Educational Performance, ‘Clicker’ Engagement and Ethnicity: Evidence from Finance 101

32 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2014

See all articles by Helen Roberts

Helen Roberts

University of Otago - Department of Accountancy and Finance

Ivan Diaz-Rainey

Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University; University of Otago

Date Written: December 10, 2014

Abstract

We explore the nexus between academic performance, ethnicity and student engagement via learning technologies. We do so in the context of an introductory, high volume, finance course at a leading Australasian university. More specifically, we explore three research questions (1) What factors determine student ‘clicker’ based engagement? (2) Does engagement improve academic performance? (3) Do Māori and Pacific Island (MPI) students underperform their peers and do the determinants of performance differ to those of their peers? Our results support several important findings. First, male students in the early stages of their degree and living in a residential college attend lectures more often than other students. Second, Non-MPI students who attend lectures as measured by engagement through clicker participation achieve higher marks on both the formative (Quizzes) and summative assessments (a Midterm exam). Third, MPI students have lower average attainment in the Midterm compared to other Finance 101 students. Finally, this research highlights that drivers of success for MPI students are different and not well captured by our model. In particular, unlike other students, attendance did not prove to be an important determinant in attainment.

Keywords: Tertiary education, higher education, finance, learning technologies, Māori, Pacifica

JEL Classification: A20, A22

Suggested Citation

Roberts, Helen and Diaz-Rainey, Ivan, Educational Performance, ‘Clicker’ Engagement and Ethnicity: Evidence from Finance 101 (December 10, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2536678 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2536678

Helen Roberts

University of Otago - Department of Accountancy and Finance ( email )

PO Box 56
Dunedin, 9054
New Zealand
6434798072 (Phone)
6434798171 (Fax)

Ivan Diaz-Rainey (Contact Author)

Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University ( email )

Australia

University of Otago ( email )

Dunedin
New Zealand

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