Introductory Economics Lesson for September to spark debate

The Times Higher Education featured a very interesting article in April which quoted a range of UK university statistics. It considered dropout rates, the proportion of young full-time undergraduate entrants from state schools and inclusiveness of institutions attracting students from lower socio-economic groupings.

Data set 1: The proportion of young full-time undergraduate entrants from state schools rose to 89 per cent in 2008-09, up from 88.5 per cent the previous year.

Data set 2: The highest dropout rate was at the UHI Millennium Institute (25.4 per cent). It was followed by the University of the West of Scotland (21.4 per cent), the University of Bolton (19.8 per cent), Napier University (16.9 per cent), University of Sunderland (16.8 per cent) and Roehampton University (16.6 per cent)

Data set 3: Harper Adams University College is the most inclusive institution, with 58.4 per cent of its students coming from lower socio-economic groups. It is followed by London Metropolitan University (57.5 per cent) and the University of Greenwich (56.2 per cent).

Data set 4: The least inclusive institution is the Courtauld Institute of Art (7.9 per cent), followed by the University of Oxford (11.5 per cent) and the University of Cambridge (12.6 per cent).

The data sets above could be used to stimulate an introductory debate for new pupils at AS level in September and for A2 pupils to review and evaluate the value of increased spending on supply side policies and the effectiveness of such policies. It could also be an opportunity to integrate the use of twitter(?!) into the lesson allowing pupils to research and forward links to the debate during the lesson.