Digging Deeper in Behavioral Economics

Despite the good advice from one of my professors, Dr. Antonenko, to read at least one professional article a day, I have decided to take a few days off reading Sadker & Zittleman’s “Teachers, Schools, and Society” for work, and dozens of peer reviewed articles for my literature review at school topped with Dooley’s “Social Research Methods” - for school as well. I am fully aware that taking time off from reading is not something that a doctoral student can afford to do, however…. my recent interest in behavioral economics has not subdued, and I am starting to find ties from the discipline of economics to the discipline of education in ways that are quite intriguing and I feel compelled to follow until I either reach a dead end, or - perhaps find a lead that will necessitate doing some more reading and additional research. 

All of this takes me back to Richard Thaler’s (2015) book, “Misbehaving” which at glance does not have much to do with education whatsoever. Even at Barnes and Noble, this book is far away from the sections of Education and other social sciences. So - being an educator, where does my fascination with behavioral economics stem from? First, I found the discipline of behavioral economics interesting because it recognizes the centerpiece of our educational system - a human. Our clients are solely human beings, and as described by Richard Thaler, humans misbehave; they construct their experiences based on hunches that are not always reasonable, but nevertheless perceived to be good for them in a certain way. The first few chapters of “Misbehaving” are literally telling the story of our world in public education. Thaler’s discussion of statistical lives vs. identified lives also has a perfect application in schools. With the accountability measures, we are always looking at the statistics of the test scores. This data gets analyzed at so many levels by many different departments, but improved results in student learning are slow to follow. That is because we are dealing with statistics. When we start looking at individual students (identified lives), and working with each and every child at the classroom level, we can expect to see results. That is not to say that the statistical data does not matter. It does, but the difference can only be made when addressing the needs of individual students, one at a time.

Second, I could not help but chuckle when reading about the “endowment effect” - descried by Thaler as a phenomenon of people valuing what they already have higher than something that they do not currently have (but could have). This is the story of of our school system! While public perception of our schools is generally lower than average, parents of children attending our schools are generally (77% at the time) satisfied with the schools that their children are attending (giving the school an “A” or a “B”); (http://www.gallup.com/poll/142658/americans-views-public-schools-far-worse-parents.aspx). Furthermore, those that can afford, will opt to send their children to private schools altogether (http://humanevents.com/2013/10/17/where-do-public-school-teachers-send-their-own-kids/). The question is - why do parents favor the schools that their children attend while the general public is still doubtful about the efficacy of American education? While the data provided by Gallup is from 5 years ago, there are reasons to assume that the situation has not improved. In the sate of Florida, we have dumped one ineffective test (FCAT) for another (FSA) that could be (possibly) effective, however, the schools will not receive the majority of the test scores until several month into the next school year, hence continuing the saga of the same old murky waters of American education. 

Could behavioral economics provide a different lens for viewing our education? Let’s leave the value added models aside (once we have determined that the values that we are using are indeed valid for the purpose for which they are to be used) and look at the human aspect of education - our clients’ (students and parents) satisfaction. What is the picture that we get of American education then? This is a million dollar question, but using the theory of behavioral economics may provide some insight into understanding the perceptions of parents and students that are our clientele today.

A Letter to Graduates

Back in June, Florida Department of Education blogged about 6 Things that High School Grads Need to Do Before Leaving for College. While some of them were the good old common sense pointers such as “learn how to do your own laundry” and “know how to keep your things safe”, others were practical swim or survive strategies. Two of them resonated with me as a college instructor, as a professional, and as a graduate student.

Time Management

First, you need to get a grip on your time management. The deadlines have just become real. You may get lucky and have a professor that will fall for your excuses that you simply “did not know” that something was due, or that you needed a book for the course - but this is not going to last. YOU are the one in charge of your learning. Reach out to others. Build networks of support. Contact the instructor. The majority of colleges have the outline of their courses online, and you can see what is coming up. There are no secrets! If you have not done it yet, now is a good time to build a good work ethic that will be a great asset for years to come.

Social Presence

FLDOE blog outlines the importance of crafting a good resume and learning how to network. What a better way to do it than creating an online profile! Have you Googled yourself recently? What did you find? If it is the pictures of your undergraduate wild side, then it is time to make a change. A good resume is great, but you must link it to sites that put your name out there for others to see. A great start is using a professional site such as Linkedin where you can share your competencies and experiences. Be sure to update it on a regular bases! Also, Twitter and Facebook can be used for promoting professional presence. It is okay to keep the personal accounts but you have to be mindful about what you post and how you grant access.

A Few More Tips for College and  Beyond

With all the excitement of the new beginnings comes the responsibility to live up to the challenges that you will face. In his 2015 Commencement Speech at Trine University, Lou Holtz  spoke about what matters in life. He did not paint a rosy picture of unobtainable dreams that many of us have. Quite opposite, he was realistic and said that we will all have problems. Problems are part of life. We should embrace them and find solutions! He spoke in simple words and in the most powerful way, reminding us of the very basics of life: Do right, do everything to the very best of your ability, and show people that you care. He asked, if you did not show up at work, would anyone miss you and why? These are important questions to ask, and now is the time to start thinking about the answers. Have dreams but understand that life will also bring problems. It is what you do with them that makes a difference. Do your best, and never settle for less.

