Enhancing Liberia Teacher Education Project through ICT Pedagogy - UNESCO (2017)

Exploiter le potentiel des TIC : Programmes efficaces d'alphabétisation et de numératie utilisant la radio, la télévision, la téléphonie mobile, les tablettes et les ordinateurs - UNESCO (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2017)

Global Education Monitoring Report 2017/8: Accountability in education - meeting our commitments - UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2017)

ICT Transforming Education in Africa - UNESCO (2017)

Measuring Gender Equality in Science and Engineering : The SAGA Toolkit - UNESCO (2017)

Supporting teachers with mobile technology: lessons drawn from UNESCO projects in Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal and Pakistan - UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2017)

6 out of 10 children and adolescents are not learning a minimum in reading and math - UNESCO Institute for Statistics (News, Sustainable Development Goals, 2017)
New data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics show that 617 million children and adolescents worldwide are not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. The figure signals “a learning crisis” according to the UIS, which could threaten progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)....

More Than One-Half of Children and Adolescents Are Not Learning Worldwide - UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2017)

More than One-Half of Children and Adolescents Are Not Learning Worldwide - UNESCO; UIS (UNESCO, 2017)
This paper presents the first estimates for a key target of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which requires primary and secondary education that lead to relevant and effective learning outcomes. By developing a new methodology and database, the UIS has produced a global snapshot of the learning situation facing children and adolescents who are in school and out. The data show the critical need to improve the quality of education while expanding access to ensure that no one is left behind. The paper also discusses the importance of benchmarking and the concept of minimum proficiency levels.

VASYR 2017: Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon - Lebanon - UNHCR; UNICEF; WFP (ReliefWeb, 2017)
English Assessment on Lebanon about Coordination, Education and more; published on 15 Dec 2017 by UNHCR, UNICEF and 2 other organizations

Ministry of Education joins UN in launching Back to School campaign - UNICEF (2017)
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education and UN Agencies launch this year’s Back to School campaign celebrating school heroes.

Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey - UNICEF (2017)

Learning Director's Training Manual - UNICEF Sudan (2017)

Learning directors toolbox - UNICEF Sudan (2017)

University of Melbourne to issue recipient-owned blockchain records - University of Melbourne (2017)

Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Project (RAMP) - USAID (2017)
The main goal of RAMP is to support the efforts of USAID Jordan and the MOE in instituting reading and mathematics teaching and learning methodologies, policy and practices within schools, communities and government entities that focus on improving learning outcomes for reading in Arabic and math in grades K‐3 for all public schools in Jordan.

Philippines: National Demographic and Health Survey - USAID (2017)

USAID Advancing Nutrition Gender Equality Strategy (August 2019) - USAID (2017)

Thematic brief gender, education and training | Capacity4dev - Vila, Blerina (2017)

Continuing the Conversation About Face-to-Face, Online, and Blended Learning a Meta-Analysis of Empirical Literature 2006-2017 - Wandera, Silas (Wilmington University (Delaware), 2017)
This paper serves two purposes. First, it statistically compares learning outcomes of face-to-face, online and blended learning instruction. Then it looks at the instructional practices that are associated with effective blended and online learning. A meta-analysis of 30 studies, with 3,687 participants, resulted in 36 effect sizes. The contrasts comprised of 21 studies that looked at blended learning vs. face-to-face education, eight contrasts that looked at online learning vs. face-to-face education, and seven contrasts that looked at blended vs. online learning. The observed summary effect size was a small effect size of 0.397 with Confidence Interval (CI) of 0.242 to 0.553, with a Z-total of 5.000, and significant p <0.000. This implies that the overall effect size in treatment condition (blended or online learning) is 0.397 standard deviations higher than the control condition (face-to-face or online learning). There were eight instructional practices; self-directedness, peer interactions, feedback, multiple learning ways, student orientation, instructor presence, multiple assessments, and accountability. Instructional practices with over 90% reported in studies included: accountability (100%), multiple assessments (92%), feedback (92%), and multiple learning ways (92%). All the instructional practices reported according to Cohen (1988) revealed a small average effect size. This meta-analysis recognizes that blended learning will be replacing face-to-face education and results showed a small significant gain in learning outcomes from a previous meta-analysis (Benard, Borokhovski, Schmid, Tamim, & Abrami, 2014a, 2014b; Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki, 2013; Vo, Zhu, & Diep, 2017; Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai, & Tan, 2005).
Keywords: Blended learning; Education; Face-to-face; Hybrid learning; Instructional practices; Meta-analysis; Online learning

Technology Enters the Classroom: An Evaluation of Educational Technology Initiatives in Punjab - Waqar, Yasira; Bokhari, Tahira Batool (2017)
This article provides a critical review of educational technology initiatives of the Punjab government. The attributes of meaningful learning with technology are used as a criterion to evaluate the benefits of technology initiatives in the education sector. An historical perspective of the integration of technology in Pakistan is given in the beginning to have a clear idea as how technology was introduced in the private schools in 1990s and what are the latest trends in these schools? The initiatives of Punjab government are then elaborated by discussing the following projects: Daanish Schools, School Reform Roadmap, Technology to Improve School Processes and Digitized Textbooks and Intelligent Tutoring System. After an analysis of these initiatives, a review of educational technology initiatives in developing countries is done to compare the successful and not so successful projects of educational technology. The article concludes with suggestions for educationists and policy-makers in Pakistan.

