Integrating teaching and learning in graduate studies: economic development course

Abstract

Development economics is a field of study, trying to explore the reason of economic success and failures of different countries or regions in the world. It deals with important issues and gaps of 21st Century, such as poverty, inequality, education, health, demographic changes, migration, trade and globalization. Moreover, the basic issues of development economics have been in focus since 1776 within the famous book of Adam Smith "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations". Development economics, it can be argued, has to be concerned not only with protecting its "own" territory, but also with keeping alive the foundational motivation of the subject of economics in general. All the above-mentioned aspects on development economics are the main motivation of this paper. Furthermore, this study tries to analyze, synthesize and recapitulate the integration of teaching and learning in graduate studies. It is the case of an actual course, termed "Development and Growth", offered in the economics department of the Master of Science program. The study will cover two main analyses: the first analysis, dealing with the specifics of course organization and management and the second one, exploring the students' projects and their integration with the course.