Theory to Practice:Applying Economics in Our day-to-day Life
| Post date: Thu, Feb 25, 2016 |
| Category: General |
| By: Oscar Ochieng, |
KUESA students listening and taking short notes during their house visit at the IEA’s board room. Photo Credits: Oscar Ochieng
The staff of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya) hosted students studying economics at Kenyatta University to a half day meeting held at the IEA board room on 24th February 2016.
The objective of the meeting was to interact with the students on various issues ranging from how to become successful economists by applying basic principle of economics, critical thinking, problem solving, transfer of skills from theory to practice, and also to prepare them for the job market considering most of the students were fourth year students seeking employment opportunities.
Most students pursuing economics don’t become good economists because they lack creative thinking and problem solving techniques. They do not realize that economics is a way of thinking and not a subject, and once you understand that, then economics will be easy to apply in daily life, said Kwame Owino, CEO, IEA-Kenya. He further said that economics that is important is one which lives and not the one in books. One can become a good economist by widely reading journals on economics and literature on the same which will influence your thinking. You must also bear in mind that creating a niche requires a lot of hard work.
To support his sentiments, he gave the example of a renowned economist, Amartya K. Sen – who argues in his book that famine and poverty are intertwined in the sense that one can experiment or encounter famine not because there is scarcity of food, but because of other factors like affordability due to low or no income – contrary to how most people associate famine with lack or scarcity of food which is not always the case. This is the kind of critical thinking that a good economist should possess, said Kwame.
A majority of students acknowledged that their minds were more on passing exams than putting their focus on practicality. “I think as students put our energies on rote learning and that is where we miss the target” said one of the students (name withheld).
Time has come for curriculum developers or universities to revise and incorporate the practical aspect of learning in the curriculum as this will not limit the students to concentrate on theory but also mould them as all-rounder’s – balancing theory and practical. The job market requires graduates who can think outside the box and individuals who can offer problem solving skills.
Theory to Practice:Applying Economics in Our day-to-day Life
| Post date: Thu, Feb 25, 2016 | | Category: General | | By: Oscar Ochieng, |
KUESA students listening and taking short notes during their house visit at the IEA’s board room. Photo Credits: Oscar Ochieng
The staff of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya) hosted students studying economics at Kenyatta University to a half day meeting held at the IEA board room on 24th February 2016.
The objective of the meeting was to interact with the students on various issues ranging from how to become successful economists by applying basic principle of economics, critical thinking, problem solving, transfer of skills from theory to practice, and also to prepare them for the job market considering most of the students were fourth year students seeking employment opportunities.
Most students pursuing economics don’t become good economists because they lack creative thinking and problem solving techniques. They do not realize that economics is a way of thinking and not a subject, and once you understand that, then economics will be easy to apply in daily life, said Kwame Owino, CEO, IEA-Kenya. He further said that economics that is important is one which lives and not the one in books. One can become a good economist by widely reading journals on economics and literature on the same which will influence your thinking. You must also bear in mind that creating a niche requires a lot of hard work.
To support his sentiments, he gave the example of a renowned economist, Amartya K. Sen – who argues in his book that famine and poverty are intertwined in the sense that one can experiment or encounter famine not because there is scarcity of food, but because of other factors like affordability due to low or no income – contrary to how most people associate famine with lack or scarcity of food which is not always the case. This is the kind of critical thinking that a good economist should possess, said Kwame.
A majority of students acknowledged that their minds were more on passing exams than putting their focus on practicality. “I think as students put our energies on rote learning and that is where we miss the target” said one of the students (name withheld).
Time has come for curriculum developers or universities to revise and incorporate the practical aspect of learning in the curriculum as this will not limit the students to concentrate on theory but also mould them as all-rounder’s – balancing theory and practical. The job market requires graduates who can think outside the box and individuals who can offer problem solving skills.
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