Interactive Radio Instruction Brings Learning Back to Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo - War Child Canada (2017)

E-learning combats Southeast Asia's teacher shortages - Watanabe, Sadachika (2017)

Unfinished development projects in Ghana: Mechanising collective choice - Williams, Martin (Voxdev, 2017)
Project non-completion, commonly attributed to corruption or clientelism, is in fact often caused by an inability to prioritise public expenditure

The Impacts of Fast Track Transformational Teacher Training in Ghana - Wolf, Sharon (Innovations for Poverty Action, 2017)

Moving towards more participatory practice with Open Educational Resources (OER): TESS-India Academic Review - Wolfenden, Freda; Adinolfi, Lina; Cross, Simon; Lee, Clare; Paranjpe, Sandhya; Safford, Kimberly (The Open University, 2017)
The purpose of this academic review of TESS-India activity in three states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha) was to seek evidence for change brought about by TESS-India in teacher education in each of these states. The findings offer informed guidance on future trajectories for TESS-India activity and support discussions with key stakeholders in each of these states. The overarching goal of TESS-India is to support delivery of quality pedagogic change in teacher education and school classrooms. TESS-India activity is designed to meet identified professional development needs of teachers and teacher educators in each state. Thus it takes a slightly different form in each state, appropriate to local priorities and conditions. The Review focus was similarly differentiated in each state to align to TESS-India activity in that state. The review field work was carried out by academics from the Open University UK and the Head Academic, TESS-India Country Office, between 30 January and 4 February 2017. It adopted an essentially qualitative approach to understand educators’ (trainee teachers, teachers, local teacher educators and DIET faculty) experiences with the TESS-India resources and the influence of this engagement on their pedagogic practice. Data was generated from multiple sources including analysis of key documentation, semi-structured interviews with teachers, teacher educators and policy makers, and classroom observation. Teachers, teacher educators and SRG members were sampled at different locations within each state. The focus of TESS-India activity to date has been to strengthen the existing government (state) educational system at the elementary stage - SCERT, SSA, DIETS, DEO, DPC (SSA), BEO, BRP, BRC, CRCC, HT, Teacher, Child – in alignment with national policies, frameworks and the RTE Act. The project aims at supplementing and complementing GoI and State specific efforts and activities. Although TESS-India has produced original Open Educational Resources (OER) to support educators working in the secondary stage, as yet there is very little evidence of sustained TESS-India activity with this phase of schooling or with the TESS-India School Leader OER. The review findings are therefore focussed on activity at the elementary stage and are reported at different levels of the system in line with the TESS-India theory of change. The report found that use of TESS-India OER is contributing to quality change in classrooms with students and trainee teachers. • SRG members met by the review team were using the TESS-India OER and described how this use was prompting them to experiment with more interactive and participatory practices. • Teachers observed and / or interviewed by the review team were drawing on TESS-India OER to inform their lesson planning and subsequent teaching. Evidence seen by the review team (learning journals and learning plans) indicates that the practices being developed by these teachers are shared by other teachers in the cohort of teachers participating in TESS-India focus district activity. However the innovation in practice and transformation in pedagogy promised by TESS-India OER is still in the early stages and the evidence is highly emergent. But, critically, through engagement with the MOOC and other TESS-India learning resources, policy makers and lead teacher educators (for example SCERT Directors) are changing their thinking about teacher professional development, moving away from cascade models to a focus on continuous professional development and learning of teachers in their classrooms with support from teacher educators/ experts, either virtually or face-to face.
Keywords: C: India; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2457359; __finaldtb

Teacher educators and OER in East Africa: Interrogating pedagogic change - Wolfenden, Freda; Auckloo, Pritee; Buckler, Alison; Cullen, Jane (Adoption and Impact of OER in the Global South, 2017)
This study examines the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in six teacher education institutions in three contrasting East African settings – Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda – all of which had previous engagement with OER initiatives. Drawing primarily on interviews with teacher educators, the study examines how and when teacher educators engage with OER, the factors that support and constrain sustained OER engagement, and the influence of such engagement on their teaching practice. It seeks to answer the following three research questions: What kinds of OER are teacher educators aware of and how do they access them? How and for what purpose are they using the OER? What intended and enacted pedagogic practices are associated with OER use? The study takes a sociocultural approach, paying attention to the practices of teacher educators and the context and culture of the teacher education institutions within which they work, as well as the national policies relevant to these institutions. Surveys were sent to academic staff at each of the participating institutions who were, or had been, involved in curriculum development work involving OER. Male and female educators from different disciplinary backgrounds and with varying roles and periods of service within the institutions were targeted. From the respondents, selected individuals were asked to participate in semi-structured interviews concerning OER and their pedagogical practices. A total of 58 surveys were completed by teacher educators along with 36 in-depth teacher educator interviews and six institutional stakeholder interviews. The results of the study indicate that teacher educators’ understanding and use of OER is highly fragmented, with little traction at department or institutional level. At all the study sites there was dissonance between the ways in which individual educators are using OER and the dominant institutional values and discourse. There were also numerous structural and cultural factors acting to limit agency with regards to OER use. The demands of curriculum and assessment, professional identity, digital skills, provision of equipment and connectivity, values and weak cultures of collaboration all exerted an influence and enabled or constrained teacher educators’ efforts to achieve agency with OER. For a small number of teacher educators (OER “champions”), OER provides a tool for extending their agency to move towards more participatory practices. In their interviews, several of these educators spoke of the formative role of academic training and many were linked to external OER networks. These elements of historic identity formation influence how they respond to OER, and enhance their confidence to take risks in moving beyond conventional practice. Enabling educators to act in an agentive way with OER is not easy. Moving forward, attention should be given to issues of access so that educators are able to locate and view OER relatively easily and experiment with their use. This study recommends that time be made available for educators to enhance their skills in working digitally and to become familiar with principles of learning design such that these become integral dimensions of their professional identity. It is also argued that extending and deepening engagement with OER requires opportunities for professional dialogue and collaboration to support the development of productive educator identities with OER and transformation of the community’s field of practice.
Keywords: East Africa; Global South; Mauritius; OEP; OER; Open Education; Open Educational Resources; ROER4D; Tanzania; Uganda; _not_EdTechHub; _zenodoOTHER; agency; pedagogy; teacher education

