Escaping a Low-Level Equilibrium of Educational Quality

This paper is intended to inform the work of the Intellectual Leadership Team of the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) programme. It draws on data and analysis from the Young Lives project to compare four education systems at various stages of development with respect to the transition from meeting the challenge of providing for ‘mass access’ to that of providing for ‘mass learning’. Success in making this transition, that is, escaping a low-level equilibrium of educational quality in the longer term and once resources are no longer severely constrained by access expansion, is crucial if the benefits of the extension of the right to basic education are to be realised in less developed nations. The paper examines learning outcomes in Peru, Vietnam, Ethiopia and India in the light of indicative frameworks for analysing progress with respect to ‘education quality’ at the systems-level. It intends to contribute to broader aims of RISE in terms of the emerging field of education systems analysis, making use of the insights from Young Lives

Eliminating global learning poverty: The importance of equalities and equity

This paper explores the quantitative relationships between average levels of learning achievement across countries, changes in average levels of learning achievement, the inequality of distribution of achievement (akin to income or wealth inequality in general development analysis), and the proportion of students learning at or below an absolute minimum (akin to poverty in general development analysis). The paper uses a variety of data from cross-national and national assessments: aggregate data, micro (student-level) data, school-level data, and time-series data. The paper shows how various factors such as gender or wealth impact learning levels, but also shows that ‘systems-related’ inequality, not directly related to such factors, is typically much larger than inequality associated with any of those factors. The paper shows that countries progress from very low average levels of achievement to middle levels more by reducing the percentage of students with very low scores (that is, by paying attention to the ‘bulging’ left-hand tail of the distribution) than by increasing the percentage of high performing students. The availability of micro data from a particular case allows exploration of the relationship between inequality measures and measures of the percentage of students below a low level of achievement and shows that, at least in that case, the reduction in inequality that accompanies improvements in the average levels takes place mostly through a reduction in the percentage below a low level. Unlike in the case of income, where vast reductions in income poverty seem possible without reducing income inequality, the evidence presented here suggests that this typically does not happen with learning levels: inequality reduction, reductions in percentages below a low level, and improvements in the averages are all empirically connected. More work is needed to show whether that connection is also causal

Explaining the Urban–Rural Gap in Cognitive Achievement in Peru: The Role of Early Childhood Environments and School Influences

In Peru, students attending rural schools demonstrate extremely poor learning outcomes and obtain results significantly below those of students in urban schools. Because the process of cognitive skill formation is cumulative, differences in initial endowments, early environments and influences occurring later at home and at school can all play a role in shaping these gaps. This analysis aims at measuring the contribution of school and early childhood influences to the difference in cognitive development observed, at the age of 8, between urban and rural children in Peru. Previous decomposition exercises using Peruvian data on the indigenous–non-indigenous achievement gap, report results that favour the role of household characteristics over that of schools or community-level variables. This analysis contributes new evidence based on an unusually rich dataset and provided by a decomposition strategy less prone to biases than those used so far in the literature. Results indicate that between 35 and 40 per cent of the gap in cognitive skill between urban and rural 8-year-old children is related to differences in school inputs (years of schooling, school and teacher characteristics) received between the ages of 6 and 8. This contribution is similar to that of the learning and care environment to which the child was exposed up until the age of 5. The characteristics of rural schools have a direct connection with policy action because nearly all the supply of educational services in rural areas is public. Thus, efforts devoted to ensuring the characteristics of rural schools and teachers become more equal with those in urban areas should allow a significant reduction in the cognitive skill gap between urban and rural children by the time they reach Grade 3

Beyond the basics: Access and equity in the expansion of post-compulsory schooling in Vietnam

Human capital development, including the expansion and improvement of schooling, has played a crucial role in Vietnam’s strong and relatively inclusive economic growth in recent years. Universal access to primary and lower secondary education have been achieved, but progression to upper secondary remains, for the most part, rationed by entrance examinations and the payment of fees. Both supply and access have improved strongly at upper secondary level since the 1990s, in line with rising demand for higher skilled school-leavers. However, it is less clear whether access to upper secondary schooling, and its wider social and economic benefits, is provided equitably. In this paper we employ a unique longitudinal dataset to examine the patterns of both access and attainment in upper secondary education in Vietnam. We consider their implications for equitable educational progression and the extent to which, in light of these patterns, the system can be described as meritocratic

Barriers to skills development in India's informal economy

India’s informal economy accounts for more than half the country’s GDP but is characterised by low levels of skills, and considerable barriers to skills development for workers. The Government of India has implemented ambitious policy initiatives for upskilling, designed to catalyse ‘formalisation’ of the economy, and improve productivity. However, evidence on skills development remains weak. Drawing on systematic review methodologies, this article reviews and synthesises the literature on the practical barriers to upskilling. It finds that access to, and quality of, training (especially for women) are serious limitations, while skills are often under-utilised in the absence of supportive labour market and wider business environment conditions. Training is often insufficiently linked to labour market and learner needs, and the capacity of the training system is limited. Government should increase investment in training for the informal sector, and consider strengthening incentives for training providers to focus on improving training quality and relevance

