TY - JOUR TI - Mathematics from the beginning: Evaluating the Tayari preprimary program’s impact on early mathematics skills AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Sitabkhan, Yasmin AU - Nderu, Evangeline T2 - Global Education Review AB - Given the dearth of research on early numeracy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, this paper presents the instructional methodology and impact results of the Tayari program. Tayari is a preprimary intervention in Kenya (2014–2019) that prepares children aged four and five for entry into primary school through materials for students, training for teachers, and continuous in-classroom support. Evidence points to the long-term benefits of developing an early foundation in mathematics. The few preprimary mathematics studies in sub-Saharan Africa have not described the instructional methodology in enough detail to add to our knowledge of best practices. The Tayari methodology was built on the Kenyan government’s preprimary syllabus to produce instruction that was developmentally sequenced, linked to out-of-school experiences, and supportive of children’s number sense. Tayari is evaluated using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and collection of longitudinal data from 2,957 children in treatment and control schools at three time points. Pupil assessment items were drawn from a growing body of research on preprimary numeracy in developing contexts, plus instruments and techniques from the Measuring Early Learning and Quality Outcomes (MELQO) program (UNESCO, UNICEF, Brookings Institution, & World Bank Group, 2017). The endline impact evaluation of the longitudinal RCT results showed statistically significant effects in the numeracy tasks of producing sets, identifying numbers, and naming shapes, while revealing no initial effects in the areas of oral and mental addition. We present recommendations for Tayari’s improvement in terms of mathematics instruction, as well as preprimary policy implications for Kenya and similar contexts. DA - 2018/10/09/ PY - 2018 DP - ger.mercy.edu VL - 5 IS - 3 SP - 57 EP - 81 LA - en SN - 2325-663X ST - Mathematics from the Beginning UR - https://ger.mercy.edu/index.php/ger/article/view/434 AN - Kenya Y2 - 2022/12/02/14:50:18 KW - Sub-Saharan Africa KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Does technology improve reading outcomes? Comparing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ICT interventions for early grade reading in Kenya AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons AU - Kwayumba, Dunston AU - Strigel, Carmen T2 - International Journal of Educational Development AB - Education policymakers are investing in information and communications technology (ICT) without a research base on how ICT improves outcomes. There is limited research on the effects of different types of ICT investments on outcomes. The Kenya Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) study implemented a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects and cost of three interventions – e-readers for students, tablets for teachers, and the base PRIMR program with tablets for instructional supervisors. The results show that the ICT investments do not improve literacy outcomes significantly more than the base non-ICT instructional program. Our findings show that cost considerations should be paramount in selecting ICT investments in the education sector. DA - 2016/// PY - 2016 DO - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.03.006 DP - ScienceDirect VL - 49 SP - 204 EP - 214 J2 - International Journal of Educational Development LA - en SN - 0738-0593 ST - Does technology improve reading outcomes? UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059316300293 Y2 - 2019/11/21/13:48:22 KW - Education policy KW - International education KW - Kenya KW - Literacy KW - Reading KW - Technology KW - __:import:01 KW - __:match:final KW - __:matched KW - __:study_id:2457283 KW - ___working_potential_duplicate KW - __finaldtb ER - TY - JOUR TI - Scaling up successfully: Lessons from Kenya’s Tusome national literacy program AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Destefano, Joseph AU - Kinyanjui, Esther M. AU - Ong’ele, Salome T2 - Journal of Educational Change AB - Many successful piloted programs fail when scaled up to a national level. In Kenya, which has a long history of particularly ineffective implementation after successful pilot programs, the Tusome national literacy program—which receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development—is a national-level scale-up of previous literacy and numeracy programs. We applied a scaling framework (Crouch and DeStefano in Doing reform differently: combining rigor and practicality in implementation and evaluation of system reforms. International development group working paper no. 2017-01, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 2017. https://www.rti.org/publication/doing-reform-differently-combining-rigor-and-practicality-implementation-and-evaluation) to examine whether Tusome’s implementation was rolled out in ways that would enable government structures and officers to respond effectively to the new program. We found that Tusome was able to clarify expectations for implementation and outcomes nationally using benchmarks for Kiswahili and English learning outcomes, and that these expectations were communicated all the way down to the school level. We noted that the essential program inputs were provided fairly consistently, across the nation. In addition, our analyses showed that Kenya developed functional, if simple, accountability and feedback mechanisms to track performance against benchmark expectations. We also established that the Tusome feedback data were utilized to encourage greater