MOOC adaptation and translation to improve equity in participation - Wolfenden, Freda; Cross, Simon; Henry, Fiona (Journal of Learning for Development, 2017)
There is an urgent need to improve elementary and secondary school classroom practices across India and the scale of this challenge is argued to demand new approaches to teacher professional learning. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent one such approach and one that, in the context of this study, is considered to provide a means by which to transcend traditional training processes and disrupt conventional pedagogic practices. This paper offers a critical review of a large-scale MOOC deployed in English, and then in Hindi, to support targeted sustainable capacity building within an education development initiative (TESS-India) across seven states in India. The study draws on multiple sources of participant data to identify and examine features, which stimulated a buzz around the MOOCs, leading to over 40,000 registrations and a completion rate of approximately 50% for each of the two MOOCs.
Keywords: Access to Computers; Access to Education; Attitude Measures; ERIC, Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE); Educational Technology; Equal Education; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; India; International Programs; Large Group Instruction; Online Courses; Partnerships in Education; Postsecondary Education; Pretests Posttests; Program Implementation; Questionnaires; Surveys; Teacher Education Programs; Teacher Educators; Technology Uses in Education; United Kingdom; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2096064; ___working_potential_duplicate; __finaldtb; ⛔ No DOI found

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - World Bank (2017)

Secondary Education Quality Improvement Program for Results (SEQUIP): Draft Environment and Social Systems Assessment (ESSA) - World Bank (United Republic of Tanzania, 2017)

Sierra Leone - Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2017 - World Bank (2017)

Smart Solutions to Improve Pakistan’s Education - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2017)
The Sindh School Monitoring System spreads across 15 districts and to the remotest parts of the province. Plans are underway to expand it to the entire province.

World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)
World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law

Total expenditure on health: As a percentage of gross domestic product - World Health Organization (OECD Publishing, 2017)
This table includes data on total expenditure on health, as a percentage of gross domestic product. The table is part of the key tables collection on health.

United Republic of Tanzania - World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE); GEM report; WIDE (World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), 2017)

Worldreader - Reports and Research About Mobile Reading - Worldreader (Worldreader, 2017)
We conduct research on our mobile reading programs and publish the results. Download our reports and research about mobile reading in the developing world.

Anasoma Mid-Term Report - Worldreader; R4D (Worldreader, 2017)
This report shows the initial findings of the first sprint of the Anasoma Research aimed at identifying barriers of and drivers to female mobile readership in Kenya.

Qaabdhismeedka Manhajka Waxbarashada Qaranka Soomaaliyeed - Xafiiska Horumarinta Manaahijta (Wasaaradda Waxbarashada, Hiddaha iyo Tacliinta Sare, 2017)

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Census - Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (2017)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

PRONUNCIATION BARRIERS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL): COPING THE DEMANDS OF 21ST CENTURY IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING CLASSROOM IN PAKISTAN - Akhter, Farhat Perveen; Hisham, Dzakiria (2017)
Download Free Full-Text of an article PRONUNCIATION BARRIERS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL): COPING THE DEMANDS OF 21ST CENTURY IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING CLASSROOM IN PAKISTAN

Comparing student performance in blended and traditional courses: Does prior academic achievement matter? - Asarta, Carlos J.; Schmidt, James R. (The Internet and Higher Education, 2017)
The performance of students in blended and traditional versions of a collegiate course is compared within the context of students' prior academic achievement. The blended version of the course used flipped and flexible instructional modes, in which only online lectures were available, class periods were used for complementary learning activities, and there was no punitive attendance policy. Significant differences in student performance between the blended and traditional versions were found within two of three zones of grade point averages. At low grade point averages, performance was higher in the traditional version of the course. At high grade point averages, performance was higher in the blended version. No significant difference was detected in the middle zone of grade point averages. Predictive models of student performance were also prepared for the two versions of the course. Partial effects from measures of prior academic achievement upon performance in the blended version were significantly different from partial effects provided by the same measures in the traditional version of the course.
Keywords: Achievement; Blended course; Performance differences; Traditional course; Zones

Personalized Learning: The State of the Field & Future Directions - 2017 - Groff, Jennifer (2017)
Personalized Learning: The State of the Field & Future Directions - 2017
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

