Gender gaps in cognitive and social-emotional skills in early primary grades:Evidence from rural Indonesia

This paper examines the magnitude and source of gender gaps in cognitive and social‐emotional skills in early primary grades in rural Indonesia. Relative to boys, girls score more than 0.17 SD higher in tests of language and mathematics (cognitive skills) and between 0.18 and 0.27 SD higher in measures of social competence and emotional maturity (social‐emotional skills). We use Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to investigate the extent to which gender differences in early schooling and parenting practices explain these gender gaps in skills. For cognitive skills, differences in early schooling between boys and girls explain between 9% and 11% of the gender gap whereas differences in parenting practices explain merely 3%–5% of the gender gap. This decomposition result is driven largely by children living in villages with high‐quality preschools. In contrast, for social‐emotional skills, differences in parenting styles toward boys and girls explain between 13% and 17% of the gender gap, while differences in early schooling explain only 0%–6% of the gender gap

Development of an organo-and enzyme-catalysed cascade reaction

This thesis describes the development of a novel one-pot reaction (Scheme 1). The reaction combines organo- and enzyme-catalysis in an aldol/aldol cascade for the first time. The bicatalytic, three-component assembly involves two aldol reactions: an organocatalysed reaction and an aldol reaction catalysed by an aldolase. The feasibility of the one-pot reaction was evaluated by testing whether the aldol intermediates 3 were substrates for the E192N aldolase variant of Nacetylneuraminic acid lyase. A range of compounds was selected as potential substrates for the enzyme. The synthesis of the compounds, and their characterisation as substrates for the aldolase variant, is described. The development of common conditions under which both organo- and enzyme-catalysis could occur was then investigated. To do so, a number of potential organocatalysts suitable for the one-pot reaction were prepared. The catalysts were evaluated in a screening reaction which yielded optimal conditions for the organocatalysed reaction. The organocatalytic conditions were tested for compatibility with the E192N aldolase variant using an appropriate enzyme assay. The optimised process was a sequential one-pot reaction in which the organocatalysed reaction was conducted before the addition of the variant enzyme. The scope of the optimal process was determined and a range of novel acids of general structure 4, were prepared

Item noise versus context noise: using the list length effect to investigate the source of interference in recognition memory.

The present thesis aimed to investigate the source of interference in recognition memory. There are two primary alternatives – the item noise approach, in which interference comes about as a consequence of the other items on the study list, and the context noise approach, wherein interference arises from the previous contexts in which an item has been encountered. Alternatively, interference may occur through a combination of both item and context noise. There are many mathematical models designed to simulate the recognition process that incorporate either item or context noise, or both. Item noise models predict a significant list length effect, that is, that memory for an item that was part of a short list at study is better than that for an item that was part of a long list. Context noise models no not predict a significant difference in memory based on the length of the study list. The presence or absence of the list length effect can therefore be used as a mechanism by which to differentiate item and context noise models. The list length effect is among the most documented and replicated findings in the recognition memory literature (Gronlund & Elam, 1994). Yet, while many experiments have been conducted which have identified a significant list length effect in recognition (e.g. Bowles & Glanzer, 1983; Cary & Reder, 2003; Murnane & Shiffrin, 1991; Ohrt & Gronlund, 1999; Strong, 1912; Underwood, 1978), a number of published studies have failed to identify the effect (e.g. Dennis & Humphreys, 2001; Dennis, Lee & Kinnell, 2008; Jang & Huber, 2008; Murnane & Shiffrin, 1991; Schulman, 1974). Dennis and Humphreys (2001) argued that studies that had identified a significant effect of list length on recognition performance had done so because of a failure to control for four potentially confounding variables; retention interval, attention, displaced rehearsal and contextual reinstatement. The possible confounding effects of retention interval and displaced rehearsal are already well established in the literature and most studies employ some controls for these. Dennis et al. (2008) also found that while the role of contextual reinstatement had a pronounced influence on the detection of the list length effect it did not appear to be the most influential of the potential confounds. Thus, a major aim of the present thesis was to investigate the role of attention in the identification of the list length effect. Experiment 1 (N=160) involved two manipulations of attention. The first was to use either a retroactive or proactive design, with differential lapses of attention likely to be more pronounced in the latter. Second, in one condition participants were asked to perform a pleasantness rating task at study, a common technique to encourage participants to attend to the stimulus, while in the other condition they were asked to simply read the words. Results indicated that attention modulates the list length effect and that it is the retroactive versus proactive distinction which is most important as a significant effect of list length was found only when the proactive design was used. The encoding task had little effect. The design of Experiment 2 (N=80) was based on Cary and Reder's (2003) Experiment 3 which itself was a partial replication of Dennis and Humphreys' (2001) experiments. Cary and Reder introduced the Remember-Know (RK) task into the test list in their experiments and identified a significant effect of list length in the presence of controls for the four confounds where Dennis and Humphreys had not. The RK task is thought to index the relative contributions of familiarity and recollection in the recognition process (Gardiner, 1988). To the extent that the RK task encourages a recall-like process (see Clark, 1999; Diana, Reder, Arndt & Park, 2006) it may influence the results regarding the list length effect, in that the effect is widely accepted to occur in recall. Experiment 2 compared recognition memory with or without RK instructions. One condition involved the standard yes/no recognition paradigm, while the other made us of the RK task following all “yes” responses. Controls for the four potential confounds of Dennis and Humphreys were implemented. No significant effect of list length was identified in the accuracy data of either condition, however there was a small but significant effect on median response latency for correct responses in the RK task condition. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that the effect of list length on recognition performance is negligible and nonsignificant when controls for the four potential confounds of list length are in place. However, both of these experiments, and almost all previous experiments investigating the list length effect, used words as the stimuli. The remaining four experiments in the present thesis (N=40 in each) sought to investigate the list length effect using stimuli other than words in an attempt to identify the boundary conditions of the effect. Each of these experiments followed the same basic method as Experiments 1 and 2. Four different kinds of stimuli were investigated, word pairs, images of novel faces, fractals and photographs. Results indicated a nonsignificant effect of list length for word pairs and photographs, however, there was a significant list length effect when faces (in the accuracy data) and fractals (in the response latency data) were used as the stimuli. However, all of the experiments in the present thesis used a within subjects manipulation of list length in order to maximise experimental power. This design may be an additional confound of the list length effect. The nature of the within subjects design means that by the end of the second study list, all participants will have studied the same number of items, thereby potentially removing any list length manipulation from the experiment. In addition, participants who studied the long list first may be more likely to be affected by lapses in attention than participants who began with the short list with this, rather than interference, the potential cause of any list length differences. In order to investigate this potential confounding, the results from all experiments of the present thesis were re-analysed using a between subjects analysis based on only the first list studied by each participant. The qualitative conclusions drawn from the majority of conditions remained unchanged. The between subjects analysis generally revealed larger effect sizes than did the within subjects analysis, although with the exception of the proactive conditions, these effects can be considered negligible to small at most. The pattern of results across the six experiments of the present thesis are problematic for existing mathematical models of recognition memory. While context noise models are able to account for negligible and nonsignificant effects of list length when words, word pairs and photographs are used as the stimuli, they are unable to predict a slightly larger and significant list length effect when the stimuli are novel faces or fractals. Conversely, while item noise models are able to account for a significant list length effect for faces and fractals, they are unable to predict a nonsignificant list length effect for words and word pairs. The results question whether either item or context noise can be taken as the sole source of interference in recognition memory. Rather, a combination of interference from different sources may be at work, with the precise nature of this combination dependent on the nature of the stimuli involved. However, it is important to note that these models must be able to all but eliminate interference from other items under certain conditions to obtain the negligible list length effect findings reported here.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 200

