Schumpeter's 'Vision' and the Teaching of Principles of Economics

Abstract

Sixty years ago, Schumpeter's Presidential Address to the American Economic Association discussed the pre-scientific vision underlying the research of individual economists. This paper argues that a similar concept can be applied to different students studying economics. Resource students at a New Zealand university, obliged to take an introductory principles course designed primarily for commerce students, experienced significantly poorer outcomes than their commerce counterparts. Inspired by Schumpeter's concept, a new course motivated the resource students to engage with the subject by paying careful attention to their concerns and interests. The result was a measurable improvement in the class's relative performance.