SREE is pleased to announce a webinar series on critical perspectives in quantitative methods that is open to the public. The co-sponsors for this webinar series include the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the American Educational Research Association – Division L, and the Council on Public Policy in Higher Education (CPPHE), a Council of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).
To date, thirteen webinars have been held. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
Access to this series is offered at no cost.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 13 Friday, November 15, 2024 How to QuantCrit equips researchers and users of quantitative data with practices to alter how they collect and analyze quantitative data. Using Quantitative Critical Race Theory (QuantCrit) as a framework, this book develops the foundation for an iterative praxis to explore a range of questions that prompt practitioners and stakeholders to be engaged critics in working towards a more just and equitable society.
The book begins with an overview of QuantCrit and its five tenets: (1) the centrality of racism; (2) numbers are not neutral; (3) categories are neither ‘natural’ nor given; (4) the importance voice and insight (data cannot speak for themselves); and (5) a social justice/equity orientation. Each subsequent chapter begins with a more detailed explanation and exploration of the tenet. Then, the chapters move into actionable steps that researchers and data users can take to implement QuantCrit into applied practice. Finally, the book closes with thoughts on working to use quantitative data for racial justice. This book is intended for researchers, data users, and graduate students in education and education-related disciplines. It offers insights and suggested actions that range from working with existing data sets in more racially just ways to more radically reimagining the entire educational research process. As such, the book offers ideas and information that can be useful for anyone working with quantitative educational data. It can be downloaded here.
This webinar is appropriate for the range of knowledge levels between basic (i.e., the participant has heard of QuantCrit and has an idea of most of the tenets) and intermediate.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 12: “It’s Not a Checklist”: The Current State and Future Directions of Critical Quantitative Methods September 26, 2024 This webinar will explore the current state of critical qualitative methods in P-20 educational research and ask participants to envision future directions. Critical quantitative methods are becoming more popular, and this discussion will focus on how scholars (from doctoral students through tenured faculty) can engage in this work moving forward, especially in light of increasing political polarization and ongoing critiques of equity-focused work. Rather than focus on one particular method, this discussion invites attendees to reflect on their own interest in and understanding of critical methods, with particular emphasis on navigating the challenges that arise in conducting this type of research. This webinar is appropriate for a range of knowledge levels, from no knowledge through advanced understandings.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 11: Using Quantitative Methods with Participatory Action Research: Its Possibilities, Challenges, and Limitations May 17, 2024 This webinar invites researchers from prominent research organizations to share their experiences in incorporating critical perspectives into their evaluation and research work. The discussion will spotlight the process of embedding criticality into research methodologies, the dynamics of collaboration with clients to include these perspectives, and the impact on study designs. Panelists will delve into their personal journeys of bringing critical viewpoints into the research ecosystem, addressing challenges and strategies for overcoming resistance, ensuring inclusivity, and fostering meaningful engagement with diverse stakeholders. This webinar is geared toward individuals with a basic/average knowledge level of critical perspectives in quantitative methods.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 10: Using Quantitative Methods with Participatory Action Research: Its Possibilities, Challenges, and Limitations This session will focus on using critical quantitative methods within the context of Participatory Action Research (PAR). The presenter will use a case study in the South Bronx along with other PAR examples in New York City to illustrate the collaborative possibilities, challenges and limitations of quantification. Of particular emphasis, the presenter will speak about participatory strategies for developing, distributing, analyzing and communicating community-based surveys as well as using public data and other means of collecting/organizing numeric data in support of policy change. Brett G. Stoudt, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Doctoral Program at the City University of New York, Graduate Center where he is the former head of the Ph.D. program in Critical Social/Personality and Environmental Psychology and currently serves as Psychology’s Deputy Executive Officer of the Graduate Center Campus. He is also a faculty member in the Social Welfare and Urban Education doctoral programs. Dr. Stoudt has worked on numerous participatory action research projects with community groups, lawyers, and policymakers nationally and internationally. His general interests include the social psychology of privilege and oppression with specific focus on the human impact of the criminal legal system, especially policing. He is also interested in critical methodologies, particularly critical approaches to quantitative research.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 9: A Critical Lens: Graduate Student Insights on the Future of Education Policy This session delves into how graduate students have developed and integrated critical perspectives into education policy, exploring their journeys to these viewpoints and examining the potential impact of their work on the future of education policy. This discussion will highlight the evolving role of early career scholars in shaping and redefining educational paradigms through critical analysis and innovative approaches.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 8: Considering Gender and Sexuality in Survey-Based Research: Queer and Trans Studies Perspectives This session will focus on queer and trans approaches to gender and sexuality data in survey-based research. The presenters all specialize in queer and trans quantitative research, and will discuss options, approaches, and possibilities in incorporating more expansive, fluid, and equitable considerations of gender and sexuality in survey-based research.