Biography
I am an Associate Professor of Psychology and the head of the Psychology in the Digital World program at BTU (Business and Technology University) in Tbilisi, Georgia. My academic career spans the intersection of psychology, psychometrics, and large-scale educational assessment.
My primary expertise lies in psychometrics — the science of psychological measurement. I have extensive hands-on experience with international large-scale assessments (ILSAs), having worked with PISA, PIRLS, and TIMSS data through my previous role at the National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC) of Georgia. This work involved item analysis, scaling, standard-setting methodologies, and secondary data analysis of nationally representative student populations.
My current research program focuses on several interconnected areas: the psychological predictors of academic achievement in Georgian students using PISA data, the psychometric validation of widely-used psychological instruments (including the PSS-10 and General Self-Efficacy Scale) for Georgian populations, the evolving digital divide in education, and cultural psychology — particularly the replication of Cultural Life Scripts research in the Georgian context.
Beyond empirical research, I have a deep interest in applying psychological frameworks to Georgian literature, specifically analyzing Shota Rustaveli’s epic poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin” through the lens of William James’s theory of the Empirical Self.
I hold a Master’s degree and am committed to advancing the field of psychological measurement in Georgia — both through rigorous research and through building open-source tools that make statistical methods more accessible to students and researchers.
Current Position
Associate Professor of Psychology
BTU – Business and Technology University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Head of the Psychology in the Digital World program. Teaching courses in research methodology, psychometrics, and digital psychology. Supervising student research on PISA, PIRLS, and TIMSS datasets. Building curriculum that bridges psychological theory with quantitative methods.
Previous Experience
Psychometrician
NAEC — National Assessment and Examinations Center of Georgia
Worked on large-scale educational assessment programs including PISA, PIRLS, and TIMSS for Georgia. Responsibilities included psychometric analysis, item calibration, standard-setting (Angoff method), test development, and reporting of national results. Contributed to Georgia’s participation in international comparative education studies.
Education
Master’s Degree
Psychology
Research Interests
Technical Skills & Tools
Statistical Software
R (tidyverse, mirt, lavaan, TAM, psych, ggplot2, Shiny) · SPSS · Advanced data analysis and visualization
Research Tools
LimeSurvey · TAO testing platform · Psychometric item analysis · Standard-setting (Angoff) · Test development
Methodologies
Item Response Theory (IRT) · Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) · Structural Equation Modeling · Classical Test Theory · Secondary data analysis
Languages
Georgian (native) · English (professional) · Academic writing in both languages
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