THE INFLUENCE OF THE OHIO UNIVERSITY M.A. GRADUATES IN ECONOMIC EDUCATION ON THE ECONOMIC UNDERSTANDING OF STUDENTS (GRADES 4-12) (MA, FOUR-TWELVE)

The purposes of the investigation are to: (1) determine whether, and to what extent, recipients of an M.A. in economic education from Ohio University have succeeded in improving the level of economic understanding of the students; and (2) analyze the major factors contributing to their (teachers') success or failure.;Experimental and control students representing each group of teachers were selected through stratified random sampling according to their grade levels and later administered a post test in each of the following: the Basic Economic Test - Form B to 255 students of grades 4-6; the Junior High School Test of Economics to 367 students of grades 7-9; and the Test of Economic Literacy - Form B to 265 students of grades 10-12. A one way analysis of variance was conducted to determine differences in mean scores. A t-test was used to compare the experimental group of students with a national sample of students with economics instruction. It was also used to compare the control group of students whose teachers had no in-service experience in economic education with a national sample of students with no economics instruction. A .05 level of significance was required.;Findings from the survey indicate that only 41% of group 1 teachers and 9% of group 2 teachers do teach economic principles to their students and that there is a dearth of support for economic education in the schools. Results from the tests reveal that: (a) in grades 4-6 there is no significant difference in means among the three groups; (b) in grades 7-9 there is no significant difference in means with the experimental group outscoring the others; (c) in grades 10-12 there is a significant difference in although the premier performance is found in the group 2 students.;It is concluded that the influence of the teachers with an M.A. in economic education has not been effective in improving the level of economic literacy of their students.;A mail survey of teachers in Southern and Southeastern Ohio schools with: (a) an M.A. in economic education (group 1); (b) in-service experience of short duration in economic education (group 2); and (c) no in-service experience in economic education (group 3), was conducted. The objectives were: to determine what percentage of these teachers did, in fact, teach economic principles to their students; and to assess the strength of the economic education movement in those school districts.