levels of instructional support within Kenya’s county level structures for education quality support. The results indicated that several of the key elements for successful scale-up were therefore put in place. However, we also discovered that Tusome failed to fully exploit the available classroom observational data to better target instructional support. In the context of this scaling framework, the Tusome literacy program’s external evaluation results showed program impacts of 0.6–1.0 standard deviations on English and Kiswahili learning outcomes. The program implemented a functional classroom observational feedback system through existing government systems, although usage of those systems varied widely across Kenya. Classroom visits, even if still falling short of the desired rate, were far more frequent, were focused on instructional quality, and included basic feedback and advice to teachers. These findings are promising with respect to the ability of countries facing quality problems to implement a coherent instructional reform through government systems at scale. DA - 2018/08/01/ PY - 2018 DO - 10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 DP - Springer Link VL - 19 IS - 3 SP - 293 EP - 321 J2 - J Educ Change LA - en SN - 1573-1812 ST - Scaling up successfully UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 Y2 - 2022/12/07/21:03:04 KW - Evaluation KW - Implementation KW - Literacy KW - National KW - Reading KW - Reform KW - Systems ER - TY - JOUR TI - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement: teacher professional development and coaching, student textbooks, and structured teachers’ guides AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie AU - Dubeck, Margaret AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - King, Simon J. T2 - World Development DA - 2018/// PY - 2018 DO - 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.01.018 DP - Google Scholar VL - 106 SP - 324 EP - 336 ST - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X18300287?via%3Dihub KW - Africa KW - Literacy KW - Numeracy KW - Program evaluation KW - Randomized controlled trial KW - Reading KW - ___working_potential_duplicate ER - TY - JOUR TI - Multilingual Literacy Skill Development in Kenya: Results from Medium Scale Randomized Controlled Trials. AU - Piper, Benjamin T2 - Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness DA - 2016/// PY - 2016 DP - Google Scholar ST - Multilingual Literacy Skill Development in Kenya KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - RPRT TI - 2023 Cost-effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning - What does Recent Evidence Tell Us are “Smart Buys” for Improving Learning in Low- and Middle-income Countries? AU - Banerjee, Abhijit AU - Andrab, Tahir AU - Banerji, Rukmini AU - Dynarski, Susan AU - Glennerster, Rachel AU - Grantham-Mcgregor, Sally AU - Muralidharan, Karthik AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Saavedra Chanduvi, Jaime AU - Yoshikawa, Hirokazu AU - Ruto, Sara AU - Schmelkes, Sylvia AB - 2023 Cost-effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning - What does Recent Evidence Tell Us are “Smart Buys” for Improving Learning in Low- and Middle-income Countries? (English) DA - 2023/// PY - 2023 LA - en PB - World Bank Group UR - https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099420106132331608/IDU0977f73d7022b1047770980c0c5a14598eef8 Y2 - 2023/10/10/14:11:45 ER - TY - GEN TI - The Primary Math and Reading Initiative (PRIMR) AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Kwayumba, Dunston DA - 2014/// PY - 2014 UR - https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pa00k285.pdf ER - TY - JOUR TI - Teacher coaching in Kenya: Examining instructional support in public and nonformal schools AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons T2 - Teaching and Teacher Education AB - Instructional coaching has improved student outcomes in the United States, and may help to solve Kenya's literacy problems. Coaching is costly, however, and evidence is lacking regarding the most cost-efficient teacher-to-coach ratio. We used student literacy outcome data from more than 8000 students participating in the Kenya Primary Math and Reading Initiative—a randomized controlled trial of instructional interventions in public and nonformal schools—to fill this gap. Coaches in larger public zones made fewer visits per teacher, and teacher-coach ratio and student performance were negatively associated. Using causal methods, we concluded that lower ratios might improve nonformal school outcomes. DA - 2015/04// PY - 2015 DO - 10.1016/j.tate.2015.01.001 DP - ScienceDirect VL - 47 SP - 173 EP - 183 J2 - Teaching and Teacher Education SN - 0742-051X ST - Teacher coaching in Kenya UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X15000025 Y2 - 2015/03/19/00:03:56 KW - AWP2 KW - C:Kenya KW - CitedIn:AKFC KW - CitedIn:OER4Schools-HHH3-B KW - Coaching KW - Instruction KW - Kenya KW - Literacy KW - PRIMR KW - professional development ER - TY - JOUR TI - Mathematics from the Beginning: Evaluating the Tayari Preprimary Program’s Impact on Early Mathematics Skills AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Sitabkhan, Yasmin AU - Nderu, Evangeline T2 - Global Education Review DA - 2018/// PY - 2018 DP - Google Scholar VL - 5 IS - 3 SP - 57 EP - 81 ST - Mathematics from the Beginning KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Reading Skill Transfer across Languages: Outcomes from Longitudinal Bilingual Randomized Control Trials in Kenya and Haiti. AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Bulat, Jennae AU - Johnston, Andrew T2 - Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness DA - 2015/// PY - 2015 DP - Google Scholar ST - Reading Skill Transfer across Languages KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pro-Poor PRIMR: Improving Early Literacy Skills for Children from Low-Income Families in Kenya AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - Kibukho, Kennedy T2 - Africa Education Review AB - Children from low-income families are at risk of learning outcome difficulties, particularly in literacy. Various studies link poor literacy results with performance later in primary and secondary school, and suggest that poverty, literacy skills and weak instructional methods combine to drastically limit the educational opportunities for many poor children. