Co-Principal Investigators Susan Dynarski and Christina Weiland

The University of Michigan Postdoctoral Training Program in Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Methods for Education Research will prepare 4 fellows for 2 years each to conduct quasi-experimental and experimental research using techniques that allow for robust causal inference. Specifically, fellows will learn a variety of methodological techniques including randomized controlled trials, instrumental variables, fixed effects, comparative interrupted time series, regression discontinuity analysis, multivariate regression and matching. They will be prepared to conduct research meeting the strict methodological standards of an IES Initial Efficacy or Efficacy/Effectiveness Replication study. Fellows will also be trained to identify policy questions using exploration research methods. Research projects will primarily make use of state and district longitudinal data systems and explore research questions that fall into the following topics: (1) Early Learning Programs and Policies, (2) Education Technology, (3) Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching, (4) Improving Education Systems, and (5) Postsecondary and Adult Education. Among the research projects fellows can work on is the Youth Policy Innovation Lab (funded by John and Laura Arnold Foundation), which will open up new research projects for IES post-docs. These projects include a new partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to study youth experiences in the foster care and juvenile justice systems and the effectiveness of school-based social and health services. The training will emphasize both the development of a true partnership with practitioners or public agencies, and communication of research results to a non-technical audience, including policymakers.

Related IES Projects: This program builds on a previous IES postdoctoral training grant Postdoctoral Training Program in Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Methods for Education Research (R305B110001) and complements an IES predoctoral training program Predoctoral Training Program in Causal Inference in Education Policy Research at University of Michigan (R305B150012) at University of Michigan.

Project website: http://edpolicy.umich.edu/training/post-doctoral/

Postdoctoral Fellows

Baron, Jason
Mussadiq, Tareena
Solanki, Sabrina
Yeomans-Maldonado, Gloria

Publications

Journal Articles

Baron, E. J., Goldstein, E. G., & Ryan, J. (2021). The push for racial equity in child welfare: can blind removals reduce disproportionality?. Available at SSRN 3947210.

Leyva, D., Weiland, C., Shapiro, A., Yeomans-Maldonado, G., & Febles, A. (2021). A strengths-based, culturally responsive family intervention improves Latino kindergarteners' vocabulary and approaches to learning. Child Development.

McPartlan, P., Solanki, S., Xu, D., & Sato, B. (2020). Testing basic assumptions reveals when (not) to expect mindset and belonging interventions to succeed. AERA Open, 6(4), 2332858420966994.

Mesa, C., & Yeomans-Maldonado, G. (2021). English and Spanish predictors of grade 3 reading comprehension in bilingual children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1-20.

Yeomans-Maldonado, G., & Mesa, C. (2021). The association of the home literacy environment and parental reading beliefs with oral language growth trajectories of Spanish-English bilingual children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 57, 271-284.

Working Papers

Trejo, S., Yeomans-Maldonado, G., & Jacob, B. (2021). The Psychosocial Effects of the Flint Water Crisis on School-Age Children (No. w29341). National Bureau of Economic Research.