Behind the numbers: Social programs course analyzies economic theory put into action
Sanarya Al khamees, class of 2027 and an Economics/Finance and International Studies double major, is used to her econ classes focusing on numbers. She has taken many
“I tend to focus on qualitative analysis because of my International Studies major,” Al khamees said. “We try to understand people, not just by the numbers. This is my first Economics class that approaches people as a whole, not just in a statistical way.”
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics Scott Davis ‘01 teaches the course, drawing from his experience leading research and evaluation studies for agencies like the U.S. Department of Education before returning to Centre this year. Students are learning how researchers try to understand and evaluate the effectiveness of programs that aim to improve people’s lives, such as reemployment programs or income support. It extends lessons beyond the classroom, showcasing how evidence about social programs impact is generated and how it can affect our world.
“When deciding what I wanted to teach during CentreTerm, I tried to think back to my time as a Centre student and the kind of course I would have wanted to take,” he said. “One of my goals was to take my career experience and use it to help students learn how this type of work actually gets done.”
In addition to learning from a professor with experience in the field, students hear from guest speakers about their work. These professionals are leaders in their respective fields at the local, state, and national level. They include the Executive Director of the workforce agency serving the Louisville area, the Research Director of the agency that manages Kentucky’s state longitudinal data system, and a former Chief Evaluation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor.
“It’s been really interesting to get a perspective from people who are frequently involved in evaluation work in one capacity or another,” said Jack Fowler, class of 2026.
Course material draws on economics, but both Davis and the students are exploring how the lessons overlap with other subjects. For Fowler, a Psychology major, that was a big draw of the course.
“It seemed like an intersection of a lot of my interests, from psychology to sociology and politics,” he said. “There’s a lot of crossover between fields in terms of research methods, so it’s been interesting to learn about familiar methods applied in what are, to me, less familiar contexts.”
Davis is also emphasizing how social programs impact communities. While that impact may be nuanced, they provide crucial support to communities across the country.
“There are organizations and researchers out there that care about these types of programs and ultimately want to build evidence that can improve the lives of the people these programs serve,” Davis said. “Students will walk away from this course able to think more critically about evaluating how social programs are working.”