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative was designed to support the learning gains of Class 1 and 2 pupils in seven counties across Kenya. PRIMR uses a randomised controlled trial design to establish the effect of its intervention and employs basic literacy measures to estimate causal effects. This study shows that PRIMR has been effective for children from low-income families and that early literacy interventions can mitigate socio-economic effects. The findings suggest that efforts to improve literacy outcomes for the poor should begin early in primary school. Strategies for ensuring that instruction is equitable across socio-economic status are advocated. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015 DO - 10.1080/18146627.2015.1036566 DP - ERIC VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 67 EP - 87 LA - en SN - 1814-6627 ST - Pro-Poor PRIMR Y2 - 2021/09/06/12:32:19 KW - Achievement Gains KW - Causal Models KW - Control Groups KW - Early Intervention KW - Early Reading KW - Educational Improvement KW - Effect Size KW - Emergent Literacy KW - Experimental Groups KW - Foreign Countries KW - Grade 1 KW - Grade 2 KW - Low Income Students KW - Oral Reading KW - Poverty KW - Randomized Controlled Trials KW - Reading Comprehension KW - Reading Fluency KW - Reading Tests KW - Regression (Statistics) KW - School Effectiveness KW - Skill Development KW - Socioeconomic Status ER - TY - JOUR TI - Designing for Scale: Reflections on Rolling Out Reading Improvement in Kenya and Liberia AU - Gove, Amber AU - Poole, Medina Korda AU - Piper, Benjamin T2 - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development AB - Since 2008, the Ministries of Education in Liberia and Kenya have undertaken transitions from small-scale pilot programs to improve reading outcomes among primary learners to the large-scale implementation of reading interventions. The effects of the pilots on learning outcomes were significant, but questions remained regarding whether such large gains could be sustained at scale. In this article, the authors dissect the Liberian and Kenyan experiences with implementing large-scale reading programs, documenting the critical components and conditions of the program designs that affected the likelihood of successfully transitioning from pilot to scale. They also review the design, deployment, and effectiveness of each pilot program and the scale, design, duration, enabling conditions, and initial effectiveness results of the scaled programs in each country. The implications of these results for the design of both pilot and large-scale reading programs are discussed in light of the experiences of both the Liberian and Kenyan programs. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017 DO - 10.1002/cad.20195 DP - Wiley Online Library VL - 2017 IS - 155 SP - 77 EP - 95 LA - en SN - 1534-8687 ST - Designing for Scale UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cad.20195 Y2 - 2020/01/17/17:56:47 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Implementing mother tongue instruction in the real world: Results from a medium-scale randomized controlled trial in Kenya AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie S. AU - Ong’ele, Salome T2 - Comparative Education Review AB - Research in sub-Saharan Africa investigating the effect of mother tongue (MT) literacy instruction at medium scale is limited. A randomized controlled trial of MT literacy instruction was implemented in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative in Kenya. We compare the effect of two treatment groups—the base PRIMR program teaching literacy in English and Kiswahili and the PRIMR-MT program, which taught literacy in English, Kiswahili, and mother tongue—in two different language environments. Implementation of the MT program faced challenges because many educators were not speakers of the languages, some communities resisted mother tongue instruction, and some areas were more language heterogeneous. Effect sizes on MT literacy averaged between 0.3 and 0.6 standard deviations. The base PRIMR program also increased MT learning outcomes in some measures but had smaller effects than the PRIMR-MT program in oral reading fluency and comprehension. DA - 2016/11// PY - 2016 DO - 10.1086/688493 DP - journals.uchicago.edu (Atypon) VL - 60 IS - 4 SP - 776 EP - 807 SN - 0010-4086 ST - Implementing Mother Tongue Instruction in the Real World UR - https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688493 Y2 - 2022/04/20/15:39:36 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Improving procedural and conceptual mathematics outcomes: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Kenya AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Ralaingita, Wendi AU - Akach, Linda AU - King, Simon T2 - Journal of Development Effectiveness AB - To improve learning outcomes, an intervention in Kenya called the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative provided pupil learning materials, teachers’ guides and modest teacher professional development in mathematics. This paper presents the causal impact of PRIMR’s mathematics intervention on