1 - Introduction - Holtzblatt, Karen; Beyer, Hugh (Contextual Design (Second Edition), 2017)
User-centered design is a tried and true approach to product design. Start with an understanding of the user gathered via rich field interviews and build that understanding into your new product—then test and iterate the result with the user again. The first edition of this book introduced Contextual Design, a complete method to do just that. But over the last 10years, there's been a revolution in technology with smartphones and tablets providing constant, continuous connection with people, information sources, media, and the support structures of our lives wherever we happen to be. Our inquiry into the impact of these devices led to the development of the Cool Concepts, an articulation of what makes these devices loved. This new integration of technology into life requires new ways to understand and design, and therefore a revision of the Contextual Design method. This chapter motivates that redesign and discusses the principles driving the method: design for life, design in teams, and immersion in the life of the user.
Keywords: Business analysis; Contextual design; Contextual inquiry; Cool concepts; Design; Design for life; Design thinking; HCI; Human-machine interaction; Marketing; Mobile design; Product design; Requirements gathering; System design; UX; Usability; User experience; User research; User-centered design

Integrating ICT into Teaching and Learning Biology: A Case for Rachuonyo South Sub-County, Kenya - Mwanda, Gideon (International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 2017)

A conceptual framework of virtual interactive teacher training through open and distance learning for the remote areas english teachers of bangladesh - Parvin, Irene (Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 2017)
Since we are living in the information age and the importance of the need for communication among people of different cultures is increasing day by day in the globalizing world, people need to learn the languages of different cultures, particularly English, which is the common language of this global communication. This need for learning English requires trained qualified teachers of English. A scan of those who are teaching English in schools of Bangladesh reveals that most of them are very limited in both English skills and teaching methodologies for English. This situation is exacerbated when one moves into the rural areas. Most of the teachers are staying far away from the teachers’ training colleges and also for different constraint like administrative, financial, time constraint and were also unable to receive any training due to family problems. So Distance Education has a great demand to them. ICT is an effective media of distance education. For many years, universities with a significant commitment to distance and open education institutions have been at the forefront of adopting new technologies to increase access to education and training opportunities. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an umbrella term that includes all technologies for the manipulation and communication of information. Bangladesh Open University (BOU) is till now belonging to the second generation of distance education model but due to the enhancement of technology in Bangladesh, BOU can proceed further. The main purpose of this study is to identify a suitable technology for developing a virtual interactive teachers’ training program for the disadvantaged English teachers of Bangladesh. Respondents were selected through random sampling and data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and quantitative themes. From the opinion of the secondary English teachers their access and acceptability on ICT was identified and also a need analysis was done. It is hoped that the result of this study will encourage the policy makers to implement new ODL approaches for the training of disadvantaged rural English teachers.

Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it? - Serdyukov, Peter (Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 2017)
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical review of the educational innovation field in the USA. It outlines classification of innovations, discusses the hurdles to innovation, and offers ways to increase the scale and rate of innovation-based transformations in the education system. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a literature survey and author research. Findings US education badly needs effective innovations of scale that can help produce the needed high-quality learning outcomes across the system. The primary focus of educational innovations should be on teaching and learning theory and practice, as well as on the learner, parents, community, society, and its culture. Technology applications need a solid theoretical foundation based on purposeful, systemic research, and a sound pedagogy. One of the critical areas of research and innovation can be cost and time efficiency of the learning. Practical implications Several practical recommendations stem out of this paper: how to create a base for large-scale innovations and their implementation; how to increase effectiveness of technology innovations in education, particularly online learning; how to raise time and cost efficiency of education. Social implications Innovations in education are regarded, along with the education system, within the context of a societal supersystem demonstrating their interrelations and interdependencies at all levels. Raising the quality and scale of innovations in education will positively affect education itself and benefit the whole society. Originality/value Originality is in the systemic approach to education and educational innovations, in offering a comprehensive classification of innovations; in exposing the hurdles to innovations, in new arguments about effectiveness of technology applications, and in time efficiency of education.
Keywords: Educational technology; Implementation; Innovation; Time efficiency

Talking about education: exploring the significance of teachers’ talk for teacher agency - Biesta, Gert; Priestley, Mark; Robinson, Sarah (Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2017)
The interest in teachers’ discourses and vocabularies has for a long time been studied under the rubric of knowledge, most notably teachers’ professional knowledge. This interest can be traced back to Shulman’s distinction between different kinds of teacher knowledge and Schwab’s interest in the role of practical reasoning and judgement in teaching. Within the research, a distinction can be found between a more narrow approach that focuses on teachers’ propositional or theoretical knowledge and a more encompassing approach in which teachers’knowledge is not only the knowledge for teachers generated elsewhere, but also the knowledge of teachers. This is the ‘stock of knowledge’gained from a range of sources and experiences, including teachers’ ongoing engagement with the practice of teaching itself. In this paper, we focus on the role of teachers’ talk in their achievement of agency. We explore how, in what way and to what extent such talk helps or hinders teachers in exerting control over and giving direction to their everyday practices, bearing in mind that such practices are not just the outcome of teachers’ judgements and actions, but are also shaped by the structures and cultures within which teachers work.

