Community Engagement in Schools : Evidence from a Field Experiment in Pakistan
This paper presents the results of a field experiment in rural Sindh, Pakistan, where half of the school-age children (ages 6-10 years) are out of school. The study tests simple and low-intensity approaches to strengthen engagement of communities w...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/796781592320492516/Community-Engagement-in-Schools-Evidence-from-a-Field-Experiment-in-Pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33941 |
| Summary: | This paper presents the results of a
field experiment in rural Sindh, Pakistan, where half of the
school-age children (ages 6-10 years) are out of school. The
study tests simple and low-intensity approaches to
strengthen engagement of communities with schools:
face-to-face dialogue at externally facilitated community
meetings, and ongoing, anonymous dialogue via text messages.
The interventions increased communities' interest in
education as measured through an improvement in the number
of functioning schools and, in the case of the text message
treatment, substantial gains in retention of students in
grades 2, 3, and 4. On the supply side, the schools
significantly increased staffing and the share of
one-teacher schools was reduced; however, teacher
absenteeism increased, and there was no substantial impact
on basic school infrastructure. Elections and capacity
building for school committees were implemented in a
cross-over experimental design. The intervention undermined
the participation of communities in meetings and reduced
impacts on all indicators except new admissions and
availability of toilets in schools. No evidence is found of
impact on measured test scores for any intervention. |
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