As evidence from evaluation and experimental studies continue to influence decision and policymaking, applied researchers and practitioners require tools to derive valid and credible inferences. Over the past several decades, research in causal inference has progressed with the development and application of propensity scores. Since their…

Regression discontinuity (RD) designs have gained significant popularity as a quasi-experimental device for evaluating education programs and policies. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of RD designs, focusing on the continuity-based framework, the most widely adopted RD framework. We first review the fundamental aspects of RD…

Consistency and coverage are two core parameters of model fit used by configurational comparative methods (CCMs) of causal inference. Among causal models that perform equally well in other respects (e.g., robustness or compliance with background theories), those with higher consistency and coverage are typically considered preferable. Finding the…

The quality of products from the causal mapping process and the effect of factors related to causal map quality are unlikely to be the same for students at different educational levels. However, there is a lack of studies that provide insights into causal maps constructed by primary school students to reveal appropriate strategies. This study…

For misguided reasons, social scientists have long been reluctant to use gain scores for estimating causal effects. This article develops graphical models and graph-based arguments to show that gain score methods are a viable strategy for identifying causal treatment effects in observational studies. The proposed graphical models reveal that gain…

The Jeong (2020) study found that greater use of backward and depth-first processing was associated with higher scores on students' argument maps and that analysis of only the first five nodes students placed in their maps predicted map scores. This study utilized the jMAP tool and algorithms developed in the Jeong (2020) study to determine if the…

The following study shows how reparameterizations and constraints of the general linear model can serve to parse quantitative and qualitative aspects of predictors. We demonstrate three different approaches. The study uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 on mathematics course-taking and achievement as an example. Results show…

Introduction: This study aimed to estimate the causal effect of face-to-face learning on student performance in anatomy, compared to online learning, by analysing examination marks under a causal structure. Methods: We specified a causal graph to indicate how the mode of learning affected student performance. We sampled purposively to obtain…

Contextual, identity, and cultural factors are not only associated with student outcomes but can also serve to moderate the effects of interventions. However, the conventional analysis of moderation commonly used in school psychology is subject to the selection bias potentially introducing bias into estimated moderator effects. This article…

Researchers in behavioral sciences are often interested in longitudinal behavior change outcomes and the mechanisms that influence changes in these outcomes over time. The statistical models that are typically implemented to address these research questions do not allow for investigation of mechanisms of dynamic change over time. However, latent…

Background: Grade retention is an educational aspect that concerns teachers, families, and experts. It implies an economic cost for families, as well as a personal cost for the student, who is forced to study one more year. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of course repetition on math, science and reading competencies, and…

When students are working collaboratively and communicating verbally in a technology-enhanced environment, the system cannot track what collaboration is happening outside of the technology, making it difficult to fully assess the collaboration of the students and adapt accordingly. In this article, we propose using gaze measures as a proxy for…

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the digital competence of Higher Education students, as a function of their academic performance (have either repeated or a not previously), as well as to predict its significant predictors. For this, an ex-post factor and a sample of 17301 students from Chile (Latin America) were utilized. A…

Researchers often include covariates when they analyze the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), valuing the increased precision of the estimates over the potential of inducing small-sample bias when doing so. In this paper, we develop a sufficient condition which ensures that the inclusion of covariates does not cause small-sample bias…

In this study, the effects of interactive video usage in programming education on academic achievement and self-efficacy perception of programming were investigated by taking into account learning styles. The research was patterned according to the causal-comparative model, and also, correlation analysis was performed for related research.…