In this article, I identify educational interventions with an impact on student learning in Sub-Saharan Africa. After a systematic literature search, I conducted a meta-analysis synthesizing 56 articles containing 66 separate experiments and quasi-experiments and 83 treatment arms. I evaluated 12 types of education interventions such as the provision of school supplies, the use of teacher incentives, and school-based management programs. I examine each intervention type, present analytics on relative effectiveness, and explore why certain interventions seem to be more effective. A key finding is that programs that alter teacher pedagogy or classroom instructional techniques had an effect size approximately 0.30 standard deviations greater than all other types of programs combined. Limited evidence further suggests that pedagogical programs that employed adaptive instruction or teacher coaching were particularly effective. Given that the literature in the field is still nascent overall, these results advocate for further research into these pedagogical interventions.

Are there mechanisms by which the advantaged can see the perspectives of the disadvantaged? If advantaged individuals have prolonged engagement with disadvantaged populations and confront issues of inequality through national service, do they see the world more through the lens of the poor? We explore this question by examining Teach For America (TFA), as TFA is a prominent national service program that integrates top college graduates into low-income communities for two years and employs a selection model that allows for causal inference. A regression discontinuity approach, utilizing an original survey of over 32,000 TFA applicants and TFA’s selection data for the 2007–2015 application cycles, reveals that extended intergroup contact in a service context causes advantaged Americans to adopt beliefs that are closer to those of disadvantaged Americans. These findings have broad implications for our understanding of the impact of intergroup contact on perceptions of social justice and prejudice reduction.

Objectives. Previous general population survey research has found that, relative to monetary incentives, altruistic appeals are ineffective in increasing survey response and that offering additional monetary incentives is always desirable. We consider an alternative population-a pro-social population-and ask whether these same conclusions apply. Methods. To evaluate the relative effectiveness of different incentive strategies, we randomly assign individuals to one of five conditions. We consider altruistic incentives (a narrative appeal or a charitable donation) and monetary incentives (three separate lotteries). Results. Among pro-social individuals, "less is more": altruistic appeals are just as effective, if not more effective, than costly monetary incentives. Moreover, the simplest lottery structure (fewer large-payoff prizes) is the most cost effective of the lotteries. Conclusions. The target population of interest matters when designing survey incentive strategies. Moreover, increasing the incentives budget is not always beneficial.

No abstract