Introduction

In May 2001, the KCEE conducted a survey of teachers who had earned graduate credits in economic education during calendar 2000 through courses offered at our Centers for Economic Education. This time period was chosen so that those surveyed would have had one full school year to integrate what they had learned in the KCEE course they had taken. 300 teachers were randomly selected to receive the survey by mail. A copy of the survey and the cover letter that transmitted the survey is attached.

Because of the low response rate, the results of this survey cannot be considered as statistically representative of the over 600 teachers who took economic education courses through the Centers for Economic Education during CY 2000. We also recognize that teachers who were pleased with their economic education experience were more likely to complete the survey than those who may not have been as pleased. The results do nonetheless provide us some measure of the outcomes of our work.

Survey Respondents Described

Eighty-seven (87) of the 300 teachers who received surveys responded. Of those, 76% were elementary teachers, 16% were middle school teachers, and the remaining 8% were high school teachers.

Almost half of those who responded had taken their instruction through the Center for Economic Education at the University of Kansas. The Centers for Economic Education at Kansas State University and Fort Hays State University were not represented by survey respondents due to the random nature of the survey and the relatively low number of teachers awarded credits by these two universities during the period.

Was this the first continuing education workshop/course you have taken on the subject of economic education?

For 68% of respondents, this was the first economic education course or workshop they had taken. This number was somewhat higher for Wichita State students, and somewhat lower for KU students.

A high number of repeat customers is a good indication that teachers are pleased with the instruction they received in previous courses. In addition, there is general agreement that as a teacher’s knowledge of economics and methods to teach economics improve, so does the quality and quantity of economics taught in the classroom. To take advantage of this phenomenon, KU and ESU offer courses that build upon one another, increasing the opportunity for teachers to become very proficient in the field.

Was this the first continuing education workshop/course you have taken on the subject of economic education?
	Yes	No
ESU	66%	33%
KU	55%	45%
PSU	66%	33%
WSU	86%	14%
TOTAL	67%	33%

If “No”, how many graduate credit hours have you earned in economic education courses/workshops?

Of the 28 respondents that said they had taken previous economic education courses, those who had the most economic education in their background were teachers who had taken courses from KU.

If this is not your first economic education course, how many credit hours in economic education have your had? (Not Counting this Class) n=28
	3 or Less	4 to 6 Cr Hrs	7 to 9 Cr Hrs	10 to 15 Cr Hrs	Over 15 Cr Hrs
ESU	1	3
KU	2	4	9	2	2
PSU		1
WSU	2	2
TOTAL	18%	36%	32%	7%	7%

Not counting this or any other “economic education” workshops or courses, how much traditional economics training have you had?

Thirty-five percent (37%) of respondents told us they had no traditional economics training before taking economic education courses through the Centers for Economic Education. This figure was even higher for elementary teachers, with nearly half reporting no prior economics training. The majority of both middle school and high school teachers responding reported having as least some formal economics training.

Not counting this or any other “economic education” workshops or courses, how much TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC TRAINING have you had?
	0	1 to 3 Cr Hrs	4 to 6 Cr Hrs	7 to 12 Cr Hrs	13 to 21 Cr Hrs
Elem	46%	40%	14%	-	-
MS	7%	64%	21%	7%	-
HS	-	57%	29%	-	14%
TOTAL	37%	45%	16%	1%	1%

Survey Results

The responses to the survey questions can be used to at least partially answer questions in six basic areas of interest with regard to the overall benefit of the economic education programs sponsored by the KCEE. Survey findings are organized under these six categories.

•Actual Classroom Usage

•Impact on Quality of Instruction

•Impact on Quantity of Instruction

•Effect of Incentives

•Overall Quality of Course

•Change in Attitude

Actual Classroom Usage

To what extent have you actually used what you learned in this workshop/course to teach economic concepts in the classroom?

Nearly 75% of survey respondents reported that they had used almost all, or a significant part of what they learned in the course to teach economic concepts in their classrooms.