10 things to know about how to influence policy with research - Tilley, Helen; Shaxson, Louise; Rea, Joanna; Ball, Louise; Young, John (Overseas Development Institute (ODI), 2017)
10 things you need to know if you want to use research to influence policy.

Looking like a state: The seduction of isomorphic mimicry - Andrews, Matt; Pritchett, Lant; Woolcock, Michael (Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action, 2017)
In this chapter we argue that isomorphic mimicry is a key “technique of successful failure” that perpetuates capability traps in development. In the context of this study, isomorphic mimicry is the tendency of governments to mimic other governments’ successes, replicating processes, systems, and even products of the “best practice” examples. This mimicry often conflates form and function: leading to a situation where “looks like” substitutes for “does”; i.e., governments look capable after the mimicry but are not actually more capable. We argue that this is endemic in development and has become a primary reason why countries do not build real capability even after years of policy and reform engagement and billions of dollars of capacity building work. We suggest that the tendency to so mimic is amplified by the current development ecosystem, especially where public sectors have become closed to novelty but open (and supportive of) agenda conformity. Such characteristics make it very hard for states to build the new capabilities needed, for their contexts, given their realities.

Meet us on the phone: mobile phone programs for adolescent sexual and reproductive health in low-to-middle income countries - Ippoliti, Nicole B.; L’Engle, Kelly (Reproductive Health, 2017)
mHealth as a technical area has seen increasing interest and promise from both developed and developing countries. While published research from higher income countries on mHealth solutions for adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is growing, there is much less documentation of SRH mHealth interventions for youth living in resource-poor settings. We conducted a global landscape analysis to answer the following research question: How are programs using mHealth interventions to improve adolescent SRH in low to middle income countries (LMICs)?

Four cautionary lessons about education technology - Evans, David (World Bank Blogs, 2017)
Technology in education is often seen as a solution. It holds promise, but caution is warranted.Photo: Charlotte Kesl / World Bank There is no denying that governments around the world are expanding investments in education technology, from inputs that students use directly (like Kenya’s project to put tablets in schools) to ...

Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action - Andrews, Matt; Pritchett, Lant; Woolcock, Michael (Oxford University Press, 2017)
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Governments play a major role in the development process, and constantly introduce reforms and policies to achieve developmental objectives. Many of these interventions have limited impact, however; schools get built but children don't learn, IT systems are introduced but not used, plans are written but not implemented. These achievement deficiencies reveal gaps in capabilities, and weaknesses in the process of building state capability. This book addresses these weaknesses and gaps. It starts by providing evidence of the capability shortfalls that currently exist in many countries, showing that many governments lack basic capacities even after decades of reforms and capacity building efforts. The book then analyses this evidence, identifying capability traps that hold many governments back - particularly related to isomorphic mimicry (where governments copy best practice solutions from other countries that make them look more capable even if they are not more capable) and premature load bearing (where governments adopt new mechanisms that they cannot actually make work, given weak extant capacities). The book then describes a process that governments can use to escape these capability traps. Called PDIA (problem driven iterative adaptation), this process empowers people working in governments to find and fit solutions to the problems they face. The discussion about this process is structured in a practical manner so that readers can actually apply tools and ideas to the capability challenges they face in their own contexts. These applications will help readers devise policies and reforms that have more impact than those of the past.

What Do Teachers Know and Do? Does It Matter? Evidence from Primary Schools in Africa - Bold, Tessa; Filmer, Deon; Martin, Gayle; Molina, Ezequiel; Rockmore, Christophe; Stacy, Brian; Svensson, Jakob; Wane, Waly (Policy Research Working Paper, 2017)
School enrollment has universally increased over the past 25 years in low-income countries. However, enrolling in school does not guarantee that children learn. A large share of children in low-income countries learn little, and they complete their primary education lacking even basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills—the so-called "learning crisis." This paper uses data from nationally representative surveys from seven Sub-Saharan African countries, representing close to 40 percent of the region's total population, to investigate possible answers to this policy failure by quantifying teacher effort, knowledge, and skills. Averaging across countries, the paper finds that students receive two hours and fifty minutes of teaching per day—or just over half the scheduled time. In addition, large shares of teachers do not master the curricula of the students they are teaching; basic pedagogical knowledge is low; and the use of good teaching practices is rare. Exploiting within-student, within-teacher variation, the analysis finds significant and large positive effects of teacher content and pedagogical knowledge on student achievement. These findings point to an urgent need for improvements in education service delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa. They also provide a lens through which the growing experimental and quasi-experimental literature on education in low-income countries can be interpreted and understood, and point to important gaps in knowledge, with implications for future research and policy design.
Keywords: Education; Education Policy; Learning Crisis; Public Service Delivery; Teacher Absenteeism; Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher Performance

Aprender a Ler (ApaL) - USAID (World Education, Inc., 2017)

The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication - Scott, Craig R.; Barker, James R.; Kuhn, Timothy; Keyton, Joann; Turner, Paaige K.; Lewis, Laurie K. (Wiley, 2017)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Wiki Loves Women/Ghana - Wikipedia (Wikipedia, 2017)

