EdTech for Out-of-School Children and Youth: A Rapid Evidence Review for the Southeast Asian Region

This Rapid Evidence Review (RER) provides an overview of existing literature on the use of educational technology (EdTech) by and for out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) in Southeast Asia. The review’s scope includes the following countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. While there is a general paucity of high-quality research on EdTech for OOSCY in Southeast Asia, we found that prior to the pandemic, OOSCY primarily accessed education through broadcast media or learning centres. However, there are several barriers that prevent OOSCY from accessing education via EdTech, including infrastructural challenges, device access challenges in rural and remote areas, lack of stakeholder readiness for technology innovations, contextualisation, and targeted government support for OOSCY. Further, although connectivity has increased significantly in recent years, there is little evidence to suggest whether this has had a positive impact on the learning of OOSCY. The RER aims neither to advocate nor discourage the use of technology to support education for OOSCY, but rather to provide an accessible summary of existing evidence on the topic so that educators, policymakers and donors might make informed decisions about the potential role of technology in delivering education for OOSCY. Key words: out-of-school children; rapid evidence review; RER; Southeast Asia; ASEAN; education technology; marginalised learners An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org/

DOI: 10.53832/edtechhub.1007 ZenodoArchiveID: 10610797 ZenodoArchiveConcept: 10610796