Gifted and Talented Services for EFL Learners in China: A Step-by-Step Guide to Propensity Score Matching Analysis in R
1
Center for Research and Development in Dual Language and Literacy Acquisition (CRDLLA), Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
2
Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
3
School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Data 2019, 4(3), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/data4030119
Received: 1 July 2019 / Revised: 31 July 2019 / Accepted: 1 August 2019 / Published: 3 August 2019
We sought to quantify the effectiveness of a gifted and talented (GT) program, as was provided to university students who demonstrated a talent for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. To do so, we used propensity score matching (PSM) techniques to analyze data collected from a tier-1 university where an English talent (ET) program was provided. Specifically, we provided (a) a step-by-step guide of PSM analysis using the R analytical package, (b) the codes for PSM analysis and visualization, and (c) the final analysis of baseline equivalence and treatment effect based on the matching sample. Collectively, the results of descriptive statistics, visualization, and baseline equivalence indicate that PSM is an effective matching technique for generating an unbiased counterfactual analysis. Moreover, the ET program yields a statistically significant, positive effect on ET students’ English language proficiency.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
EFL; English Talent; propensity score matching
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Tang, S.; Tong, F.; Lu, X. Gifted and Talented Services for EFL Learners in China: A Step-by-Step Guide to Propensity Score Matching Analysis in R. Data 2019, 4, 119.
Show more citation formats
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
