Sound educational policy recommendations require valid estimates of causal effects, but observational studies in physics education research sometimes have loosely specified causal hypotheses. The connections between the observational data and the explicit or implicit causal conclusions are sometimes misstated. The link between the causal…

While teachers and researchers of students with disability are commonly interested in individual students and their progress towards individualised goals, traditional approaches to educational research that aim to illustrate generalisation between cause and effect are still commonly used. Traditional approaches, such as group-comparison designs,…

Although inter-rater reliability is an important aspect of using observational instruments, it has received little theoretical attention. In this article, we offer some guidance for practitioners and consumers of classroom observations so that they can make decisions about inter-rater reliability, both for study design and in the reporting of data…

With a growing interest in research on educational processes, there is a need to overview suitable latent variable models for students' learning experiences in real-time. This tutorial provides an introduction to intraindividual (multilevel) structural equation models (ISEM) for the analysis of process data (e.g. intensive longitudinal,…

This study examines the impact of post-secondary education on the well-being of Europeans, comparing single-item hedonic and multi-dimensional eudaimonic models of well-being, operationalized as 'satisfaction with life' (SWL) and 'flourishing'. The results indicate that the impact of education varies significantly when well-being is defined from…

This article summarizes results from 12 empirical evaluations of observational methods in education contexts. We look at the performance of three common covariate-types in observational studies where the outcome is a standardized reading or math test. They are: pretest measures, local geographic matching, and rich covariate sets with a strong…

As an alternative to rubric scoring, comparative judgment generates essay scores by aggregating decisions about the relative quality of the essays. Comparative judgment eliminates certain scorer biases and potentially reduces training requirements, thereby allowing a large number of judges, including teachers, to participate in essay evaluation.…

The intent of this series is to generate a space for critical reflection and inquiry on a burgeoning form of sociopolitical labor of schooling, that of educating against "extremism." In the United States' ongoing "War on Terror" being waged across the Middle East, North and East Africa, and South Asia, formal and informal…

This work discusses repertory grid analysis as a tool for investigating the structures of students' representations of biological concepts. Repertory grid analysis provides the researcher with a variety of techniques that are not associated with standard methods of concept mapping for investigating conceptual structures. It can provide valuable…

There is a significant, longstanding tradition in British sociological research that renders cultural capital synonymous with whiteness. This article suggests that one substantive factor that contributes to the enduring relationship between whiteness and cultural capital is the paucity of research on the Black and ethnic minority middle classes.…

With new and innovative efforts occurring within higher education, it is important to analyze these efforts. The purpose of this study was to examine competency-based education (CBE), and to improve and expand the research that exists related to CBE; while also describing a difference in degree completion proportion between CBE and the traditional…

The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in the reliabilities of cumulative college grade point averages (GPAs), estimated for unweighted and weighted, one-semester, 1-year, 2-year, and 4-year GPAs. Using cumulative GPAs for a freshman class at a major university, we estimate internal consistency (coefficient alpha) reliabilities for…

Online education is rapidly becoming a significant method of course delivery in higher education. Consequently, instructors analyze student performance in an attempt to better scaffold student learning. Learning analytics can provide insight into online students' course behaviors. Archival data from 167 graduate level education students enrolled…

Educational effectiveness research has identified school membership as being and important factor in relation to academic progress but it has also pointed to the importance of teachers. Additionally, districts have been shown to be of minor importance for progress once key variables are taken into account while data from international studies…

Experimental evaluations that involve the educational system usually involve a hierarchical structure (students are nested within classrooms that are nested within schools, etc.). Concerns about contamination, where research subjects receive certain features of an intervention intended for subjects in a different experimental group, have often led…