Friend or Foe? The Role of Machine Learning in Education Policy Research

Machine learning, while common in other disciplines, has slowly started to become used more education research. My project seeks to answer the call from researchers for guidance about the nature of machine learning and illustration in how to use machine learning. First, I address the nature of machine learning and provide examples of its capabilities in education policy research. Second, I examine what value machine learning adds over traditional regression in predicting vulnerable student populations for early intervention. Third, I probe how machine learning can aid in identifying students at risk for dropping out of high school. My project will be one of the few projects in the field of education to espouse the potential benefits of machine learning and interrogate its value added to traditional quantitative research methods.PHDEducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174299/1/ketneram_1.pd