Helping to build out the data infrastructure around school boards, the politics of education, and K-12 education policy.
This is a particularly interesting time for the politics of education in Virginia, as many have claimed that education was the decisive issue in the recent Governor’s race, turning what is usually an issue on which Democrats have an advantage into a positive for the Republican Party. The issue of “education” in the election likely reflected a variety of factors, from critical race theory bans to Covid-19 school closures to teacher unionization. These dynamics are playing out not just in Virginia but across the country as partisan polarization on education policy increases and school boards become targets for nationalized political issues. My work seeks to understand the ways in which politics shape school systems and the implications for educational equity. However, this research requires understanding how the politics of education vary across school districts. I am looking for research assistants who can help track this information, including what the voter turnout rates have been in school board races across districts, states, and time, when elections have been held, where the push for critical race theory bans has been concentrated, which school districts have considered unionizing their teaching forces, which elections are held on- vs. off-cycle from presidential elections, and more. No specific previous experience required—mostly I am looking for enthusiastic, conscientious, and detail-oriented students to help contribute to this work on a number of different topics and gain experience with policy-relevant research in the process. If you do have Stata experience, there are several related tasks on which I would be excited to have your help, so that would be a big bonus but not required.
No specific prior experience - just attention to detail and responsiveness/ responsibility. Data analytic skills would be a big plus but not required for involvement.
Students will learn about education policy and governance, as well as local politics more broadly, as well as the role of data collection and compilation in the research process.