pupil achievement indices for procedural and conceptual numeracy, using a differences-in-differences analytic strategy. The mathematics intervention produced modest, statistically significant results: generally similar results for males and females, a larger impact in grade 2 than grade 1, a larger impact in nongovernment schools than public schools, and smaller outcomes in mathematics than for English or Kiswahili. These findings have relevant policy implications in Kenya given an impending national mathematics programme. DA - 2016/07/02/ PY - 2016 DO - 10.1080/19439342.2016.1149502 DP - DOI.org (Crossref) VL - 8 IS - 3 SP - 404 EP - 422 J2 - Journal of Development Effectiveness LA - en SN - 1943-9342, 1943-9407 ST - Improving procedural and conceptual mathematics outcomes UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19439342.2016.1149502 Y2 - 2020/01/28/10:09:58 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya: Changing instructional practice and developing accountability in a national education system AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Oyanga, Arbogast AU - Mejia, Jessica AU - Pouezevara, Sarah T2 - International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology AB - Previous large-scale education technology interventions have shown only modest impacts on student achievement. Building on results from an earlier randomized controlled trial of three different applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on primary education in Kenya, the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity developed the National Tablets Program. The National Tablets Program is integrated into the Tusome activity by providing tablets to each of more than 1,200 instructional coaches in the country to use when they visit teachers. This enables a national database of classroom instructional quality, which is used by the education system to monitor overall education quality. The tools provided on the tablets are designed to help coaches increase the quality of their instructional support to teachers, and deepen the shallow accountability structures in Kenya’s education system. Using results of a national survey, we investigated the ability of the National Tablets Program to increase the number of classroom observations done by coaches and to improve student learning outcomes. Survey results showed high levels of tablet program utilization, increased accountability, and improvements in learning outcomes. We share recommendations regarding large-scale ICT interventions and literacy programs. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017 DP - Zotero VL - 13 IS - 3 SP - 57 EP - 79 LA - en SN - 1814-0556, 1814-0556 UR - http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=2353 AN - 2013521673; EJ1166622 KW - Accountability KW - C:Kenya KW - Classrooms KW - Clinical trials KW - Developing countries--LDCs KW - Digital divide KW - Digital literacy KW - ERIC, Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) KW - Education KW - Education reform KW - Educational Practices KW - Educational Quality KW - Educational Technology KW - Educational technology KW - Foreign Countries KW - Handheld Devices KW - Initiatives KW - Intervention KW - Interviews KW - Kenya KW - Learning KW - Literacy KW - Literacy programs KW - Literature reviews KW - Maine KW - National Surveys KW - Observation KW - Outcomes of Education KW - Portugal KW - Quality KW - Questionnaires KW - Reading KW - Schools KW - Software KW - South Korea KW - Statistical Analysis KW - Statistical Significance KW - Students KW - Teachers KW - Teaching KW - Technology Uses in Education KW - Telecommunications KW - Texas KW - Turkey KW - Uruguay KW - __:import:01 KW - __:match:final KW - __:matched KW - __:study_id:2096038 KW - __finaldtb KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Improving procedural and conceptual mathematics outcomes: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Kenya AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Ralaingita, Wendi AU - Akach, Linda AU - King, Simon T2 - Journal of Development Effectiveness AB - To improve learning outcomes, an intervention in Kenya called the Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative provided pupil learning materials, teachers’ guides and modest teacher professional development in mathematics. This paper presents the causal impact of PRIMR’s mathematics intervention on pupil achievement indices for procedural and conceptual numeracy, using a differences-in-differences analytic strategy. The mathematics intervention produced modest, statistically significant results: generally similar results for males and females, a larger impact in grade 2 than grade 1, a larger impact in nongovernment schools than public schools, and smaller outcomes in mathematics than for English or Kiswahili. These findings have relevant policy implications in Kenya given an impending national mathematics programme. DA - 2016/07/02/ PY - 2016 DO - 10.1080/19439342.2016.1149502 DP - Taylor and Francis+NEJM VL - 8 IS - 3 SP - 404 EP - 422 SN - 1943-9342 ST - Improving procedural and conceptual mathematics outcomes UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2016.1149502 Y2 - 2021/08/31/10:39:50 KW - Kenya KW - Numeracy KW - elementary school KW - instruction KW - international education KW - mathematics ER - TY - JOUR TI - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya: Changing instructional practice and developing accountability in a National Education System AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Oyanga, Arbogast AU - Mejia, Jessica AU - Pouezevara, Sarah T2 - International Journal of Education and Development using ICT AB - Previous large-scale education technology interventions have shown only modest results. Building