Schools as Laboratories Workshop

Abstract: The Schools as Laboratories Workshop brings together researchers working at the intersection of education, social networks, behavioral science, and public policy. The workshop explores how school environments can serve as living laboratories for understanding peer interactions, learning processes, teacher decisions, and student well-being.

Through empirical studies and innovative methodologies, participants examine topics such as classroom social networks, cognitive and friendship structures, teacher retention decisions, coordination and cooperation among students, network formation and structural balance, and interventions aimed at reducing bullying and discrimination. The workshop provides a platform for sharing recent research findings and fostering collaboration among scholars interested in using schools as settings for advancing both scientific knowledge and educational practice.

Program:

11:00 – 12:00 Session 1
Diego González, AIReF
Homophily and assortativity in classroom social networks: evidence from synthetic peer matches
Rakotonjanahary Mamitiana Atrika, Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Cognitive networks

12:00 – 13:00 Session 2
Ignacio Garijo, AIReF
Beyond grades: what makes teachers retain students?
Victor García, Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Sociograms as coordination games

13:00 – 14:00 Session 3
Juan Ignacio Gadola, Universidad Católica del Uruguay
When does structural balance hold? a conditional test of triadic closure in adolescent signed directed networks
Lorena Heller, Universidad Privada Boliviana
Redesigning peer dynamics: a behavioural games intervention to reduce bullying and discrimination in Bolivian
schools