Master's Thesis on individual decision making on risky education choices, PhD: Decision making and risk preferences
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Essex
Department Name: Inst for Social and Economic Research
Abstract
Master's Thesis on individual decision making on risky education choices, PhD: Decision making and risk preferences
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Sonkurt Sen (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P00072X/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 1974607 | Studentship | ES/P00072X/1 | 01/10/2017 | 13/02/2022 | Sonkurt Sen |
| Description | The first part of this award is related to my study at Master of Research in Economics which is completed in 2017/18 academic year with the degree having been awarded (with distinction) in November 2018. The dissertation was submitted to University of Essex and titled "Grit, Academic Inputs and Academic Achievements". The aim of the dissertation was to look at the predictive power of grit, trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals, on academic inputs and academic outcomes and to understand the mechanism how grit operates with the academic inputs. The resulting dissertation uses data from a longitudinal study from students at an English university. Using data from first year students, the results show that grit has predictive power on the academic inputs such as attendance, weekly study hours, active study and cramming. Grit also has predictive power on the first year academic achievements of the students. When the effects of grit and academic inputs are studied jointly, the effect of grit diminishes, which shows that the predictive power of grit comes indirectly from some of the academic inputs that it affects, namely attendance and cramming. The second part of this award is related to my studies for PhD in Economics at the University of Essex. In the first year of my studies, I have done research using the same dataset that I have used for my Master of Research dissertation. Using an experiment implemented to first year students, I and my co-authors (Prof Emilia del Bono, Prof Adeline Delevande, Dr Angus Holford) study the effect of this experiment on academic outcomes and the the possible mechanism this experiment has its effects on the academic outcomes. The experiment is an "information experiment" where the participants are given information about malleability of ability and study tips by making them watch a short video in a social sciences lab. The experiment is found to have positive effect on the academic outcomes of students that are categorized as Home students (UK citizens) and it is found that the experiment affected students by making them more effective such as making them prioritize studying what they are doing worst. The third part of this award studies the results of a Higher Education admissions policy called "Contextualized Admissions". The policy aims to bring more disadvantaged students into Higher Education by including contextual factors such as socio-economic status, having no parent with university education, receiving free school meal prior to university. The third part studies the effect of this admission policy on university students' academic and labor market outcomes. The analysis shows that the policy reduced academic outcomes of both target and non-target students. On the outcomes observed after graduation, there is little to no effect on the labor market outcomes. However, graduates are less likely to be in further education and this effect is stronger for disadvantaged students. The last part of this award studies the effect of role models, defined as academics from one's own racial group on the university students' academic and labor market outcomes. In this paper, I use administrative data linked to survey data and find that minority students who are exposed to more minority academics while at the university are less likely to hold a full-time job upon graduation. Further analysis shows that this is because these students are more likely to study for a further degree upon graduation, and more specifically for a postgraduate research degree. The results provide evidence that students see the academics as their role models. |
| Exploitation Route | The results found in Master of Research dissertation can be used to implement interventions aimed at increasing academic outcomes of the university students. Because it is found that grit has significant predictive power on attendance, weekly study hours, active study and cramming, an intervention aimed at increasing students' grit level might result in increasing the students' academic outcomes which would increase the students' human capital accumulation. The results found in the second part of this award can be used in a similar way. Because this intervention aimed at giving students information on the malleability of ability and study tips, a similar intervention would be especially beneficial for students who believe that their ability is fixed and there is not much they can do to improve their ability. Because it is previously found that students who hold beliefs about their ability that it is fixed to perform worse than their peers who believe the opposite in situations where they face a shock, it is important to implement interventions in such a way to increase the students' human capital accumulation. The results of the third part can inform universities on how best support students during university. Since the results show that both target and non-target groups graduate with worse outcomes, there is need for academic support during universities that apply contextualized admissions. The results can be used to design the support that students needs. The results of the last part can be used by university administrators to improve the racial diversity of their academic workforce to improve the outcomes of the undergraduate students by increasing their likelihood of studying for a postgraduate research degree. There has been a recent call for applications for a funding by Research England that aimed to improve the access of minority students to postgraduate research degrees. The results from the last part of this award can be used to motivate further interventions/policies to help this specific aim. |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | ESSEXLab Seedcorn Grants |
| Amount | £2,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Essex |
| Department | University of Essex EssexLab |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2019 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | What Do Parents Value in a School? |
| Amount | € 14,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | University of Bonn |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Description | 13th Applied Economics Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | 9th ECINEQ Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BGSE Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at Barcelona Graduate School of Economics in Barcelona, Spain, July 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "An Alternative to Affirmative Action: Contextualized Admissions and Labor Market Outcomes" at the British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference 2020 in June 2019 that was organized virtually, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | EALE 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | EEA-ESEM 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at the European Economic Association - Econometric Society annual conference in Manchester UK, August 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://editorialexpress.com/conference/EEAESEM2019/program/EEAESEM2019 |
| Description | EEA-ESEM 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | ESA 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at the Economic Science Association's European Meeting in Dijon France, September 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://lessac.bsb-education.com/index.php?page=european-esa-meeting-dijon-sept-2019 |
| Description | ESPE 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at the European Society fo Population Economics annual conference in Bath UK, June 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://espe2019bath.com |
| Description | ESPE 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | EasternArc Experimental Social Sciences Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at the EasternArc Experimental Social Sciences Workshop in Colchester UK, August 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | IAAE 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | INFER2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Podcast recording with UCU Policy Officer Angela Nartey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Podcast on the results of my research based on "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. The podcast was recorded in February but has not been published yet. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | RES Annual Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Reforming the higher education admission system: What does the evidence tell us? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis at an event jointly organized by ESRC Centre on Micro-Social Change and National Educational Opportunities Network (NEON). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Scottish Economic Association Annual Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Seminar at Lancaster University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Seminar at the University of Stavanger, Norway |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Turkish Economic Association Biannual Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "SES-Based Affirmative Action and Academic and Labor Market Outcomes" which is the second chapter of my PhD thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Young Economists Meeting 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of "Skills Accumulation with Malleable Ability: Evidence from a Growth Mindset Intervention" at the Young Economists Meeting in Brno, Czech Republic, June 2019, gaining feedback and follow-up conversations with academics outside of usual academic peer-group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://yem2019.econ.muni.cz |