Abstract:
Economics education is crucial to the country's socio-economic development.
Yet, researchers seem to have paid little attention to studies on effective
teaching of Economics in higher education. This study explored university
st1ldents' perceptions of effective teaching of Economics in higher education.
The research was a descriptive type that employed the cross-sectional survey
design. The study respondents comprised 403 students sampled from four
public universities in Ghana. A students' evaluation of teachers' effectiveness
questionnaire was employed to collect the data. A test of the reliability of the
instrument yielded a Cronbach Alpha Reliability index of .813. The data were
analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means and
standard deviations) and inferential statistics (independent sample t-test and
structural equation modeling). The findings suggested that students perceived
their Economics teachers to be effective in instructional planning and
preparation, classroom management, communication and scaffolding of
instruction. Results of the structural equation analysis indicated that plmming
and preparation, scaffolding of instruction, communication, classroom
management, classroom learning environment, and teacher characteristics were
significant predictors of effective teaching. The results further showed that
effective teaching significantly predicted st1ldents' attitudes and behaviour. The
findi ngs addtionally suggested that gender did not influence students'
perceptions of effective teaching. The study recommends that Economics
teachers' recruitment and deployment should be based on both effectiveness in
classroom instructional practices and positive personality traits.
