Quantitative Analytics in Education and the Social Sciences: M.Ed. - Master of Education 

offered by University of Virginia

Bethany A. Bell's multidisciplinary research agenda has three primary goals: (1) to expand the methodological knowledgebase of complex statistical procedures to advance health and education equity research, (2) to reduce health-related inequities, with a primary focus on nutrition-related outcomes, among disenfranchised populations locally and nationally, and (3) to make complex analyses more accessible to applied researchers. To achieve these goals, she conducts Monte Carlo simulation studies, develops SAS macros and “how to” papers, and examines social determinants of various health outcomes, using both primary and secondary data sources. Her newest area of research, in collaboration with colleagues from education foundations and sociology, focuses on developing new survey instruments to measure people’s experiences of race and racism as well as their responses to those experiences. By developing new ways to understand the embodiment of one’s race, they look to advance their understanding of the mechanisms that link race and health inequities. Her research has been recognized with awards and honors by both the American Education Research Association (Division D Early Career Award in Measurement and Research Methodology – Quantitative Methods and Statistical Theory) and the National Institutes of Health (Loan Repayment Program Award in Health Disparities Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Tim Konold is a professor and the director of the research, statistics, and evaluation program; and holds faculty affiliations with the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), the Virginia Education Science Training (VEST) program, and the Youth Violence Project (YVP). He has taught introductory and advanced graduate-level courses in quantitative methods at the University of Virginia for the past 25 years and has served as the senior psychometric consultant for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) international testing program for 20 years. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, published tests, and technical reports on topics that seek to infuse contemporary quantitative methods into work that has direct implications for policy and the education of children and youth.