on results from an earlier randomized controlled trial of three different applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on primary education in Kenya, the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity developed a national tablets program. The program provides tablets to each of more than 1200 instructional coaches in the country and includes a national database of classroom quality, which is used by the education system to monitor education quality. The tablets program helps coaches to... DA - 2017/12/30/ PY - 2017 DP - www.learntechlib.org VL - 13 IS - 3 LA - en SN - 1814-0556 ST - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya UR - https://www.learntechlib.org/p/182157/ Y2 - 2022/07/01/15:33:23 KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya: Changing instructional practice and developing accountability in a National Education System AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Oyanga, Arbogast AU - Mejia, Jessica AU - Pouezevara, Sarah T2 - International Journal of Education and Development using ICT AB - Previous large-scale education technology interventions have shown only modest results. Building on results from an earlier randomized controlled trial of three different applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on primary education in Kenya, the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity developed a national tablets program. The program provides tablets to each of more than 1200 instructional coaches in the country and includes a national database of classroom quality, which is used by the education system to monitor education quality. The tablets program helps coaches to... DA - 2017/12/30/ PY - 2017 DP - www.learntechlib.org VL - 13 IS - 3 LA - en SN - 1814-0556 ST - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya UR - https://www.learntechlib.org/p/182157/ Y2 - 2022/06/29/18:10:22 KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya: Changing instructional practice and developing accountability in a national education system AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Oyanga, Arbogast AU - Mejia, Jessica AU - Pouezevara, Sarah T2 - International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology AB - Previous large-scale education technology interventions have shown only modest impacts on student achievement. Building on results from an earlier randomized controlled trial of three different applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on primary education in Kenya, the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity developed the National Tablets Program. The National Tablets Program is integrated into the Tusome activity by providing tablets to each of more than 1,200 instructional coaches in the country to use when they visit teachers. This enables a national database of classroom instructional quality, which is used by the education system to monitor overall education quality. The tools provided on the tablets are designed to help coaches increase the quality of their instructional support to teachers, and deepen the shallow accountability structures in Kenya’s education system. Using results of a national survey, we investigated the ability of the National Tablets Program to increase the number of classroom observations done by coaches and to improve student learning outcomes. Survey results showed high levels of tablet program utilization, increased accountability, and improvements in learning outcomes. We share recommendations regarding large-scale ICT interventions and literacy programs. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017 DP - Zotero VL - 13 IS - 3 SP - 57 EP - 79 LA - en SN - 1814-0556, 1814-0556 UR - http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=2353 AN - 2013521673; EJ1166622 KW - Accountability KW - C:Kenya KW - Classrooms KW - Clinical trials KW - Developing countries--LDCs KW - Digital divide KW - Digital literacy KW - ERIC, Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) KW - Education KW - Education reform KW - Educational Practices KW - Educational Quality KW - Educational Technology KW - Educational technology KW - Foreign Countries KW - Handheld Devices KW - Initiatives KW - Intervention KW - Interviews KW - Kenya KW - Learning KW - Literacy KW - Literacy programs KW - Literature reviews KW - Maine KW - National Surveys KW - Observation KW - Outcomes of Education KW - Portugal KW - Quality KW - Questionnaires KW - Reading KW - Schools KW - Software KW - South Korea KW - Statistical Analysis KW - Statistical Significance KW - Students KW - Teachers KW - Teaching KW - Technology Uses in Education KW - Telecommunications KW - Texas KW - Turkey KW - Uruguay KW - __:import:01 KW - __:match:final KW - __:matched KW - __:study_id:2096038 KW - __finaldtb KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Kenya’s ICT policy in practice: The effectiveness of tablets and e-readers in improving student outcomes AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - Kwayumba, Dunston AU - Kibukho, Kennedy T2 - FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education AB - Kenya is investing in information and communication technology (ICT) to improve children's learning outcomes. However, the literature on ICT is pessimistic about the ability of ICT alone to improve outcomes, and few ICT programs have created the instructional change necessary to increase learning. