Purpose: The unanticipated changes in state legislation in Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin in 2011-12 significantly restricted or entirely prohibited the collective bargaining rights of teachers. Considering these institutional changes as a natural experiment, we examine the causal impact of weakening teacher unionization on…

Conducting high-quality overviews of reviews (OoR) is time-consuming. Because the quality of systematic reviews (SRs) varies, it is necessary to critically appraise SRs when conducting an OoR. A well-established appraisal tool is A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2, which takes about 15-32 min per application. To save time,…

This study focuses on Grounded Theory, which is one of the qualitative research designs. Glaser and Strauss developed the Grounded Theory; it has been revised by other scientists, resulting in three distinct Grounded Theory approaches: the systematic design (Corbin and Strauss approach), the classical design (Glaser approach), and the…

Drawing on annual, nationally representative survey data from 2007-2022, I demonstrate that partisan gaps - the average differences in public opinion between Democrats and Republicans - have widened on many education issues. This pattern consistently exceeds what would be expected due to the changing demographic compositions of the parties alone.…

As part of a study investigating research productivity of sociology PhD students in Australia, an application to the federal government's Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) aimed to establish a baseline count of completed sociology doctorates by university. It was anticipated that university totals might be different from PhD…

This systematic review presents the first synthesis of the scientific literature on estimating school and teacher/class effects on student academic performance using random-effects (RE) models with three or more levels. The review delves into the theoretical framework underpinning the estimation of educational effects, the associated statistical…

The purpose of this study is to review journal papers on educational big data research published from 2010 to 2018. A total of 143 papers were selected. The papers were characterized based on three dimensions: (a) educational goals; (b) educational problems addressed; and (c) big data analytical techniques used. A qualitative content analysis…

Objective: Several studies have shown that Adult ADHD presents differently in younger and older adults. We sought to assess the difference in care between these two groups using previously identified quality measures (QMs). Methods: Using electronic health record data, we matched a younger group of ADHD patients to an older group. We then assessed…

The possibilities of Learning Analytics as a tool for empowering teachers and educators have created a steep interest in how to provide so-called actionable insights. However, the literature offers little in the way of defining or discussing what the term "actionable insight" means. This selective literature review provides a look into…

This article introduces practitioners and researchers to the topic of missing data in the context of differential item functioning (DIF), reviews the current literature on the issue, discusses implications of the review, and offers suggestions for future research. A total of nine studies were reviewed. All of these studies determined what effect…

A key component of online and blended learning content, open educational resources, (OER) are heralded in a global movement toward high-quality, affordable, accessible, and personalized education. However, stakeholders have expressed concern about scaling OER use due to a lack of means to ensure a fit between learner, resource, and task. Usage…

This paper details the anticipated impact of synthetic "big" data on learning analytics (LA) infrastructures, with a particular focus on data governance, the acceleration of service development, and the benchmarking of predictive models. By reviewing two cases, one at the sector-wide level (the Jisc learning analytics architecture) and…

Background: In the past decade, there has been an increasing national policy push for educators to systematically collect, interpret, and use data for instructional decision making. The assumption by the federal government is that having data systems will be enough to prompt the use of data for a wide range of decision making. These policies rely…

Background: Case studies suggest that late hiring timelines are common in large urban school districts and result in the loss of qualified teachers to surrounding suburbs. To date, however, there has been no large-scale quantitative investigation of the relationship between the timing of teacher hires and teacher qualifications. Purpose: This…

Discusses ways in which psychological researchers can aggregate behavior over situations and occasions, thereby reducing variations that negatively affect replicability. (MK)