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Shqiponja Telhaj

University of Sussex, UK

Although a great deal has been learnt about peer effects, this knowledge is still not sufficient to design and implement education policies that will reliably improve student outcomes

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Reader in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Director of Doctoral Studies, School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex, UK; Associate, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics

Research interest

Economics of education, labor economics, applied microeconomics

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Technical Advisor, UK Department for Education providing independent guidance, support, feedback, and recommendations; advisor to the Department for Education on the evaluation of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) teacher supply and recruitment packages; Consultant for the World Bank, Prince's Trust, HEFCE

Past positions

Research Economist, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, UK

Selected publications

  • "Peer effects: Evidence from secondary school transition in England." Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 78:4 (2016): 548–575 (with S. Gibbons).

  • "Non-native speakers of English in the classroom: What are the effects on pupil performance?" Economic Journal 123: 570 (2013) (with C. Geay and S. McNally).

  • "Pupil mobility and school disruption." Journal of Public Economics 95:9–10 (2011): 1156–1167 (with S. Gibbons).

  • "Does degree class matter? Graduate earnings and student achievement in UK universities." Oxford Economic Papers 68:2 (2015): 525–545 (with R. Naylor and J. Smith).

article(s)

  • Do social interactions in the classroom improve academic attainment?

    Student sorting into classes complicates policies that utilize peer effects to optimize educational outcomes

    Shqiponja Telhaj, June 2018
    The role of social interactions in modifying individual behavior is central to many fields of social science. In education, one essential aspect is that “good” peers can potentially improve students’ academic achievement, career choices, or labor market outcomes later in life. Indeed, evidence suggests that good peers are important in raising student attainment, both in compulsory schooling and university. Interventions that change the ability group composition in ways that improve student educational outcomes without exacerbating inequality therefore offer a promising basis for education policies.
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