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative implemented a randomized controlled trial of three ICT interventions to enhance learning outcomes: tablets for instructional supervisors, tablets for teachers, and e-readers for students. All three showed significant impacts in English and Kiswahili above the results of the control group. The impacts of the three interventions were not statistically significantly different from each other. Based on the findings, we recommend that Kenyan policy makers embed ICT interventions in a larger instructional reform, using ICT to support particular instructional improvement challenges. We also suggest that policy makers incorporate empirically derived cost-effectiveness analysis into investment decisions, to ensure that ICT provides value for money. DA - 2015/// PY - 2015 DO - 10.18275/fire201502011025 DP - ERIC VL - 2 IS - 1/2 SP - 3 EP - 18 J2 - FIRE LA - en SN - 2326-3873 ST - Kenya’s ICT policy in practice UR - https://preserve.lehigh.edu/fire/vol2/iss1/2/ KW - African Languages KW - Control Groups KW - Cost Effectiveness KW - ERIC, Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) KW - Educational Policy KW - Educational Practices KW - Elementary Secondary Education KW - English (Second Language) KW - Experimental Groups KW - Foreign Countries KW - Handheld Devices KW - Intervention KW - Kenya KW - Literacy KW - Outcomes of Education KW - Program Effectiveness KW - Randomized Controlled Trials KW - Reading Achievement KW - Student Improvement KW - Technology Uses in Education KW - __:import:01 KW - __:match:final KW - __:matched KW - __:study_id:2096974 KW - ___working_potential_duplicate KW - __finaldtb ER - TY - RPRT TI - Effectiveness of Teachers’ Guides in the Global South: Scripting, Learning Outcomes, and Classroom Utilization AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Sitabkhan, Yasmin AU - Mejia, Jessica AU - Betts, Kellie AB - This report presents the results of RTI International Education’s study on teachers' guides across 13 countries and 19 projects. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we examine how teachers’ guides across the projects differ and find substantial variation in the design and structure of the documents. We develop a scripting index so that the scripting levels of the guides can be compared across projects. The impact results of the programs that use teachers’ guides show significant impacts on learning outcomes, associated with approximately an additional half year of learning, showing that structured teachers’ guides contribute to improved learning outcomes. During observations, we find that teachers make a variety of changes in their classroom instruction from how the guides are written, showing that the utilization of structured teachers’ guides do not create robotic teachers unable to use their own professional skills to teach children. Unfortunately, many changes that teachers make reduce the amount of group work and interactivity that was described in the guides, suggesting that programs should encourage teachers to more heavily utilize the instructional routines designed in the guide. The report includes a set of research-based guidelines that material developers can use to develop teachers’ guides that will support effective instructional practices and help improve learning outcomes. The key takeaway from the report is that structured teachers' guides improve learning outcomes, but that overly scripted teachers' guides are somewhat less effective than simplified teachers' guides that give specific guidance to the teacher but are not written word for word for each lesson in the guide. DA - 2018/05/11/ PY - 2018 DP - DOI.org (Crossref) LA - en PB - RTI Press ST - Effectiveness of Teachers’ Guides in the Global South UR - https://www.rti.org/rti-press-publication/effectiveness-teachers-guides-global-south Y2 - 2020/05/17/12:23:53 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Kenya’s ICT policy in practice: The effectiveness of tablets and e-readers in improving student outcomes AU - Kibukho, K. AU - Kwayumba, Dunston AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - Piper, Benjamin AB - Kenya is investing in information and communication technology (ICT) to improve children’s learning outcomes. However, the literature on ICT is pessimistic about the ability of ICT alone to improve outcomes, and few ICT programs have created the instructional change necessary to increase learning. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative implemented a randomized controlled trial of three ICT interventions to enhance learning outcomes: tablets for instructional supervisors, tablets for teachers, and e-readers for students. DA - 2014/12/31/ PY - 2014 DP - www.rti.org LA - en ST - Kenya’s ICT policy in practice UR - https://www.rti.org/publication/kenya%E2%80%99s-ict-policy-practice-effectiveness-tablets-and-e-readers-improving-student Y2 - 2020/08/31/14:13:04 KW - ___working_potential_duplicate KW - ⛔ No DOI found ER - TY - JOUR TI - Examining the secondary effects of mother-tongue literacy instruction in Kenya: Impacts on student learning in English, Kiswahili, and mathematics AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons AU - Kwayumba, Dunston AU - Oyanga, Arbogast T2 - International Journal of Educational Development DA - 2018/03// PY - 2018 DO - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.10.002 DP - DOI.org (Crossref) VL - 59 SP - 110 EP - 127 J2 - International Journal of Educational Development LA - en SN - 07380593 ST - Examining the secondary effects of mother-tongue literacy instruction in Kenya UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0738059317302225 Y2 - 2022/06/11/08:10:32 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Scaling up successfully: Lessons from Kenya’s Tusome national literacy program AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Destefano, Joseph AU - Kinyanjui, Esther M. AU - Ong’ele, Salome T2 - Journal of Educational Change AB - Many successful piloted programs fail when scaled up to a national level. In Kenya, which has a long history of particularly ineffective implementation