles course designed primarily for commerce students, experienced significantly poorer outcomes than their commerce counterparts. Inspired by Schumpeter’s concept, and reflecting the wider movement for problem-based learning, a new course motivated the resource students to engage with the subject by paying careful attention to their concerns and interests. The result was a measurable improvement in the class’s relative performance.