According to Indonesian National Curriculum year of 2006 (Kurikulum Nasional 2006), economics course is initially offer in tenth grade. It is a compulsory subject in the tenth grade senior high school as all students has to take the economics subject.

After pass tenth grade, a student who study in a secular school has to choose one of three available paths: (1) natural science program (IPA or Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam), (2) social science program (IPS or Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial), or (3) languages program. In the final year, students will learned the advanced versions of the subjects they learned in the first two years of their study.  The main objective of division major is mainly to let students choose the subjects their like to study, however in reality students with higher academic achievement are encouraged to choose IPA, while lower grade students are advised to choose IPS or language program. Hence, there is a perception that IPA is a more prestigious program than IPS. (Kuntjara 2005). On the other hand, IPS students learn economics more than IPA students.  An IPS student learns economics 2 hours per week in tenth grade, 4 hours per week in eleventh grade and another 4 hours per week in twelfth grade, whereas an IPA student only takes 2 hours per week in tenth grade.  Based on those two conditions, it will be tricky to hypothesize that IPA students will have better performance than IPS student in university principle of economics courses. A more economics courses taken by IPS student in high school hypothetically will have positive effect on their performance in university principles economics courses. In contrast, IPA students who assumed that have better academic ability also could have a better performance than IPS students.  Based on existing literatures, this papaer compare the effect of high school economics education as a consequence of division major policy in high school and academic ability on achievement in university principle economics courses.

Discusssant: Pipit Pitriyan