Girls’ Schooling and Women’s Literacy: Schooling Targets Alone Won’t Reach Learning Goals - Pritchett, Lant; Sandefur, Justin (Center for Global Development, 2017)
Using the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data on the ability of women at various levels of schooling attainment to read a simple sentence, we show that reaching universal completion of grade six among girls would not bring the world anywhere close to the goal of universal female literacy. These calculations are based on the empirical relationship between grades completed and ability to read, a descriptive ‘learning profile.’ The large literature on schooling and life outcomes suggests simple correlations are a reasonable guide to causal effects, and the typical concern is over-estimation of the true return to schooling—implying our calculations using a descriptive and not causal learning profile are a best-case scenario. This best case is often not at all good: the learning profile is so weak in Nigeria that even if all women had completed grade six, adult female illiteracy would only have fallen from 58 percent to 53 percent. In contrast, children in many other countries do learn to read in much higher numbers and enrolling outof-school girls would dramatically reduce illiteracy. For instance, in Ethiopia the same calculations yield a reduction in illiteracy from 82 to 25 percent. But across nearly 50 developing countries with available data our calculations suggest 40 percent of women would be illiterate even if all women completed at least grade six. Achieving new Sustainable Development Goal targets of universal literacy and numeracy will require both achievement of universal schooling and dramatic improvements in the learning profile in most developing countries.

Teacher’s Guide, Part B: Teaching Mathematics (P 1-3) (2017)

Pre-Primary Education in Mongolia: Access, Quality of Service Delivery, & Child Development Outcomes - Ali, Rabia; Temourov, Moukim; Igarashi, Takiko (The World Bank, 2017)

Open Schooling: Addressing the Challenge of Out-of-School Youth - Commonwealth of Learning (2017)
Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. One target is to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030. Yet, this is impossible to achieve within present mainstream education systems. A new way of thinking about schooling is required. // Open Schooling is a model to address this problem without having a disruptive effect on mainstream schooling – a symbiotic relationship, where both systems can benefit from another, is possible. // A multidimensional approach is required. Part of the solution is to improve teaching and learning in conventional schools in order to decrease dropout and increase throughput, while also providing access to quality learning opportunities to out-of-school youth through innovative open schooling. Open schooling

Expenditures and Revenue Management - Morrell, Lance (2017)

Pre-Primary Education in Mongolia: Access, Quality of Service Delivery, & Child Development Outcomes - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)

Pre-primary education in Mongolia : access, quality of service delivery, & child development outcomes - March 2017 - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)
Pre-primary education in Mongolia : access, quality of service delivery, & child development outcomes - March 2017 (English)

Contextualized-OLPC education project in rural India: measuring learning impact and mediation of computer self-efficacy - Ale, Komathi; Chib, Arul; Loh, Yvonne (Educational Technology Research and Development, 2017)
The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative has been at the forefront of introducing low-cost computers in developing countries. We argue that the problem is not as much as a focus on the provision of affordable technologies, but the lack of consideration of deeply contextualized implementation design and the lack of understanding of psychological mechanisms at the user-level that influence learning impact. A longitudinal quasi-experimental design among nine rural Indian primary schools involved pre- and postexperiment measures conducted with both test (n = 126) and control groups (n = 79). The study objective was to prioritize local contexts during technology implementation design in order to attain educational impact in terms of improved learning outcomes for students. The Contextualized-OLPC education project utilized strategies identified by the Technology- Community-Management model to address contextually germane factors of teacher training, unbiased gender access, and local language use. A second objective was to assess impact of technology introduction while countering extant techno-determinist approaches of impact assessment. We first demonstrated that technological knowledge was associated positively with functional literacy. We situated the experiment in the social cognitive theory to demonstrate that computer self-efficacy mediates the relationship between technological literacy attained as a consequence of the Contextualized-OLPC education project and a specific learning outcome, functional literacy. Overall, the research illustrated that giving primacy to mere deployment of OLPC laptops has limited relevance to children, both in use and outcome. In support, the results demonstrated the role of contextualized technology in rural classrooms alongside an understanding of user psychology that influence learning impact.

Studying engagement and performance with learning technology in an African classroom - Mutahi, Juliet; Kinai, Andrew; Bore, Nelson; Diriye, Abdigani; Weldemariam, Komminist (Association for Computing Machinery, 2017)
In this paper, we study the engagement and performance of students in a classroom using a system the Cognitive Learning Companion (CLC). CLC is designed to keep track of the relationship between the student, content interaction and learning progression. It also provides evidence-based engagement-oriented actionable insights to teachers by assessing information from a sensor-rich instrumented learning environment in order to infer a learner's cognitive and affective states. Data captured from the instrumented environment is aggregated and analyzed to create interlinked insights helping teachers identify how students engage with learning content and view their performance records on selected assignments. We conducted a 1 month pilot with 27 learners in a primary school in Nairobi, Kenya during their maths and science instructional periods. We present our primary analysis of content-level interactions and engagement at the individual student and classroom level.
Keywords: developing countries; education; engagement; learning analytics; mobile development

Sesame Street to introduce new character - a muppet with autism - Reporters, Telegraph (The Telegraph, 2017)
Children's show Sesame Street is to introduce a new character with autism.
Keywords: Children; News; Standard; Television

The genius of frugal innovation - Radjou, Navi (ideas.ted.com, 2017)
Human creativity is a natural, infinitely renewable resource — and it’s coming up with smart, cheap solutions to people’s biggest problems. Strategist Navi Radjou explains.

