Mark Christopher White

Mark Christopher White is a Researcher at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo. He serves as the National Project Manager for the TALIS survey on teacher professionalism and working conditions. His work focuses on research methodologies, program evaluation, and the design of observational systems for measuring teaching quality. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Nordic Centre of Excellence: Quality in Nordic Teaching (QUINT), contributing to projects like LISA Nordic and SYNTEQ.

Background: Before his PhD in Educational Studies, White worked in mental health support for children and adults, leading to an interest in educational resilience. His graduate studies and postdoctoral research have centered on improving research methods in education and understanding teaching quality through observational measures.

Research Interests: His key areas include critical analysis of research methods, observational measures of teaching quality, and the implications of survey design. He critiques how research methodologies can influence policy interpretations and explores trade-offs in measurement frameworks.

Publications: White’s recent work addresses dilemmas in teaching quality measurement, the validity of observational systems, and the alignment of conceptual frameworks with statistical models. He emphasizes the need for rigorous validation processes in educational research.

Grants/Projects: Active projects include TALIS (OECD/IEA) and contributions to international studies on teaching practices. Past involvement includes the Measures of Effective Teaching project and the Teaching over Time initiative at the University of Michigan.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Large-scale Educational Assessment (LEA) and Studies of Instruction across Subjects and Competences (SISCO) groups at the University of Oslo.