Best of luck graduates! The world is yours to conquer!

Discovering  Behavioral Economics

One of the criteria that will resurface over and over during any professional practice doctoral student’s studies is the importance of connecting theory to practice. After all, this was the reason I decided to pursue this degree in the first place - to be able to use proven and research based practices in my current profession. A topic that has surfaced in my recent readings and is highly applicable to my professional practice is behavioral economics (Thaler, Benartzi). Thaler’s recent publication of “Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics” provides an interesting account on the topic, and is described as “bringing the academic discipline (of studying humans as central agents in economy) back to earth”. This is a timely topic as we recently walked away from a parental advisory committee meeting learning that our students’ parents would like to change the way of communication - they would like to get school information on their phones in the form of a text message. While I did not know what to think of that request at the time (or how to go about it), I am recognizing the validity of their request after having a subtle understanding of the behavioral economics. Thaler’s blog http://www.misbehavingbook.org/blog/ for his recent publication provides an example of the text based feedback used by one of the blood donation centers in Sweden where participants receive a text message when their blood is used. While there is not enough research available at this time to discuss the effects of this  phenomenon on the numbers of people donating blood - one must agree that it is a really neat idea! Without further research, one can assume that if people know that their blood was used to make a difference, they are more likely to donate blood again.

Why not use this analogy at schools? I know from personal experiences that e-mail and voice message are not effective, text message however may be the next “big thing”. Giving feedback in a form that is timely, easily accessible (our smart phones have become wearable technologies), and specific, can only aid in parent-school relationships. Of course, since we are talking about a public entity as well as data that may be confidential or otherwise sensitive, proper planning must go into developing a system as well as guidelines for making this happen at schools.

Reflections of the first year doctoral student

One year has passed since I started the doctoral journey and a new job as an Assistant Principal. Much of what I planned to do never happened (both at work as well at school) as I was busy surviving the challenges thrown at me from both directions. Looking back, I wish I had taken more time to reflect. Perhaps, hoping that my thoughts would be useful for someone with a similar journey.

Here are my biggest takeaways:

1. First Year Doctoral Students - you should NEVER start a new job at the same time when you are starting your studies. You need stability for both your own sanity as well as for the professional context that is much needed in a professional practice doctoral degree. Lacking either one of them will be a challenge that will result in frequent headaches and a lot of extra work. Also, you must develop a system for everything that you do. Most of all, this applies to categorizing the materials that you read. Readings in a graduate program are different in several ways: first, the volume of reading is overwhelming (and the information is not always easy to retain), and second, the references to the readings will keep on resurfacing over and over. In other words, you are better off creating a system that allows you to easily find the information that you read. I tried RefWorks and Mendeley and settled for the latter. After searching articles, I upload them to Mendeley on my desktop, and immediately sync the account so that these articles would be available on my iPad. Sounds like I had a great system. Wrong! Just a heads up - as a doctoral student you will need to be able to synthesize and find information from past readings based on the authors (easily found in Mendeley), core concepts (also easily searchable), research design and methods (not easily searchable), further research suggestions (good luck with that!), etc. To make it more explicit - here is the list of categories that I have had to search for: journal name, search terms that I used to find the article, type of methods that were used for conducting the research, underlying theories, environment and area of application (K-12, higher ed, professional, etc.) to name a few. Organization is a key component for your success, and lack of organization can very well be the end of it all. Finally, while it seems like there is so much to read every day, the reality is that it is still not enough. A good suggestion from one of my professors, Dr. Antonenko, at the end of year 1 was to read one (additional) article every day just to stay current with the literature in the field. I wish that I had done that... I am starting my second year, feeling a bit behind but nevertheless, feeling confident about where I am heading.

2. My first year as an Assistant Principal flew by before I knew what had happened. The biggest challenge was the time management. Once you become a school administrator, you can count on being the first one there, and often the last one to to leave. That is a really tough combination if you have other responsibilities like most of us do. Your children will become very familiar with the school as they will do chores for you before and after school because there is no-one else there. In addition to managing the learning environment, you are now in charge of the facilities, air conditioning, water and plumbing, pest control, storage, lawn maintenance, playground inspection, discipline, testing, technology and labs, equipment, inventory, special events, employees - and oh so much more. It can be quite overwhelming. The payoff comes when you realize that you are rehired, and that you have a clear plan for what you are going to do the next year!

3. If you have a second job, please quit it as soon as possible! Being a doctoral student with a new job as well as trying to teach night classes at the college is not going to work. Remember, you will also need some time for your family! When you children start talking about research methods, it is time for a break.

If you survive the first year, you are half way there. Persistence and dedication will pay off. Just remember, there must be a system to the madness or all will fail.