When and How Biases Seep In: Enhancing Debiasing Approaches for Fair Educational Predictive Analytics
Saved in:
| Title: | When and How Biases Seep In: Enhancing Debiasing Approaches for Fair Educational Predictive Analytics |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Lin Li (ORCID |
| Source: | British Journal of Educational Technology. 2025 56(6):2478-2501. |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 24 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Bias, Attitude Change, Prediction, Learning Analytics, Social Bias, Computer Mediated Communication, Social Media, Stereotypes, Labeling (of Persons) |
| DOI: | 10.1111/bjet.13575 |
| ISSN: | 0007-1013 1467-8535 |
| Abstract: | The use of predictive analytics powered by machine learning (ML) to model educational data has increasingly been identified to exhibit bias towards marginalized populations, prompting the need for more equitable applications of these techniques. To tackle bias that emerges in training data or models at different stages of the ML modelling pipeline, numerous debiasing approaches have been proposed. Yet, research into state-of-the-art techniques for effectively employing these approaches to enhance fairness in educational predictive scenarios remains limited. Prior studies often focused on mitigating bias from a single source at a specific stage of model construction within narrowly defined scenarios, overlooking the complexities of bias originating from multiple sources across various stages. Moreover, these approaches were often evaluated using typical threshold-dependent fairness metrics, which fail to account for real-world educational scenarios where thresholds are typically unknown before evaluation. To bridge these gaps, this study systematically examined a total of 28 representative debiasing approaches, categorized by the sources of bias and the stage they targeted, for two critical educational predictive tasks, namely forum post classification and student career prediction. Both tasks involve a two-phase modelling process where features learned from upstream models in the first phase are fed into classical ML models for final predictions, which is a common yet under-explored setting for educational data modelling. The study observed that addressing local stereotypical bias, label bias or proxy discrimination in training data, as well as imposing fairness constraints on models, can effectively enhance predictive fairness. But their efficacy was often compromised when features from upstream models were inherently biased. Beyond that, this study proposes two novel strategies, namely Multi-Stage and Multi-Source debiasing to integrate existing approaches. These strategies demonstrated substantial improvements in mitigating unfairness, underscoring the importance of unified approaches capable of addressing biases from various sources across multiple stages. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1486314 |
| Database: | ERIC |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | The use of predictive analytics powered by machine learning (ML) to model educational data has increasingly been identified to exhibit bias towards marginalized populations, prompting the need for more equitable applications of these techniques. To tackle bias that emerges in training data or models at different stages of the ML modelling pipeline, numerous debiasing approaches have been proposed. Yet, research into state-of-the-art techniques for effectively employing these approaches to enhance fairness in educational predictive scenarios remains limited. Prior studies often focused on mitigating bias from a single source at a specific stage of model construction within narrowly defined scenarios, overlooking the complexities of bias originating from multiple sources across various stages. Moreover, these approaches were often evaluated using typical threshold-dependent fairness metrics, which fail to account for real-world educational scenarios where thresholds are typically unknown before evaluation. To bridge these gaps, this study systematically examined a total of 28 representative debiasing approaches, categorized by the sources of bias and the stage they targeted, for two critical educational predictive tasks, namely forum post classification and student career prediction. Both tasks involve a two-phase modelling process where features learned from upstream models in the first phase are fed into classical ML models for final predictions, which is a common yet under-explored setting for educational data modelling. The study observed that addressing local stereotypical bias, label bias or proxy discrimination in training data, as well as imposing fairness constraints on models, can effectively enhance predictive fairness. But their efficacy was often compromised when features from upstream models were inherently biased. Beyond that, this study proposes two novel strategies, namely Multi-Stage and Multi-Source debiasing to integrate existing approaches. These strategies demonstrated substantial improvements in mitigating unfairness, underscoring the importance of unified approaches capable of addressing biases from various sources across multiple stages. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0007-1013 1467-8535 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/bjet.13575 |