What is the likelihood you will continue to incorporate what you learned in this workshop/course in your classroom?

Of the 22% of respondents who said they used almost everything they learned to teach economic concepts upon return to the classroom, 95% said they were very likely to continue to use what they learned and the remaining 5% said they were somewhat likely to.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of the teachers who said they used a significant part of what they learned once they returned to the classroom, said it was very likely they would continue using what they learned. The likelihood of continued use in the classroom fell off sharply for those who used only a little of what they learned.

Impact on Quality of Instruction

Please rate the degree to which this workshop/course improved the quality of the instruction you provide your students.

A total of 95% of respondents said the quality of the instruction they provide their student improved due to the training they received.

Please rate the extent to which you feel this workshop/course has made you better prepared to teach economic concepts to your students?

All but 3% of teachers said they felt better prepared to teach economic concepts after having had instruction in economic education from one of the Centers.

Impact on Quantity of Instruction

Please rate the degree to which this workshop/course has increased the amount of instruction you provide your students.

A total of 90% of respondents reported that the instruction they received increased the amount of instruction they provide in their classrooms.

Effect of Incentives

To what extent did THE NEED TO PREPARE FOR NEW ECONOMIC STANDARDS contribute to your decision to take with workshop/course?

We wanted to know what effect the new economics standards recently adopted by the Kansas Board of Education had on teachers’ decision to enroll in the economic education courses offered by the Centers. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents said the need to prepare for the new economics standards had either contributed significantly or somewhat to their decision to enroll in the course.

Elementary and middle school teachers were somewhat more likely to have been influenced by the need to prepare for the economic standards. No significant difference was found between those who had never taken any economic education courses and those who had.

To what extent did THE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY KCEE contribute to your decision to take with workshop/course?

As suspected, the tuition assistance offered by the KCEE is very important to teachers’ decision to attend economic education courses. Over three quarters reported that the tuition assistance contributed significantly to their decision to take a course.. No significant difference was found between those who had never taken an economic education course and those who had.

During FY 2001, tuition assistance was set at $50 per credit hour. Prior to that, the KCEE paid half a teacher’s tuition to attend a course. For KU, the change represented a substantial decrease in assistance to teachers. During that same period, enrollment in KU’s courses dropped significantly from the prior years. Given the importance our survey respondents assigned to the tuition assistance, it is likely that the decrease tuition assistance was at least partially to blame for lower enrollments experienced by KU.

At its April 2001 meeting, the KCEE Board of Directors voted to increase tuition assistance to $75 per credit hour beginning with Summer 2001 courses.

Overall Quality of Course

Based on your experience with this workshop/course, are you likely to attend another workshop/course on economic education?

Over 85% of teachers told us they were likely to attend another economic education course based on their experience.

Please rate the overall quality of this course/workshop.

A total of 89% of teachers rated the instruction they received as either excellent or good.

Change in Attitude

Teachers were asked to answer the following questions based on to what degree they agreed or disagreed with the statements below at two different points in time – before they had taken any economic education courses and workshops and then after they had taken any economic education courses or workshops.

May 14, 2001

****

Dear ***:

It has been a few months now since you took (***COURSE TITLE) through the Center for Economic Education at (***UNIVERSITY). We hope the experience was of value to you and that you’ve had success in incorporating economics into your classroom curriculum.

If you will recall, the Kansas Council on Economic Education provided you with $50 per credit hour tuition assistance to help defray the costs associated with taking the course. In order to maintain this financial support for Kansas teachers, we must provide our contributors with feedback on how their money was spent and the outcomes it produced.

I hope you will take a few minutes to help us evaluate our work by completing the attached anonymous survey and returning it to us in the envelope provided no later than May 31, 2001.

I also invite you to visit us at www.kcee.wichita.edu to see what other courses or workshops on economic education are being held this summer. We would love to be able to serve you again.

Sincerely,

Mikel Miller

President

Please accept this no obligation gift as an acknowledgement of your time and the “opportunity cost” involved in completing this attached survey.

(a $2 bill was affixed to the survey)