Title: Impact of achievement, skills, gender and career intentions on students' perceptions of economics in the UAE

Authors: Abderazak Bakhouche; Abdulaziz Almarzooqi; Welcome Sibanda; Mercy Chaita

Addresses: Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Dubai Men's College (DMC), P.O. Box 15825, Academic City Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates ' Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Dubai Men's College (DMC), P.O. Box 15825, Academic City Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates ' Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Dubai Men's College (DMC), P.O. Box 15825, Academic City Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates ' Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Dubai Men's College (DMC), P.O. Box 15825, Academic City Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract: Understanding students' opinions is of substantial benefit to higher education providers with implications on students' attrition. This study examines undergraduate business students' perceptions of economics in the United Arab Emirates. The role of a host of student-specific attributes, including academic achievement, gender, career intentions and skills accumulated during preparatory education, is assessed using the logit regression analysis. The results show that students generally have positive perceptions of economics, but they consider the course to demand more concentration and time to understand. Better knowledge of maths and having an adequate level of English significantly contribute to forming better opinions towards economics. The gender effect is slightly observed in the study of economics. The course is relevant to students of all fields of study, emphasising consensus on its function as a conduit of liberal art skills. This study calls on educators and administrators to ensure that students are adequately prepared to study economics. More importantly, students shall be exposed to an awareness campaign about the importance of economic literacy for themselves and the nation's economic development.

Keywords: higher education; locus of control; UAE; impact of GPA; skills; English competency; maths competency; students' perceptions; economics education; quantitative survey; quality of teaching; logit regression.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2022.125332

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2022 Vol.13 No.4, pp.364 - 391

Received: 14 Jan 2021
Accepted: 13 May 2021
Published online: 07 Sep 2022 *

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