Does in-service professional learning for high school economics teachers improve student achievement?

Authors

John R. Swinton, Georgia College & State University
Thomas de Berry, Freed-Hardeman University
Benjamin Scafidi, Georgia College & State University
Howard C. Woodard, Georgia College & State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2010

Publication Title

Education Economics

Abstract

Education policy analysts and professional educators have called for more and better professional learning opportunities for in-service teachers, and for at least 30 years economists called for more content training for high school economics teachers. Using new data from all Georgia high school economics students, we assess the impact of inservice teacher workshops on the performance of students on a high-stakes end-of-course economics exam. Controlling for student characteristics and teacher fixed effects, we find a positive and significant impact of teacher workshop attendance - once teachers have attended three workshops - on student test scores. Furthermore, the results suggest that in-service workshops for economics teachers offer a cost-effective way to provide content training. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Volume Number

18

Issue Number

4

First Page

395

Comments

© 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Last Page

405

Recommended Citation

Swinton, J. R., de Barry, T., Scafidi, B., & Woodard, H. C. (2010). Does in-service professional learning for high school economics teachers improve student achievement? Education Economics, 18(4): 395-405.