Prerequisites, Education, Results (FUR)
Short description
In the research group now known by the name of FUR, work has long been under way to address a set of classic problems in education: individual’s prerequisites for education, the organization and resources of education, and outcomes of education at individual and system levels.
Research Collegium
The Collegium for Prerequisites, Education and Results regularly hosts open seminars, exploring contemporary pedagogical issues and quantitative research related to the enduring questions of education.
Research focus
An important feature of the research conducted in the research environment is its reliance on large-scale national and international data and advanced quantitative analytical methods.
Since 1961, longitudinal studies of successive cohorts of students have been carried out in close collaboration with Statistics Sweden (SCB), resulting in the development of a unique database known as UGU (Evaluation Through Follow-up). New data has continuously been added to the UGU infrastructure database and integrated with data from different national registry data. The UGU infrastructure database has supported several research projects in FUR group and continues facilitating researchers with on-going projects.
A substantial part of the research also draws on international large-scale survey data (ILSA), developed through comparative studies of students’ knowledge and skills, for example TIMSS, PIRLS, ICCS and ICILS conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and PISA and TALIS studies conducted by OECD.
The multivariate statistical methods used by the research group follow two main traditions: the psychometric tradition and the econometric tradition. Methods within psychometric tradition, such as item response theory (IRT) models and structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent variables. These methods enable researchers to examine measurement properties and validity of different theoretical constructs in focus, as well as their relationships with predicters and distal outcomes. SEM also includes multilevel and longitudinal modelling techniques, allowing for simultaneously analyse data at several levels (e.g., time, student, classroom and school levels), thereby opening up opportunities to investigate research questions while appropriately account for the cluster structure of the data.
Members of the research group also apply econometric methods (e.g., fixed-effects model, propensity score methods, regression discontinuity, and Difference-in-Differences) to strengthen causal inferences with observational data. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) constitute another important research design for investigating causal effects in educational research. Researchers in the group conduct intervention studies on early reading skills, with particular emphasis on the identification and prevention of reading difficulties among young children.
Research questions
Individual prerequisites for education
Various individual characteristics, such as prior knowledge, cognitive and personality-related characteristics, are important for successful participation in education.
The research group has a long-standing research tradition focusing on individual differences in cognitive abilities. This line of research dates back to the 1950s, when Kjell Härnqvist published studies on the so-called reserve of talent (Husén & Härnqvist, 2000). More recent research has focused on fundamental questions concerning the structure of cognitive abilities. In addition, applied research has examined issues related to the selection of applicants for different educational programs. Another applied research strand concerns the development of instruments for measuring cognitive abilities.
As a selection instrument for further education, the properties of grades have also been a topic of research interest. While research has shown that grades possess strong predictive validity for children continue education and labor market outcomes, studies also highlighted considerable challenges that teachers face in assigning fair and accurate grades.
Non-cognitive characteristics of students, such as their motivation, self-belief and well-being, have received increasing attention in the group’s research, both as an important prerequisite for educational success and future life opportunities, and as significant outcomes of education. Several research projects in this group, for example, focus on mental health and the mechanisms among students’ well-being, school achievement and factors in educational environment that promote well-being in general and mental health in parrticular.
Another area of research concerning individual prerequisites for education focuses on the role of phonological ability in dyslexia, particularly for young children. Using RCTs, researchers in this group have conducted studies on short- and long-term effects of intervention designed to prevent or address reading and writing difficulties. The structure of phonological ability has also been examined in relation to broader dimensions of cognitive ability.
Children’s cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics often are related to their socio-demographic characteristics. One strand of research in this group investigates questions within sociology of education, for example, the importance of children’s family social background for their educational choices, academic achievement and life chances.
Organisation and resources in education
The FUR-group studies various structural and organizational aspects of educational systems, particularly in relation to educational differentiation and school segregation. Internationally, these research questions are often associated with the theoretical frameworks of Educational Effectiveness and Opportunity to earn.
One area of research concerns the relative importance of different educational resource factors on academic achievement and educational equity. Several research projects within the FUR group examine different school-related resources and conditions, including teacher competence the geographical accessibility of education, the social composition of student groups, the content and quality of education, and different forms of school governance. These factors are investigated in relation to educational outcomes at both the individual and group levels. In response to educational reforms and broader societal changes that have transformed educational systems, this line of research stated above has increasingly adopted a longitudinal perspective, examining developments over time in the organization, distribution, and allocation of educational resource.
Outcomes at individual and collective levels
Considerable attention is devoted to describing and analysing educational outcomes. These outcomes include students’ knowledge and skills in various domains. However, because the characteristics that constitute individual prerequisites for education are themselves influenced by education, they are also regarded as important educational outcomes (see above).
One line of research, dating back to studies conducted by Härnqvist in the 1960s, examines the effects of schooling on cognitive abilities. Both earlier and more recent studies demonstrate substantial effects of education on general cognitive abilities. Another important area concerns the effects of education on students’ motivation and attitudes towards school. These issues are examined through comparisons across countries, over time, and between different classrooms.
Since the late 1990s, researchers within the group have been involved in ILSA studies of educational outcomes. This work has included both the implementation of the Swedish component of the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and secondary analyses of data from this and other IEA studies, such as TIMSS and ICCS. One central research question concerns how Swedish students’ reading, mathematics, and civic knowledge, in reference to other countries around the world, has changed over time, and what possible explanations and factors may be related to the knowledge trend. In that, differences in the trend of educational equity and school segregation across educational systems are also highlighted in the research of FUR-group.