The impact of expanding access to early childhood education services in rural Indonesia

This paper examines the effects of an intervention that expanded access to low-cost, government-sponsored, community-based playgroups in rural Indonesia. Instrumental variables and difference-in-differences models indicate that while the intervention raised enrollment rates and durations of enrollment for everyone, on average, there was little impact on child development. The two models correspond to different durations of project exposure. The difference-in-differences model captures greater exposure and shows that there are modest and sustained impacts on child development—especially for children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. There is also evidence that the intervention encouraged substitution away from other services, such as kindergartens

Investing in school readiness: A comparison of different early childhood education pathways in rural Indonesia

This paper documents that children in rural Indonesia participate in a great variety of early childhood education pathways. Three key factors predict early education pathways: household wealth, mother's education, and the quality of available services. We also find that children who enrolled in playgroup programs at age 3–4 followed by kindergarten programs at age 5–6 scored significantly higher on primary school tests than those enrolled only in playgroup programs or only in kindergarten programs. This suggests that the sequence of these pathways is important for future learning. We also provide illustrative estimates of the cost-effectiveness of different pathways

Contrasting Experiences: Understanding the Longer-Term Impact of Improving Access to Pre-Primary Education in Rural Indonesia

This paper examines the child development outcomes of two cohorts of children who were exposed to the same intervention at different points in time. One cohort was eligible to access playgroups during the first year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age four. The other cohort became eligible to access these services during the third year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age three. The younger cohort was more likely to be exposed to playgroups for longer and at more age-appropriate times relative to the older cohort. The paper finds that enrollment rates and enrollment duration in preprimary education increased for both cohorts, but the enrollment effects were larger for the younger cohort. In terms of child development outcomes, there were short-term effects at age five that did not last until age eight, for both cohorts. Moreover, the younger cohort had substantially higher test scores during the early grades of primary school, relative to the older cohort. We document the extent to which program impacts can vary as a result of differences in project implementation

Built to Last: Sustainability of Early Childhood Education Services in Rural Indonesia

This paper studies the sustainability of preschools established under a large-scale project in rural Indonesia. We returned to project villages three years after the project closed to understand why some preschools were able to sustain operations while others closed. We present four key findings. First, 92 per cent of preschools from the project remained open three years after project funding ended. Second, preschools planned for sustainability by taking into account six factors: preschool quality, finance, supplementary services, market condition, household wealth, and parental involvement. Third, each of these factors predicts sustainability after project closure. Finally, interviews with former teachers show that the few preschools that closed were those that struggled to find both the financial and human resources needed to continue operating. We discuss actionable lessons for the design and sustainability of future early childhood education projects

The role of preschool quality in promoting child development:Evidence from rural Indonesia^*

This article examines the relationship between preschool quality and children’s early development in a sample of over 7900 children enrolled in 578 preschools in rural Indonesia. Quality was measured by: (1) classroom observations using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R); (2) teacher characteristics; and (3) structural characteristics of preschools. Children’s development was measured using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The article proposes two methodological improvements to preschool quality studies. First, an instrumental variable approach is used to correct for measurement error. Second, ECERS-R is adjusted to the local context by contrasting items with Indonesia’s national preschool standards. Results show that observed classroom quality is a significant and meaningful positive predictor of children’s development once models correct for measurement error and apply a locally-adapted measure of classroom quality. In contrast, teacher characteristics and structural characteristics are not significant predictors of child development, while holding observed classroom quality constant

Characteristics of ABC study participants for the multiply imputed sample.

<p>Characteristics of ABC study participants for the multiply imputed sample.</p