after successful pilot programs, the Tusome national literacy program—which receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development—is a national-level scale-up of previous literacy and numeracy programs. We applied a scaling framework (Crouch and DeStefano in Doing reform differently: combining rigor and practicality in implementation and evaluation of system reforms. International development group working paper no. 2017-01, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 2017. https://www.rti.org/publication/doing-reform-differently-combining-rigor-and-practicality-implementation-and-evaluation) to examine whether Tusome’s implementation was rolled out in ways that would enable government structures and officers to respond effectively to the new program. We found that Tusome was able to clarify expectations for implementation and outcomes nationally using benchmarks for Kiswahili and English learning outcomes, and that these expectations were communicated all the way down to the school level. We noted that the essential program inputs were provided fairly consistently, across the nation. In addition, our analyses showed that Kenya developed functional, if simple, accountability and feedback mechanisms to track performance against benchmark expectations. We also established that the Tusome feedback data were utilized to encourage greater levels of instructional support within Kenya’s county level structures for education quality support. The results indicated that several of the key elements for successful scale-up were therefore put in place. However, we also discovered that Tusome failed to fully exploit the available classroom observational data to better target instructional support. In the context of this scaling framework, the Tusome literacy program’s external evaluation results showed program impacts of 0.6–1.0 standard deviations on English and Kiswahili learning outcomes. The program implemented a functional classroom observational feedback system through existing government systems, although usage of those systems varied widely across Kenya. Classroom visits, even if still falling short of the desired rate, were far more frequent, were focused on instructional quality, and included basic feedback and advice to teachers. These findings are promising with respect to the ability of countries facing quality problems to implement a coherent instructional reform through government systems at scale. DA - 2018/08/01/ PY - 2018 DO - 10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 DP - Springer Link VL - 19 IS - 3 SP - 293 EP - 321 J2 - J Educ Change LA - en SN - 1389-2843, 1573-1812 ST - Scaling up successfully UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 Y2 - 2020/04/02/15:51:56 KW - ___working_potential_duplicate ER - TY - JOUR TI - Scaling up successfully: Lessons from Kenya’s Tusome national literacy program AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Destefano, Joseph AU - Kinyanjui, Esther M. AU - Ong’ele, Salome T2 - Journal of Educational Change AB - Many successful piloted programs fail when scaled up to a national level. In Kenya, which has a long history of particularly ineffective implementation after successful pilot programs, the Tusome national literacy program—which receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development—is a national-level scale-up of previous literacy and numeracy programs. We applied a scaling framework (Crouch and DeStefano in Doing reform differently: combining rigor and practicality in implementation and evaluation of system reforms. International development group working paper no. 2017-01, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, 2017. https://www.rti.org/publication/doing-reform-differently-combining-rigor-and-practicality-implementation-and-evaluation) to examine whether Tusome’s implementation was rolled out in ways that would enable government structures and officers to respond effectively to the new program. We found that Tusome was able to clarify expectations for implementation and outcomes nationally using benchmarks for Kiswahili and English learning outcomes, and that these expectations were communicated all the way down to the school level. We noted that the essential program inputs were provided fairly consistently, across the nation. In addition, our analyses showed that Kenya developed functional, if simple, accountability and feedback mechanisms to track performance against benchmark expectations. We also established that the Tusome feedback data were utilized to encourage greater levels of instructional support within Kenya’s county level structures for education quality support. The results indicated that several of the key elements for successful scale-up were therefore put in place. However, we also discovered that Tusome failed to fully exploit the available classroom observational data to better target instructional support. In the context of this scaling framework, the Tusome literacy program’s external evaluation results showed program impacts of 0.6–1.0 standard deviations on English and Kiswahili learning outcomes. The program implemented a functional classroom observational feedback system through existing government systems, although usage of those systems varied widely across Kenya. Classroom visits, even if still falling short of the desired rate, were far more frequent, were focused on instructional quality, and included basic feedback and advice to teachers. These findings are promising with respect to the ability of countries facing quality problems to implement a coherent instructional reform through government systems at scale. DA - 2018/08/01/ PY - 2018 DO - 10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 DP - Springer Link VL - 19 IS - 3 SP - 293 EP - 321 J2 - J Educ Change LA - en SN - 1573-1812 ST - Scaling up successfully UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 Y2 - 2021/05/17/15:30:06 KW - ___working_potential_duplicate ER - TY - JOUR TI - The impact of mother tongue reading instruction in twelve Ugandan languages and the role of language complexity, socioeconomic factors, and program implementation AU - Brunette, Tracy AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Jordan, Rachel AU - King, Simon AU - Nabacwa, Rehemah T2 - Comparative Education Review DA - 2019/11// PY - 2019 DO - 10.1086/705426 DP - DOI.org (Crossref) VL - 63 IS - 4 SP - 591 EP - 612 J2 - Comparative Education Review LA - en SN - 0010-4086, 1545-701X UR - https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/705426 Y2 - 2022/06/11/08:08:45 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement: teacher professional development and coaching, student textbooks, and structured teachers’ guides AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Zuilkowski, Stephanie AU - Dubeck, Margaret AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - King, Simon J. T2 - World Development DA - 2018/// PY - 2018 DO - 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.01.018 DP - Google Scholar VL - 106 SP - 324 EP - 336 ST - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X18300287?via%3Dihub KW - Africa KW - Literacy KW - Numeracy KW - Program evaluation KW - Randomized controlled trial KW - Reading KW - ___working_potential_duplicate ER - TY - JOUR TI - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement: Teacher professional development and coaching, student textbooks, and structured teachers’ guides AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Simmons Zuilkowski, Stephanie AU - Dubeck, Margaret AU - Jepkemei, Evelyn AU - King, Simon J. T2 - World Development AB - Several rigorously evaluated programs have recently shown positive effects on early literacy and numeracy outcomes in developing countries. However, these programs have not been designed to evaluate which ingredients of the interventions are most essential to improve literacy outcomes. Policy makers therefore lack evidence as to whether program ingredients such as teacher professional development (PD), instructional coaching, learner materials, teachers’ guides, community support, or technology are required for program impact. The Kenya Primary Math and Reading Initiative was a randomized controlled trial that compared three treatment groups with specific ingredients and a control group. Using literacy and numeracy outcome measures for grades 1 and 2, we evaluated the benefits of the following ingredients: (1) teacher PD and teacher instructional support and coaching; (2) revised student books in literacy and numeracy, at a 1:1 ratio, added to PD and instructional support; and (3) structured teacher lesson plans added to student books, PD, and instructional support. We found that two of the three combinations of ingredients had statistically significant positive impacts on learning outcomes. The results showed that the third combination—PD, teacher instructional support and coaching, 1:1 student books, and structured teacher lesson plans—was most effective. A cost-effectiveness analysis on the ingredients showed that the option of PD and instructional support, 1:1 revised books, and teachers’ guides was the most expensive, but that the additional impact on learning made this the most cost-effective intervention. This study rigorously analyzes which ingredients for literacy and numeracy improvement would be most effective for overall impact, and suggests to policy makers that careful decisions regarding program ingredients will lead to more effectively designed and implemented interventions to improve learning in developing countries. DA - 2018/06/01/ PY - 2018 DO - 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.01.018 DP - ScienceDirect VL - 106 SP - 324 EP - 336 J2 - World Development LA - en SN - 0305-750X ST - Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0305750X18300287 Y2 - 2019/10/03/00:32:16 KW - Africa KW - C:Kenya KW - Literacy KW - Numeracy KW - Program Evaluation KW - Program evaluation KW - Quantitative KW - Randomized controlled trial KW - Reading KW - Teacher Professional Development KW - ___working_potential_duplicate KW - numeracy KW - randomized control trial ER - TY - JOUR TI - Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and long-term learning recovery AU - Angrist, Noam AU - de Barros, Andreas AU - Bhula, Radhika AU - Chakera, Shiraz AU - Cummiskey, Chris AU - DeStefano, Joseph AU - Floretta, John AU - Kaffenberger, Michelle AU - Piper, Benjamin AU - Stern, Jonathan T2 - International Journal of Educational Development AB - We model learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for cost-effective strategies to build back better. Data from Early Grade Reading Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda suggest half to over a year’s worth of learning loss. In modeling losses over time, we found that learning deficits for a child in grade 3 could lead to 2.8 years of lost learning by grade 10. While COVID-19 has stymied learning, bold, learning-focused reform consistent with the literature reviewed in this paper—specifically reform on targeted instruction and structured pedagogy—could improve learning even beyond pre-COVID-19 levels. DA - 2021/07/01/ PY - 2021 DO - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102397 DP - ScienceDirect VL - 84 SP - 102397 J2 - International Journal of Educational Development LA - en SN - 0738-0593 ST - Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073805932100050X Y2 - 2022/08/25/17:33:51 KW - COVID-19 KW - Education KW - Foundational skills KW - Learning loss KW - Recovery ER -