How educational data mining empowers state policies to reform education: the mexican case study

Abstract

In this chapter we present a case study that illustrates how educational data mining (EDM) is able to support the implementation of government policies and assist the labor of public institutions. Specifically, we highlight the current educational reforms in Mexico and focus on one of its main goals: to enhance the education quality. In response, a valuable data source is mined to discover interesting findings what students think about education, family, teachers, and their surroundings. Thus, a brief description of the legal and social context is given, as well as a profile of the students opinions expressed in a national survey is shaped. Moreover, a framework to build an EDM approach is outlined and a sample of the mined results is stated. As a result of the findings generated by the EDM approach, an interpretation is provided to tailor a conceptual view of the observations made by students, as well as some initiatives to deal with the findings. The work concludes with an exposition of the reasons for presenting this kind of work, a comment on the research fulfilled, a viewpoint of the education in Mexico, and some suggestions to support State polices to enhance education. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.