A Large-scale Education System, K-16, Visualized and Navigated

Abstract

A generalizable network approach describing a Canadian provincial education system is presented. By imagining every course as a node, and by linking each course with those that are required as prerequisites, a directed network representing Alberta's entire education system, from kindergarten through undergraduate, is constructed. Important products from such a network description are illustrative visuals, which are intuitively informative. These network graphics and animations can serve as a dynamic map for students of their local surroundings while traveling through the education system, by making clear where they have come from, where they are, and where they can go. Also, an analytic understanding of the global structure and shape of the education system via network theory can help inform administrators and policy makers to better manage their educational institutions.