Effects of ethnoscience instruction, school location, and parental educational status on learners’ attitude towards science - Fasasi, Rasheed Adekunle (International Journal of Science Education, 2017)
This study investigated the effect of Ethnoscience instruction and moderating effects of school location and parental educational status on students' attitude to science. It employed pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group quasiexperimental design. Participants were 352 Junior Secondary School 1 (aged 9–12 years) students from two schools, each in urban and rural areas of Ìbàdàn, southwestern Nigeria. Instruments used are: Teachers Instructional Guide on Ethnoscience instruction, Teachers Instructional Guide on Modified Lecture Method and Attitude Toward Science Scale (r = 0.86). Three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance. Significant main effect of treatment on attitude to science (F(1, 347) = 296, p < 0.05) was recorded, with Ethnoscience instruction group performing better than the Modified Lecture Method group. Effect size of treatment was strong (η2 p = 0.46). Also recorded were significant main effects of school location (F(1, 347) = 10.2, p < .05) and parental educational status (F(1, 347 = 3.37), p < 0.05) on students' attitude to science with weak effect sizes (η2 p = 0.029 and η2 p = 0.019 respectively). Learners in rural schools performed better than those in urban schools and those from lowly educated parents had better performance than highly educated parents. Ethnoscience instruction promoted learners' attitude to science. Therefore, its use in educational instruction, especially among traditional science learners, should be explored.
Keywords: Ethnoscience instruction; attitude towards science; parental educational status; school location

Community Participation in School Management in Developing Countries - Nishimura, Mikiko (Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education, 2017)
Community participation in school management has great potentials for removing mistrust and distance between people and schools by nurturing transparency of information and a culture of mutual respect and by jointly pursuing improvement of school by sharing vision, process, and results. Individual and organizational behavioral changes are critical to increase the level of participation. In countries where the administrative structures are weak, the bottom-up approach to expanding educational opportunity and quality learning may be the only option.Nevertheless, when community participation is implemented with a top-down manner without wider consultation on its aims, processes, and expected results, the consequences are likely to be conflicts between actors, a strong sense of overwhelming obligation, fatigue, inertia, and disparity in the degree and results of community participation between communities. Political aspects of school management and socio-cultural difference among the population require caution, as they are likely to induce partial participation or nonparticipation of the community at large. Community participation in school management will result in a long-term impact only if it involves a wide range of actors who can discuss and practice the possibilities of revisiting the definition of community and the way it should be.

The Impact of Teacher Effectiveness on Student Learning in Africa - Buhl-Wiggers, Julie; Kerwin, Jason; Smith, Jeffrey; Thornton, Rebecca (Rise Programme, 2017)
Teaching quality is known to be critical for students’ education and life prospects in developed countries. However, little is known about how teacher quality affects student learning in Africa. This paper presents the first estimates of teacher value-added from an African country, using data from a school-based RCT in northern Uganda. Exploiting the random assignment of students to classrooms within schools, we estimate a lower bound on teacher effects. A 1-SD increase in teacher quality leads to at least a 0.14 SD improvement in student performance on a reading test at the end of the year. Shifting teachers from the 10th to the 90th percentile of quality increases performance by 0.36 SDs –comparable to the most effective education interventions conducted in Africa. Our results also suggest that an increase in teacher quality can make other education interventions more efficient.
Keywords: C:Uganda; NULP

Possible Potential of Facebook to Enhance Learners' Motivation in Mobile Learning Environment - Raza, Mehwish (International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Mobile Learning, 2017)
Facebook is world's leading social network, 29% of its active members represent Pakistan. This study utilized Facebook for teachers' in-service training. Thirty teachers from different parts of Pakistan took part in this training that lasted for ten weeks. The researcher tested the impact of three independent variables namely: social interactions, quality of experiences and behavior on learners' motivation (dependent variable). The hypothesis of this study propose a positive impact of independent variables on the dependent variable, the research was able to prove the hypothesis. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579190.]
Keywords: Educational Technology; Elementary School Teachers; Elementary Schools; Foreign Countries; Handheld Devices; Hypothesis Testing; Interaction; Likert Scales; Pretests Posttests; Private Schools; Questionnaires; Social Media; Statistical Analysis; Student Motivation; Teacher Attitudes; Technology Uses in Education; Telecommunications; Training

GraphoGame Teacher Training Service: evaluation report - School-to-School International (STS) (Agora Center, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, 2017)
Keywords: __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2425917; ___working_potential_duplicate; __finaldtb; auto_merged

Public financial management and health service delivery: Necessary, but not sufficient? - Welham, Bryn; Hart, Tom; Mustapha, Shakira; Hadley, Sierd (2017)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

Lessons Learned from World Bank Education Management Information System Operations: Portfolio Review, 1998-2014 - Abdul-Hamid, Husein; Saraogi, Namrata; Mintz, Sarah (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017)
Keywords: Accountability; Data Integration; Data Quality; Data Utilization; Education; Education Management; Emis; Enabling Environment; Information System; Management Information Systems; Monitoring and Evaluation System; Planning; Sustainability; System Procurement; System Soundness; Unique Id; ___working_potential_duplicate

Ecological Systems Theory - Ettekal, Andrea; Mahoney, Joseph (2017)
Ecological systems theory explains how human development is influenced by different types of environmental systems. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are interested in the opportunities and risks associated with how youth spend their discretionary time outside the regular school day. One of the primary settings in which youth spend their out-of-school hours is in organized activities, which include extracurricular activities, after-school programs, and activities at community-based organizations. Much research on out-of-school activities has utilized ecological systems theory to understand how activities foster positive, healthy development of youth from different backgrounds.

