Economics of education

general courses

The objective of the course is to raise students’ knowledge on education as a matter of public policy and as a factor of socio-economic development. Classes will refer both to the conclusions of research on educational topics, and to the analytical techniques used in this type of study. Although the title of the course refers to economics, the course will be rather interdisciplinary, within the the perspective of broad social sciences. Most of the time the classes will take the form of a seminar discussion.

The classes will cover, inter alia, the following issues:

1) The dilemmas of contemporary education (what is the future of school?).

2) Does education pay off and for whom?

3) Education, economic development and social cohesion.

4) Inequalities in access to education.

5) Institutional arrangements in educational systems.

6) Measurement of educational attainment and its implications.

7) Education and spatial mobility.

Participation in the classes will require the reading of texts and prepare for discussions on them. However, the guide does not set a fixed canon of literature. Their selection will depend on the dynamics of the work and interests of listeners. The following reading list is only indicative.

1. (2011). Społeczeństwo w drodze do wiedzy. Report o stanie edukacji 2010.Warszawa, Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.

2. Baldacci, E., B. Clements, et al. (2008). "Social spending, human capital and growth in developing countries." World Development 36(8): 1317-1341.

3. Ernst&Young and Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (2009). Diagnoza stanu szkolnictwa wyższego w Polsce Warszawa, Ernst & Young & IBnGR.

4. Herbst, M. (2004). "Zróżnicowanie jakości kapitału ludzkiego w Polsce. Od czego zależą wyniki edukacyjne?" Studia Regionalne i Lokalne 17(3).

5. Herbst, M. (2012). Edukacja jako czynnik i wynik rozwoju regionalnego. Doświadczenia Polski w perspektywie międzynarodowej. Warszawa, WN Scholar.

6. Levitt, S. D. and S. J. Dubner (2005). Freakonomics. Nowy Jork, HarperCollins Publishers.

7. Rodriguez-Pose, A. and U. Fratesi (2004). "Między rozwojem a polityką społeczną. Europejskie fundusze strukturalne w regionach celu 1." Studia Regionalne i Lokalne 17(3): 5-32.

8. Schab, F. (1991). "Schooling without Learning: Thirty Years of Cheating in High School." Adolescence 26: 839-848.

9. Swianiewicz, P., J. Krukowska, et al. (2012). Edukacja przedszkolna. Polityka samorzadów gminnych w zakresie edukacji przedszkolnej. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo ICM UW.

10. Szapiro, T., Ed. (2004). Mechanizmy kształtujące decyzje edukacyjne. Warszawa, Szkoła Główna Handlowa.

11. Sztanderska, U. and W. Wojciechowski (2008). Czego (nie) uczą polskie szkoły? System edukacji a potrzeby rynku pracy w Polsce, Fundacja Obywatelskiego Rozwoju & Fundacja im. Friedricha Eberta.

Knowledge:

(1) Elaborates the human capital theories ; (2) Elaborates the conceptions and approaches of the education economics ; (3) Describes the conditions of the education systems functioning ; (4) Describes the socio-economic impact of education citing examples of national and international research .

Abilities and skills:

(1) Formulates a written argumentative thesis statement in the education economics ; (2) Formulates an oral argumentative thesis statement using the scientific literature .

Social skills:

(1) Plans the research process using various quantitative methods ; (2) Devises a plan of work on a scientific argumentative essay according to the stages of its development: from formulating the problem to creating the written statement and the multimedia presentation .

Attendance (30 points) and assessment of essay written on the set with the teacher (70 points). To obtain the credit, it is necessary at least 60 points.