Empirical literature on digital technologies for student learning is generally unable to identify separately whether learning gains arise from reciprocity in response to the gift of a valuable gadget (the 'gadget effect') or from increasing exposure to relevant materials (the 'content effect').
... See More + This paper attempts to disentangle these mechanisms using a randomized control trial in junior secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria. It estimates three contrasts: (i) the effect of just receiving an eReader with non-curriculum content, (ii) the marginal effects of receiving an eReader with curriculum text books, and (iii) the marginal effects (relative to ii) of receiving curriculum with supplementary current and remedial instructional content. The findings show that six to eight months of exposure to eReaders led to modest positive impacts on learning, but only if the devices had curriculum material and were filling input gaps resulting from a lack of textbooks. Consistent with other recent findings, even six to eight months of exposure to eReaders with non-curriculum recreational material reduced student learning outcomes. These results demonstrate that the promise of digital solutions to improve learning depends largely on the extent that these solutions address unmet access to instructional material. The paper also finds that exposure to eReaders improved student retention. However, these impacts are not very robust and could be achieved much more cost-effectively through the provision of information about the economic returns to education.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8665 DEC 06, 2018
This report documents the challenge of achieving inclusive education in Africa. Primary school completion rates are 10 percentage points lower for girls with disabilities than for girls without disabilities.
... See More + For boys, the disability gap in primary completion rates is 13 points. Gaps are also large for secondary education completion and children with disabilities are much more likely to never enroll in school at all. Across the board disability gaps have been steadily increasing over the last 20 years. Even when children with disabilities manage to remain in school, they perform on average less well on mathematics and reading tests. This is one of the reasons why only half of children with disabilities of primary school completion age can read and write, and only one in four complete secondary school. Multiple factors lead to disability gaps in education. According to teacher perceptions on the reasons why children drop out of school, lack of adequate infrastructure for children with disabilities is a major issue. In addition, among a dozen types of in-service training provided to teachers, training related to inclusive education is the least commonly provided. Finally, screening for disabilities in school remains very rare. In essence, children with disabilities are being left behind by efforts to improve education opportunities for all. Investing in the education of children with disabilities is required from a rights perspective , but it is also a smart investment. Indeed, apart from a wide range of other benefits from educational attainment, the labor market returns to education for individuals with disabilities are large and similar order to the returns observed for other individuals.
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Early mathematics learning has garnered considerable attention globally over the past few years. This increased attention is motivated by global research pointing to the importance of early mathematics in supporting children`s later academic development.
... See More + The need to ensure that children have explicit and planned opportunities to develop foundational mathematics skills has led to the development of research-based early mathematics curricula that clearly articulate the types of mathematics learning experiences young children can and should have at different points in their learning pathways. The present study was commissioned by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to review the Palestinian kindergarten (KG) curriculum framework with a focus on the early mathematics progression that it puts forward. Specifically, the study aims to provide answers to three questions: (1) to what extent is the curriculum structured along a developmental progression that reflects the latest cognitive research on how children learn mathematics from an early age?; (2) how does the Palestinian early mathematics curriculum compare to that of other countries with established KG systems, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Singapore?; and (3) how well does the curriculum align with the Grade 1 Palestinian mathematics curriculum? It then puts forward a number of recommendations to improve early mathematics learning in KG classrooms.
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Early mathematics learning has garnered considerable attention globally over the past few years. This increased attention is motivated by global research pointing to the importance of early mathematics in supporting children`s later academic development.
... See More + The need to ensure that children have explicit and planned opportunities to develop foundational mathematics skills has led to the development of research-based early mathematics curricula that clearly articulate the types of mathematics learning experiences young children can and should have at different points in their learning pathways. The present study was commissioned by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to review the Palestinian kindergarten (KG) curriculum framework with a focus on the early mathematics progression that it puts forward. Specifically, the study aims to provide answers to three questions: (1) to what extent is the curriculum structured along a developmental progression that reflects the latest cognitive research on how children learn mathematics from an early age?; (2) how does the Palestinian early mathematics curriculum compare to that of other countries with established KG systems, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Singapore?; and (3) how well does the curriculum align with the Grade 1 Palestinian mathematics curriculum? It then puts forward a number of recommendations to improve early mathematics learning in KG classrooms.
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