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 7: Pedagogical Possibilities of Critical Quantification The purpose of this conversation will be to explore the pedagogical considerations and possibilities of critical quantification. Additionally, thoughts on the complexities of the sustainability of critical quantification will be offered.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 6: A Conversation with Foundations about Critical Education Research For this discussion, we invite Program Officers from private foundations to offer their perspectives about what a shift toward utilizing critical quantitative methods means for both researcher- and foundation-initiated funding opportunities. They will also offer thoughts about how scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students can and should be more intentional about criticality in quantitative educational research.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 5: Designing a Critical Race Mixed Methods Study DeCuir-Gunby will explain Critical Race Mixed Methodology (CRMM), the combining of Critical Race Theory and mixed methods research. She will focus on the relationship between a researcher’s inquiry worldview and methodological choices, centering on the role of positionality. The workshop will explain the role theory plays in guiding the mixed methods research process. A review of the basic mixed methods designs will be provided along with a discussion of the major components of a mixed methods study. Participants will have the opportunity to reimagine their own traditional mixed methods studies into CRMM studies. Implications will be provided for conducting critical race research in education.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Series Webinar 4: A Critical Perspective on Measurement: MIMIC Models to Identify and Remediate Racial (and Other) Forms of Bias Sound measurement is foundational to quantitative methodology. Despite the problematic history of measurement, it can be repurposed for critical and equitable ends. MIMIC (Multiple Indicator and MultIple Causes) models simply and efficiently test whether a measure means the same thing and can be measured in the same way across (e.g., racial/ethnic and/or gender) groups. This talk considers the affordances and limitations of MIMICs for critical quantitative methods, by detecting and remediating racial, ethnic, gendered, and other forms of bias in items and in measures. Matthew Diemer is a Professor in the Combined Program in Education & Psychology (CPEP) and Educational Studies programs at the University of Michigan. Diemer harnesses advanced quantitative methods to examine how young people develop critical consciousness - the capacity to reflect on, negotiate, and challenge racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other constraints in school, college, work, and civic/political institutions. His research is currently funded by the Spencer Foundation, William T Grant Foundation, Institute for Education Sciences, the Mental Research Institute, National Institute of Health, and the National Science Foundation. Diemer teaches Psychometrics and Structural Equation Modeling courses and provides statistical consultation to the campus community at the University of Michigan. He has delivered invited lectures and workshops on these and other quantitative topics domestically and internationally. He also served as the Statistical Consultant for the Psychology of Women Quarterly. Diemer was nominated for the "Golden Apple" teaching award and in 2019, received the Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize for Advancing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion via Advanced Quantitative Methods, both at the University of Michigan. Aixa Marchand is an assistant professor of psychology and educational studies at Rhodes College. Dr. Marchand graduated with a Ph.D. in education and psychology and a certificate in African American Studies from the University of Michigan in 2019. Her main research focuses on the attributions that Black parents make about educational inequities and how these attributions may relate to their school engagement. Other related research inquiries include illuminating how students and parents of color critically analyze school structures; elucidating how familial processes, such as familism and parent racial socialization, impact adolescents’ academic outcomes and socioemotional wellbeing; and the use and development of rigorous methodological tools to address societal inequities.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Webinar 3: Racial and Ethnic Identities and Administrative Data Webinar Recording Constructing and using race and ethnicity measures for administrative or secondary data sets presents many logistical and theoretical challenges. This workshop provides guidance on some of these challenges and potential solutions based on the literature. Dr. Dominique J. Baker is an assistant professor of education policy in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and a faculty affiliate of the Data Science Institute at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. Dr. Samantha Viano is an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Her research focuses on evaluating policies and assessing school contexts that predominantly affect minoritized student populations and their teachers, including policies on school safety and security, online credit recovery, teacher retention, and methods for studying racial equity.
The purpose of this discussion is to emphasize the role of critical consciousness in quantitative research design and communication, as well as to integrate critical perspectives on race and racism into practical decisions about the conduct of quantitative research that seeks to account for race (e.g., regression). Richard Blissett is an Assistant Professor of educational policy in the department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy at the University of Georgia. Their research primarily focuses on attitudes and ideologies in the politics of educational equity and justice, as well as the spaces in which public ideologies translate into policy action. Work in this area has included research on democratic structures in education governance (particularly, school boards) as well as anti-racism activism and social movements in education. They are also the principal investigator of the Democracy and Equity in Education Politics research group, and the principal coordinator for the Just Education Policy institute.
Critical Perspectives in Quantitative Methods Webinar 1: Introduction, Historical Origins and Future Possibilities This session will introduce attendees to the contours of critical quantitative research, particularly QuantCRIT (a methodological subfield of Critical Race Theory) by (a) examining the history, assumptions, and principles of QuantCrit and other critical perspectives in quantitative research and methods; and (b) illustrating these approaches in practice. Attendees will learn about the historical origins of critical quantitative methods, contemporary uses of critical quantitative methods, and possibilities for advancements in critical quantitative methods. |