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

This publication is one part of a series of Rapid Evidence Reviews (RERs) that has been produced by EdTech Hub as part of the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education (SAGE) Programme. The programme aims to enhance foundational learning opportunities for all by breaking down barriers that hinder the educational achievements of girls and marginalised learners. The purpose of the RERs is to provide education decision-makers with accessible, evidence-based summaries of good practice in specific areas of EdTech in the Southeast Asian region. They are focused on topics which are particularly relevant to marginalised learners, and how to improve their access to education with technology. All the RERs are available at https://edtechhub.org/. 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