Fighting Against Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: A Randomized Experiment of Self-Learning at the Right Level

Sawada, Yasuyuki; Mahmud, Minhaj; Seki, Masayuki; Kawarazaki, Hikaru

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3471021

Cited by 5 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In addition to allowing for variation in academic content presented, this enabled different entry points and differentiated instruction (including preserving the age‐cohort‐based social grouping of students; Muralidharan et al., 2019). Such adaptation to learners' needs to teach at the ‘right’ (ie, the learner's current) level has been an increasing focus of research in LMICs over the past decade, both with (Rajendran & Muralidharan, 2013) and without technology (Innovations for Poverty Action, 2015; Sawada et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of technology‐supported personalised learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A meta‐analysis

Major

Francis

Tsapali

2021

Brit J Educational Tech

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Digital technology offers the potential to address educational challenges in resource‐poor settings. This meta‐analysis examines the impact of students' use of technology that personalises and adapts to learning level in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Following a systematic search for research between 2007 and 2020, 16 randomised controlled trials were identified in five countries. Studies involved 53,029 learners aged 6–15 years. Coding examined learning domain (mathematics and literacy); personalisation level and delivery; technology use; and intervention duration and intensity. Overall, technology‐supported personalised learning was found to have a statistically significant—if moderate—positive effect size of 0.18 on learning (p = 0.001). Meta‐regression reveals how more personalised approaches which adapt or adjust to learners' level led to significantly greater impact (an effect size of 0.35) than those only linking to learners' interests or providing personalised feedback, support, and/or assessment. Avenues for future research include investigating cost implications, optimum programme length, and teachers' role in making personalised learning with technology effective. What is already known about this topic? Promoting personalised learning is an established aim of educators. Using technology to support personalised learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) could play an important role in ensuring more inclusive and equitable access to education, particularly in the aftermath of COVID‐19. There is currently no rigorous overview of evidence on the effectiveness of using technology to enable personalised learning in LMICs. What this paper adds? The meta‐analysis is the first to evaluate the effectiveness of technology‐supported personalised learning in improving learning outcomes for school‐aged children in LMICs. Technology‐supported personalised learning has a statistically significant, positive effect on learning outcomes. Interventions are similarly effective for mathematics and literacy and whether or not teachers also have an active role in the personalisation. Personalised approaches that adapt or adjust to the learner led to significantly greater impact, although whether these warrant the additional investment likely necessary for implementation at scale needs to be investigated. Personalised technology implementation of moderate duration and intensity had similar positive effects to that of stronger duration and intensity, although further research is needed to confirm this. Implications for practice and/or policy: The inclusion of more adaptive personalisation features in technology‐assisted learning environments can lead to greater learning gains. Personalised technology approaches featuring moderate personalisation may also yield learning rewards. While it is not known whether personalised technology can be scaled in a cost‐effective and contextually appropriate way, there are indications that this is possible. The appropriateness of teachers integrating personalised a...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of technology‐supported personalised learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A meta‐analysis

Major

Francis

Tsapali

2021

Brit J Educational Tech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The RCT study included 34 randomly selected BRAC primary schools consisting of third-and fourth-graders, of which 17 schools were offered the Kumon intervention (Sawada et al, 2019). The intervention consisted of a 30-minute session on Kumon study prior to the beginning of the regular lessons.…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using the unique setting of an individualized self-learning program conducted among the primary school goers in Bangladesh, we focus on the potential compatibility or trade-off between speed and learning quality. Our study leverages a randomized control trial (RCT) design that investigates the effectiveness of a globally popular method of self-learning at the right level (developed by the Kumon Institute of Education Co., Ltd.) on improving both the cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of pupils (Sawada et al, 2019). 3 One of the unique features of a Kumon session is that one can observe who finishes the daily assignment faster than oneself, as students are individually working on their own level of worksheets and turn them in on completion to the graders in the front row of the classroom.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The intervention is eight-month long daily sessions of the Kumon method of learning (hereafter Kumon) Sawada et al (2019). finds substantial improvement in cognitive ability measured by mathematics test scores and catch-up effects on non-cognitive ability measured by a pupil self-esteem measure; these are consistent with a longer-term impact found in take-up rates and scores on a national-level primary school completion exam.4 Ten worksheets are the daily assignment during the 30 minutes of a Kumon session.5 Appendix C discusses the reflection problem from both the theoretical and empirical viewpoints.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…For further details of the experimental design, please refer toSawada et al (2019). 7 BRAC field staff were assigned to assist and follow up on BPS teachers.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Haste Makes No Waste: Peer Effects of a Speed Competition on Math Score

et al. 2020

Self Cite

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This study investigates the peer effects of a speed competition on educational outcomes in self-learning at the right level program for primary school students in Bangladesh. Specifically, we examine the peer effects of speed of problem-solving (time) on math scores (score) using students' daily progress record over eight months. The unique setting of the program allows to address the identification challenges such as the direction of causality and the reflection problem. The results show a significant peer effect of classmates' speed on improving one's own time. Furthermore, we find that the faster the classmates of similar abilities, the higher one's own math scores. This suggests that the speed competition among students with similar abilities leads to improving their learning quality without negatively affecting others. These findings will contribute to shaping an effective learning environment by incorporating positive peer pressure on learning quality.

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Fighting the Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: A Randomized Experiment of Self-Learning at the Right Level

Sawada¹,

Mahmud²,

Seki³

et al. 2024

Economic Development and Cultural Change

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This study investigates the effectiveness of a globally popular method of self-learning at the right level in improving learning outcomes-the cognitive and noncognitive abilities of disadvantaged students-in a developing country, Bangladesh. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we find substantial improvements in cognitive abilities measured by math test scores and catch-up effects in terms of noncognitive abilities or personality traits measured through a self-esteem scale. Moreover, our study is the first to use alternative cognitive ability measures, that is, time reduction as well as time-adjusted test score, which are critical dimensions of cognitive development. Subsequently, we investigate the long-term effects using students' math results of the national-level exam. We find a reasonable longer-term impact on cognitive abilities 20 months after the intervention for younger students. Our estimates indicate that the program's benefits exceed its costs.

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Fighting Against Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: A Randomized Experiment of Self-Learning at the Right Level

Cited by 5 publications

References 48 publications

The effectiveness of technology‐supported personalised learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A meta‐analysis

The effectiveness of technology‐supported personalised learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A meta‐analysis

Haste Makes No Waste: Peer Effects of a Speed Competition on Math Score

Fighting the Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: A Randomized Experiment of Self-Learning at the Right Level

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