Kurse: Kursinformationen

Symposium "Causality in Educational Research"

From July 14 to 16, 2010 was held a conference at the "Altes Schloss Dornburg" near Jena.

Aim of the symposium

In educational research, estimating causal effects often is the goal, although this is not always stated explicitly. For instance, we are interested in whether one or the other type of school has beneficial effects on students' achievements. In comparing several schools, we are striving towards fair comparisons. Comparisons are fair when they adequately take into account that schools differ in their student populations. Differences in achievements between students of different schools are, for example, due to the students' socio-economic status. Apparently, it would be not fair to compare two schools without considering this and other diversities. This applies not only to a static consideration of achievements, but also to the value-added-approach that focuses on changes in achievements. Basically, fair comparisons make sure that the estimated effects can be attributed to schools and their work and not to systematic selection from diverse populations.

Finally, classical intervention research, which evaluates different methods of instruction as well as social intervention, has always been an application area of empirical causal research. In this case, it is essential to compare interventions adjusting for possible selection effects. Even though there already are some studies based upon an explicit theory of causal effects, these studies are still rare. Furthermore, there are also new developments in the theory of causal effects, which have not yet been applied in educational research at all. Hence, we believe that this symposium can really make a contribution to the methodology of empirical educational research.

For further information, please visit the website of the Symposium on Causality 2010.

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Videos

	Tuesday, July 13	Wednesday, July 14	Thursday, July 15	Friday, July 16
09:00 - 09:45		Focus presentation R. Steyer (Jena, Germany) "Theory and Analysis of Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects" Video 01 with slides	Focus presentation R. Lehmann (Berlin, Germany) "Modeling academic growth in late primary/early secondary school as a function of transition patterns - How can distributional patterns be taken into account?" Video 05 with slides	Focus presentation P. Steiner (Madison, USA) "Challenges and strategies in estimating propensity scores in educational research." Video 09 with slides
09:45 - 10:15		Invited discussion C. Fiege (Jena, Germany) "Which kinds of causal effects are we looking for in educational research? - An application of the theory of causal effects" Video 01 with slides	Invited discussion O. Lüdtke (Tübingen, Germany) "Schools as differential learning environments: Challenges in estimating the causal effects of schools in the German school system." Video 05 with slides	Invited discussion F. Thoemmes (Tübingen, Germany) "The use of propensity scores in multilevel models." Video 09 with slides
10:15 - 10:45		Invited discussion S. West (Tempe, USA) Video 01 with slides	Invited discussion U. Kröhne (Frankfurt, Germany) "Comparison of quasi-experimental methods for large-scale assessments: Estimating the effect of bilingual instruction based on a subsample of the DESI study." Video 05 with slides	Invited discussion B. Nagengast (Oxford, UK) "Doubly-latent contextual effect models: Their potential for school effectiveness research, league tables and causal inference." Video 09 with slides
10:45 - 11:15		Coffee break	Coffee break	Coffee break
11:15 - 11:45		General discussion	Panel discussion E. Klieme (Frankfurt, Germany), H. A. Pant (Berlin, Germany) "Causal effects in educational research. Why and where are they important?"	General discussion
11:45 - 12:30		Short contributions A. Mayer (Jena, Germany) "Causal inference for mediation models - An introduction" Video 02 with slides F. Thoemmes (Tübingen, Germany) "Causal inference for mediation models - A simulation study" Video 02 with slides K. Hallberg (Chigaco, USA) "The role of pretest and proxy-pretest measures of the outcome for removing selection bias in observational studies." Video 02 with slides		Short contributions S. Vujic (UK, London) "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education" Video 10 with slides
12:30 - 14:15		Lunch	Lunch	Departure of the shuttle bus to Jena is at 13:00 (Packed lunch at depature instead of lunch)
14:15 - 15:15		Short contributions S. Pohl (Bamberg, Germany) "Adjustment Using Latent Covariates" Video 03 with slides P. Midthaugen (Oslo, Norway) "Handling differences and intercultural learning in Physical Education. Measuring outcomes among students after a PE-teacher education in upper secondary schools in Norway." A. Thomas (Klagenfurt, Austria) "The role of contextual effects on students' motivation"	Short contributions S. Sanduvete-Chaves (Sevilla, Spain) "An invariance study to compare participants' satisfaction with online versus traditional training methods and different organizations" Video 07 with slides S. Chacón-Moscoso (Sevilla, Spain) "Structural dimensions in educational program evaluation design and measurement: Validity and generalization" Video 07 with slides S. Sanduvete-Chaves (Sevilla, Spain) "Measuring methodological quality in primary studies: A content validity study" Video 07 with slides
15:15 - 15:45		Coffee break	Coffee break
15:45 - 16:30		Focus presentation T. D. Cook (Evanston, USA) "No child left behind. An interrupted time series analysis." Video 04 with slides	Invited lecture D. Rindskopf (New York, USA) "Aggregation of effects from single subject designs." Video 08 with slides
16:30 - 17:00		Invited discussion D. Briggs (Boulder, USA) "Value added modeling of teacher and/or school effects." Video 04 with slides	Invited lecture S. Rässler (Bamberg, Germany) "Imputation of potential outcomes to estimate treatment effects of small groups." Video 08 with slides
17:00 - 17:30		Invited discussion D. B. Rubin (Cambridge, USA) Video 04 with slides	Invited lecture R. Pinto (Chicago, USA) "Early childhood experiments: Causality and inference of compromised randomized trials." Video 08 with slides
17:30 - 18:00		General discussion Video 04 with slides	General discussion Video 08 with slides
19:30	Welcome Reception			Farewell Dinner
20:00			Conference Dinner

Material related to the contributions

Focus presentations

Thomas D. Cook - "No child left behind. An interrupted time series analysis."

