David Houston
@dmhouston.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Education Policy | George Mason University | Education Politics, Governance, and Public Opinion
Pinned
David Houston
@dmhouston.bsky.social
· Apr 1
I’m writing my first book!
“The Long Division: How the Politics of Education Became Partisan” is now officially under contract with Oxford University Press
I’m excited for this opportunity—although I’ve discovered that it can be a grim satisfaction when your research becomes relevant
(1/13)
“The Long Division: How the Politics of Education Became Partisan” is now officially under contract with Oxford University Press
I’m excited for this opportunity—although I’ve discovered that it can be a grim satisfaction when your research becomes relevant
(1/13)
Are you a political scientist who studies/teaches education policy? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
Are you an education researcher who studies/teaches politics? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
Are you an education researcher who studies/teaches politics? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
@camarnzen.bsky.social and @chloeoneill.bsky.social explore how political science courses can better integrate education politics into the curriculum in “Teaching About Schooling: Integrating Education Politics into Political Science Curricula.”
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
Browse all journals
Browse all journals
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Are you a political scientist who studies/teaches education policy? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
Are you an education researcher who studies/teaches politics? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
Are you an education researcher who studies/teaches politics? Read this. Use it to improve your syllabi.
Reposted by David Houston
@camarnzen.bsky.social and @chloeoneill.bsky.social explore how political science courses can better integrate education politics into the curriculum in “Teaching About Schooling: Integrating Education Politics into Political Science Curricula.”
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
Browse all journals
Browse all journals
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 PM
@camarnzen.bsky.social and @chloeoneill.bsky.social explore how political science courses can better integrate education politics into the curriculum in “Teaching About Schooling: Integrating Education Politics into Political Science Curricula.”
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1551...
Reposted by David Houston
📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
Reposted by David Houston
sometimes an Oxford comma can make all the difference
November 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
sometimes an Oxford comma can make all the difference
Reposted by David Houston
What are the tradeoffs of one-on-one vs. small group (3:1) tutoring in an online setting?
We ran an RCT and surveyed tutors working in both conditions to find out.
Now out in EEPA
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
@annenberginstitute.bsky.social working paper
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-976
🧵
We ran an RCT and surveyed tutors working in both conditions to find out.
Now out in EEPA
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
@annenberginstitute.bsky.social working paper
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-976
🧵
November 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
What are the tradeoffs of one-on-one vs. small group (3:1) tutoring in an online setting?
We ran an RCT and surveyed tutors working in both conditions to find out.
Now out in EEPA
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
@annenberginstitute.bsky.social working paper
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-976
🧵
We ran an RCT and surveyed tutors working in both conditions to find out.
Now out in EEPA
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
@annenberginstitute.bsky.social working paper
edworkingpapers.com/ai24-976
🧵
Reposted by David Houston
"it reframes the teacher shortage not only as a question of supply, but also as an issue of status and opportunity, raising important questions about how to recruit, support, and elevate teaching to make it both accessible and appealing to the next generation."
edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
Who Wants to Be a Teacher in America?
This study shows the teacher pipeline through the same lens as other professions, and the contrasts are stark. Unlike nursing or social work, teaching struggles to attract students of color. Unlike la...
edworkingpapers.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:09 PM
"it reframes the teacher shortage not only as a question of supply, but also as an issue of status and opportunity, raising important questions about how to recruit, support, and elevate teaching to make it both accessible and appealing to the next generation."
edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
Reposted by David Houston
I'd love to help make BlueSky one of the places where young scholars introduce themselves and their work to the world.
If you're a PhD student whose work at least partially focuses on economics of education or education policy, reply to this thread and I'll highlight your work.
If you're a PhD student whose work at least partially focuses on economics of education or education policy, reply to this thread and I'll highlight your work.
October 30, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I'd love to help make BlueSky one of the places where young scholars introduce themselves and their work to the world.
If you're a PhD student whose work at least partially focuses on economics of education or education policy, reply to this thread and I'll highlight your work.
If you're a PhD student whose work at least partially focuses on economics of education or education policy, reply to this thread and I'll highlight your work.
Reposted by David Houston
Reposted by David Houston
📢 #EdWorkingPapers: Bathroom security or surveillance?
@drsamviano.bsky.social & colleagues find that schools increasingly treat restrooms as sites of control, using vape detectors & staff patrols. Students are skeptical; administrators are supportive.
📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1307
@drsamviano.bsky.social & colleagues find that schools increasingly treat restrooms as sites of control, using vape detectors & staff patrols. Students are skeptical; administrators are supportive.
📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1307
October 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
📢 #EdWorkingPapers: Bathroom security or surveillance?
@drsamviano.bsky.social & colleagues find that schools increasingly treat restrooms as sites of control, using vape detectors & staff patrols. Students are skeptical; administrators are supportive.
📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1307
@drsamviano.bsky.social & colleagues find that schools increasingly treat restrooms as sites of control, using vape detectors & staff patrols. Students are skeptical; administrators are supportive.
📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1307
Reposted by David Houston
Reposted by David Houston
🚨New publication alert🚨
I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social:
"School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic"
Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social:
"School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic"
Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
October 24, 2025 at 12:33 PM
🚨New publication alert🚨
I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social:
"School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic"
Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social:
"School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic"
Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
Reposted by David Houston
Pleased to share that the Kennedy School has been authorized to conduct a faculty search in American politics
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
Professor of Public Policy (American Politics)
Harvard Kennedy School seeks a scholar of the highest distinction to appoint as a professor of public policy, focusing on American politics, elections, and policy. We particularly welcome applications...
academicpositions.harvard.edu
October 23, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Pleased to share that the Kennedy School has been authorized to conduct a faculty search in American politics
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
While I’m an ardent advocate for using the tools of science and social science to test the conventional wisdom (often confirming—but sometimes refuting—it), I can assure you that this particular hypothesis did not, in fact, need to be rigorously tested
A recent study of schoolchildren finds that the youngest students harbor the most germs.
During cold and flu season, the youngest kids really are the germiest
A recent study of schoolchildren finds that the youngest students harbor the most germs. Researchers looked at nasal swabs and symptom reports of more than 800 students and staff in Kansas City, Missouri.
bit.ly
October 23, 2025 at 12:56 PM
While I’m an ardent advocate for using the tools of science and social science to test the conventional wisdom (often confirming—but sometimes refuting—it), I can assure you that this particular hypothesis did not, in fact, need to be rigorously tested
Reposted by David Houston
Our Winter Education Politics & Policy Virtual Conference will take place on Wed. Feb 25, and Thurs., Feb 26, 2026 from 9am-12:30pm Pacific. We invite proposals from scholars at all stages of their careers. Please send us your proposal by Dec. 8th, 2025, using this form: forms.gle/2Ets9aj1YP9b....
APSA Education Politics & Policy Winter Conference Paper Application Form
This year APSA Education Politics & Policy's Winter Conference will take place virtually Wednesday and Thursday February 25 and 26 from 9am-12:30pm Pacific (12-3:30pm EST, 6-9:30pm CET).
All abstract...
forms.gle
October 22, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Our Winter Education Politics & Policy Virtual Conference will take place on Wed. Feb 25, and Thurs., Feb 26, 2026 from 9am-12:30pm Pacific. We invite proposals from scholars at all stages of their careers. Please send us your proposal by Dec. 8th, 2025, using this form: forms.gle/2Ets9aj1YP9b....
Can someone explain to me why it’s good politics for a Republican administration to lay off the staff that enforces special education law? I was under the impression that party affiliation had a trivial relationship to having a child with special needs
October 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Can someone explain to me why it’s good politics for a Republican administration to lay off the staff that enforces special education law? I was under the impression that party affiliation had a trivial relationship to having a child with special needs
Our annual open house for the education policy program at George Mason University is tomorrow evening. See below for more details.
Interested in studying education policy at George Mason University?
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
Education Policy | School of Education
The Education Policy program helps students understand how decisions are made in government and how to use educational research to influence decision-making.
education.gmu.edu
October 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Our annual open house for the education policy program at George Mason University is tomorrow evening. See below for more details.
Reposted by David Houston
I'm a fan of conferences without predetermined themes.
Themes let elected leaders boost their own areas of research. Fine.
However, themes can also discourage people working on non-theme topics, especially younger or less-connected scholars who don't know that most of us just ignore the themes.
Themes let elected leaders boost their own areas of research. Fine.
However, themes can also discourage people working on non-theme topics, especially younger or less-connected scholars who don't know that most of us just ignore the themes.
