Students' conceptions of price, value and opportunity cost: some implications for future research

Abstract

In comparison with the literature on students' conceptions of science and mathematics, the body of evidence on students' conceptions in social science appears rather small. Within this limited field, conceptions of price and opportunity cost have attracted a substantial proportion of researchers' attention. This article reviews the evidence generated from this research and suggests three pointers for future research: (1) relating to the methods used; (2) relating to conceptual structure; and (3) relating to the attention given to values and students' conceptions of how economic activity should be conducted.