Equitable, Quality Education for Ethnic Minority Students? A Case of "Positive Deviance" in Vietnam

Vietnam has achieved near-universal access to compulsory schooling over the past two decades. However, inequalities between ethnic majority and minority students are stark at post-compulsory levels, where progression is selective based on academic criteria and ability to pay. In this article, we adopt a mixed-methods approach to examine quality and equity for ethnic minority students in upper secondary education. Across five provinces, we find that ethnic minority students attend “less effective” upper secondary schools than ethnic majority students. However, an in-depth case study of an ethnic minority boarding school in Lao Cai province provides an example of positive deviance. Guided by a targeted affirmative action policy, the provincial government invests a relatively high level of resources to provide fee-free, high-quality schooling for gifted ethnic minority students. We consider the extent to which such policies can redress socioeconomic inequalities in Vietnam, and wider lessons for creating more equitable education systems

A rising tide of access: what consequences for equitable learning in Ethiopia?

Primary school enrolment in Ethiopia has more than doubled over the past two decades. In spite of this impressive achievement, and as in many low- and middle-income countries that have experienced rapid expansion, the Ethiopian education system is characterised by a ‘learning crisis’ in which many children are leaving school without basic numeracy and literacy skills. In this paper, we explore the relationship between low learning levels and the features of an education system characterised by a sudden increase in learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, including ‘first generation learners’, or students whose parents have never been to school. Using unique longitudinal school survey data, we examine whether first-generation learner status represents an additional layer of disadvantage in the Ethiopian education system; the relationship between first-generation learner status and learning outcomes; and the educational trajectories of first generational learners through primary school. Based on these findings, we consider the implications of a rising tide of access for Ethiopia as it seeks to provide equitable, quality education for all by 2030

PROTOCOL: The Effects of School‐Based Decision Making on Educational Outcomes in Low and Middle Income Contexts: A Systematic Review

The Problem Education is internationally understood to be a fundamental human right that offers individuals the opportunity to live healthy and meaningful lives. Evidence from around the world also indicates that education is vital for economic and social development, as it contributes to economic growth and poverty reduction, sustains health and well‐being, and lays the foundations for open and cohesive societies (UNESCO, 2o14). In recognition of the vital importance of education, governments across the globe have made a substantial effort to expand and improve their education systems, as they strive to meet the Education for All goals, adopted by the international community in 1990. These efforts have borne remarkable results; it is estimated that the number of out‐of‐school children has halved over the last decade (ibid, p. 53). However, there are still serious barriers to overcome, particularly in terms of access, completion and learning (Krishnaratne, White, & Carpenter, 2013). Access to education ‐ particularly for girls, poor children and children in conflict‐affected areas ‐ remains a crucial issue. The 2013 Global Monitoring Reports claims that an estimated 57 million children are still out of school, over half of whom are in sub‐Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2014, p.53).1 Furthermore, despite increases in enrolment numbers, there has been almost no change since 1999 in the percentage of students dropping out before the end of the primary cycle. The evidence also indicates that many children enrolled in school are not learning. Recent estimates suggest that around 130 million children who have completed at least four years of school still cannot read, write or perform basic calculations (UNESCO, 2014, p. 191)

Understanding Achievement in Numeracy Among Primary School Children in Ethiopia: Evidence from RISE Ethiopia Study

Ethiopia has succeeded in rapidly expanding access to primary education over the past two decades. However, learning outcomes remain low among primary school children and particularly among girls and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Starting with a systematic review of quantitative studies on the determinants of learning outcomes among primary school children in Ethiopia, this study then examined key determinants of students’ numeracy achievement over the 2018-19 school year. The study focused on Grade 4 children (N= 3,353) who are part of an on-going longitudinal study. The two questions that guided this study are: what are the key determinants of numeracy achievement at Grade 4 in primary schools in Ethiopia, and how does our current empirical study contribute to understanding achievement differences in numeracy among primary school children in Ethiopia? We employed descriptive and inferential statistics to examine factors that determine differences in numeracy scores at the start and end of the school year, as well as determinants of numeracy scores at the end of the school year conditional on achievement at the start of the school year. We examined differences across gender, region, and rural-urban localities. We also used ordinary least squares and school ‘fixed effects’ approaches to estimate the key child, household and school characteristics that determine numeracy scores in Grade 4. The findings revealed that boys significantly outperformed girls in numeracy both at the start and end of the 2018/19 school year, but the progress in numeracy scores over the school year by boys was similar to that of girl