ERIC Number: ED676535
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jul
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Are Short-Term Gains in Learning Outcomes Possible? Evidence from the Malawi Education Sector Improvement Project. Policy Research Working Paper 10845
Salman Asim; Ravinder Casley Gera
World Bank
This paper presents evidence of the impact of a five-year package of interconnected interventions intended to improve learning environments in eight disadvantaged districts in Malawi. The intervention, which was implemented over five years, provided additional finance to schools to support the hiring of additional teachers and construction of learning shelters to improve class sizes in lower primary, along with constructing classrooms and providing results-based finance to reward improvements in staffing. The interventions were targeted to eight districts with longstanding disadvantages in staffing, learning environments, and learning outcomes, particularly for girls. Employing administrative data and data from a nationally representative independent sample of public primary schools, the analysis finds that these investments closed the gap in learning outcomes between the targeted districts and the rest of Malawi. There is also suggestive evidence that the program reduced learning gaps between girls and boys. The findings suggest that even in a low-income environment with significant constraints, targeted efforts to reduce class sizes can close district-level gaps in learning.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Educational Environment, Intervention, Financial Support, School Districts, Elementary Schools, Public Schools, Disadvantaged Schools, Low Income, Class Size, Educational Finance, Personnel Selection
World Bank Publications. 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. Tel: 202-458-4500; Fax: 202-552-1500; Web site: http://www.worldbank.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: World Bank
Identifiers - Location: Malawi
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