• Presentation: How No Child Left Behind has affected Student Achievement Gains

Rainer Lehmann - "Modeling academic growth in late primary/early secondary school as a function of transition patterns - How can distributional patterns be taken into account?"

• Presentation: Modeling academic growth in late primary/early secondary school - how can distributional patterns in different transition schemes be taken into account?

Rodrigo Pinto - "Early childhood experiments: Causality and inference of compromised randomized trials."

• Analyzing Social Experiments as Implemented: A Reexamination of the Evidence From the HighScope Perry Preschool Program
• Web Appendix for "Analyzing Social Experiments as Implemented: A Reexamination of the Evidence From the HighScope Perry Preschool Program"
• Presentation: "Early Childhood Experiments: Inference on Compromised Randomization Trials"

David Rindskopf - "Aggregation of effects from single subject designs."

• Presentation: Causal Inference, Design, and Statistical Analysis Issues in Single Case Designs.

Peter Steiner - "Challenges and strategies in estimating propensity scores in educational research."

• How Bias Reduction Is Affected by Covariate Choice, Unreliability, and Mode of Data Analysis: Results From Two Types of Within-Study Comparisons
• On the Importance of Reliable Covariate Measurement in Selection Bias Adjustments Using Propensity Scores
• The Importance of Covariate Selection in Controlling for Selection Bias in Observational Studies
• Presentation: Challenges and Strategies in Estimating Propensity Scores in Educational Research

Rolf Steyer - "Theory and Analysis of Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects"

• Steyer, R., Partchev, I., Kroehne, U., Nagengast, B., & Fiege, C. (2010). Probability and Causality: Theory. Manuscript in preparation.Heidelberg: Springer.
• Steyer, R., Fiege, C. & Rose, N. (2010). Analyzing Total, Direct and indirect Causal Effects in Intervention Studies. ISSBD Bulletin, 57, 10-13

• Videos and materials of the workshop "Analysis of Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects in Experiments and Quasi-Experiments" (Jena; June 2010)

• EffectLite for LISREL [v3.1.2 - 2008-06-25]
• Manual for EffectLite for LISREL [v3.1.1 - 2008-03-27]

• EffectLite for Mplus [v3.1.2 - 2008-06-25]
• Manual for EffectLite for Mplus [v3.1.1 - 2008-03-27]

Discussions

Derek Briggs - "Value added modeling of teacher and/or school effects."

• The Goals and Uses of Value-Added Models
• The Future of Test-Based Educational Accountability
• The Sensitivity of Value-Added Modeling to the Creation of a Vertical Score Scale
• Abstract: Persistence
• Presentation: Making Inferences about Teacher and Schools in the United States: Do We Need Value-Added?

Christiane Fiege - "Which kinds of causal effects are we looking for in educational research? - An application of the theory of causal effects"

• Presentation: Which kinds of causal effects are we looking educational research? - An application of the theory of causal effects

Eckhard Klieme - Panel discussion: "Causal effects in educational research. Why and where are they important?"

• Presentation: Causal Inference in Education: Some remarks from the perspective of Educational Research.

Ulf Kröhne - "Comparison of quasi-experimental methods for large-scale assessments: Estimating the effect of bilingual instruction based on a subsample of the DESI study."

• Presentation: Comparison of quasi-experimental methods for large-scale assessments: Estimating the effect of bilingual instruction based on a subsample of the DESI study.

Oliver Lüdtke - "Schools as differential learning environments: Challenges in estimating the causal effects of schools in the German school system."

• Presentation: Schools as differential learning environments: Challenges in estimating the causal effect of schools in the German school system.

Benjamin Nagengast - "Doubly-latent contextual effect models: Their potential for school effectiveness research, league tables and causal inference."

• Presentation: Doubly-latent contextual effect models: Their potential for school effectiveness research, league tables and causal inference

Hans Anand Pant - Panel discussion: "Causal effects in educational research. Why and where are they important?"

• Social gradient and reading competence in PISA 2000 and 2006

Felix Thoemmes - "The use of propensity scores in multilevel models."

• Presentation: The use of propensity scores in multilevel models.

Short contributions

Salvador Chacón-Moscoso

• Abstract: "Structural dimensions in educational program evaluation design and measurement: Validity and generalization"
• Presentation: "Structural dimensions in educational program evaluation design and measurement: Validity and generalization"

Kelly Hallberg

• Abstract: "The role of pretest and proxy pretest measures of the outcome in removing selection bias in observational studies."
• Presentation: "The role of pretest and proxy pretest measures of the outcome in removing selection bias in observational studies."

Axel Mayer

• Presentation: "Estimating Total, Direct and Indirect Causal Effects: A Simulated Example"

Per Midthaugen

• Abstract: "Handling differences and intercultural learning in Physical Education. Measuring outcomes among students after a PE-teacher education in upper secondary schools in Norway."
• Presentation: "Handling differences and intercultural learning in Physical Education. Measuring outcomes among students after a PE-teacher education in upper secondary schools in Norway."

Steffi Pohl

• Abstract: "Adjustment Using Latent Covariates"
• Presentation: "Adjustment using latent covariates"

Susana Sanduvete-Chaves

• Abstract: "An invariance study to compare participants' satisfaction with online versus traditional training methods and different organizations"
• Presentation: "An invariance study to compare participants' satisfaction with online versus traditional training methods and different organizations"
• Abstract: "Measuring methodological quality in primary studies: A content validity study"
• Presentation: "Measuring methodological quality in primary studies: A content validity study"

Almut Thomas

• Abstract: "The role of contextual effects on students' motivation"
• Presentation: "Individual and contextual effects of basic needs support on students' motivation"

Suncica Vujics

• Abstract: "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education"
• Presentation: "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education"