📣 Submit your abstract for the British Journal of Sociology Conference by Monday 20 October.
There is no predetermined theme, and we invite scholars of all ranks and affiliations to submit abstracts on any aspect of sociology.
Submit your abstract ➡️ www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/br...
There is no predetermined theme, and we invite scholars of all ranks and affiliations to submit abstracts on any aspect of sociology.
Submit your abstract ➡️ www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/br...
October 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I'm a fan of conferences without predetermined themes.
Themes let elected leaders boost their own areas of research. Fine.
However, themes can also discourage people working on non-theme topics, especially younger or less-connected scholars who don't know that most of us just ignore the themes.
Themes let elected leaders boost their own areas of research. Fine.
However, themes can also discourage people working on non-theme topics, especially younger or less-connected scholars who don't know that most of us just ignore the themes.
Reposted by David Houston
Interested in studying education policy at George Mason University?
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
Education Policy | School of Education
The Education Policy program helps students understand how decisions are made in government and how to use educational research to influence decision-making.
education.gmu.edu
October 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Interested in studying education policy at George Mason University?
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
Register for our virtual open house on Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 - 6:30pm ET:
education.gmu.edu/education-po...
(The registration link is near the top of the page)
1/2
"Also, individuals best suited for high-stakes decision-making roles are unlikely to be younger than 40 or older than 65."
When including cognitive abilities, personality traits, emotional intelligence, financial literacy, moral reasoning, sunk cost bias, cognitive flexibility, cognitive empathy, & need for cognition, peak in overall functioning is at age 55 to 60, not earlier
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Humans peak in midlife: A combined cognitive and personality trait perspective
Fluid intelligence, which peaks near age 20 and declines materially across adulthood, is often regarded as the most critical cognitive ability for pre…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:12 PM
"Also, individuals best suited for high-stakes decision-making roles are unlikely to be younger than 40 or older than 65."
Reposted by David Houston
New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
Contemporary Child Labor and Declining School Attendance in the U.S.
The United States has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade, coinciding with declines in K-12 school attendance and enrollment. We examine the causal rela...
edworkingpapers.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM
New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
Amazing project (and amazing title)
#QJE Nov 2025, #6, “Who You Gonna Call? Gender Inequality in External Demands for Parental Involvement,” by Buzard (@kbuzard7.bsky.social), Gee (@laurakgee.bsky.social), and Stoddard (@olgastoddard.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Who You Gonna Call? Gender Inequality in External Demands for Parental Involvement*
ABSTRACT. Gender imbalance in time spent on child-rearing causes gender inequalities in labor market outcomes, human capital accumulation, and economic mob
doi.org
October 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Amazing project (and amazing title)
Reposted by David Houston
Prospective PhD Students:
I am planning to accept a PhD student for AY 2026-27 in the economics and education program at Teachers College. Apply if you want to use the economics of education to study immigration or politics/political engagement and public schools. :-)
I am planning to accept a PhD student for AY 2026-27 in the economics and education program at Teachers College. Apply if you want to use the economics of education to study immigration or politics/political engagement and public schools. :-)
October 9, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Prospective PhD Students:
I am planning to accept a PhD student for AY 2026-27 in the economics and education program at Teachers College. Apply if you want to use the economics of education to study immigration or politics/political engagement and public schools. :-)
I am planning to accept a PhD student for AY 2026-27 in the economics and education program at Teachers College. Apply if you want to use the economics of education to study immigration or politics/political engagement and public schools. :-)
Reposted by David Houston
Supported by both the Fordham Institute and @wallacefoundation.bsky.social, Michael Hartney and I explored the extent to which U.S. school board members are politically and demographically representative of the communities they serve.
Here's a summary of our main findings:
1/12
Here's a summary of our main findings:
1/12
New from Fordham, the Wallace Foundation, @dmhouston.bsky.social & Michael Hartney:
Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...
Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...
Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict
School boards have become ground zero for America’s education culture wars, with fiery debates over race, gender, curriculum, and pandemic policies making national headlines. But beyond the noise, how...
fordhaminstitute.org
October 8, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Supported by both the Fordham Institute and @wallacefoundation.bsky.social, Michael Hartney and I explored the extent to which U.S. school board members are politically and demographically representative of the communities they serve.
Here's a summary of our main findings:
1/12
Here's a summary of our main findings:
1/12