Integrating ICT into Teaching and Learning Biology: A Case for Rachuonyo South Sub-County, Kenya - Mwanda, Gideon; Mwanda, Samwel; Midigo, Ronnie; Maundu, John (American Journal of Education and Information Technologies, 2017)
The purpose of this study was to find out the extent of integration of computer technology into teaching and learning Biology in secondary schools of Rachuonyo South Sub-County, Kenya. The target population consisted of students and biology teachers in the Sub-County. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and an observation check list. From the study, most schools had few computers; teachers had inadequate training on use of computer applications; most teachers did not use computer technology for personal growth and instructional purposes. Inadequate number of computers in the sampled schools was the major challenge facing the integration of computer technology into the instruction process. The study recommends increased accessibility of computers, adequate training on use of computer technology and development of a policy framework to guide on the path to effective computer integration into instruction process.
Keywords: ⚠️ Invalid DOI

A randomized-control trial for the teachers’ diploma programme on psychosocial care, support and protection in Zambian government primary schools - Kaljee, Linda; Zhang, Liying; Langhaug, Lisa; Munjile, Kelvin; Tembo, Stephen; Menon, Anitha; Stanton, Bonita; Li, Xiaoming; Malungo, Jacob (Psychology, Health & Medicine, 2017)
Orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) experience poverty, stigma, and abuse resulting in poor physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes. The Teachers’ Diploma Programme on Psychosocial Care, Support, and Protection is a child-centered 15-month long-distance learning program focused on providing teachers with the knowledge and skills to enhance their school environments, foster psychosocial support, and facilitate school-community relationships. A randomized controlled trial was implemented in 2013–2014. Both teachers (n=325) and students (n=1378) were assessed at baseline and 15-months post-intervention from randomly assigned primary schools in Lusaka and Eastern Provinces, Zambia. Multilevel linear mixed models (MLM) indicate positive significant changes for intervention teachers on outcomes related to self-care, teaching resources, safety, social support, and gender equity. Positive outcomes for intervention students related to future orientation, respect, support, safety, sexual abuse, and bullying. Outcomes support the hypothesis that teachers and students benefit from a program designed to enhance teachers’ psychosocial skills and knowledge.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa; orphaned and vulnerable children; psychosocial support; randomized controlled trial; schooling and education

Plugged in: How media attract and affect youth - Valkenburg, Patti; Piotrowski, J.T. (2017)

Mobile Identity Construction by Male and Female Students in Pakistan: On, In, and Through the Phone - Hassan, Bushra; Unwin, Tim (Information Technologies & International Development, 2017)
This article reports on focus group research in Pakistan about the symbolic value and use of mobile phones by students in constructing their identities on the phone, in the phone, and through the phone. A striking conclusion is the difference between how men and women use their phones, and we provide accounts of the harassment and bullying of women through their mobiles.
Keywords: Pakistan; identity; mobiles; students; symbolism; ⛔ No DOI found

Reaching the Unreached Through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan - Ferreira, Frances (Commonwealth of Learning (COL), 2017)
GIRLS Inspire is a Commonwealth of Learning (COL) project established to mobilise the power of open and distance learning (ODL) to provide secondary schooling and skills development training to women and girls who are prevented from attending schools by barriers such as early marriage, cultural norms and distance from schools. This final report to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia reflects on the work that has taken place since January 2016. It is framed around the project’s objectives and provides a rich account of activities that took place, presented in both quantitative and qualitative forms.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Performance Oriented Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Model for Education Purpose in Pakistan. A Bahawalpur District Case Study - Qadri, Salman; Shah, Rehan Ali; ul Rehman, Muzammil; Ullah, Saleem; Shah, Ali Nawaz; Ali, Muhammad Zaman; Ahmed, Muhammad Munawer (International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 2017)
Information technology brought a dramatic change in our society. In third world countries such as Pakistan is also trying to get involve this technology in every field of life. In this decade, information technology is being used in several disciplines such as education, health, agriculture and business etc. It has given a positive impact on all of these disciplines especially E-banking, E-learning and E-commerce etc. This study focuses the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) framework to boost the progress of different less develops areas in Pakistan. This study also describes the complete methodology with all of its benefits and constraints on implementation and also proposed a framework to improve the efficiency and accuracy in education department in primary to higher level in Bahawalpur district and its five sub districts (tehsil) and also take the case study of The Islamia University Bahawalpur within city sub campuses by utilizing the successful implementation of information and communication technology for the betterment of education.
Keywords: E-Classes; ICT Infrastructure; IT-Centers; Information and Communication Technology; integration; teachers; ⛔ No DOI found

Computer Laptop Project Strategy for Basic Education Schools in Kenya - Wambugu, Geoffrey M.; Ogenga, Stephen; Shikali, Casper; Muliaro, Joseph (2017)
Kenya’s Vision 2030 recognizes the enabling role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and anchors some of its key aspirations upon the availability and adoption of computers for schools. The overall objective of this strategy paper is to provide direction for acquisition of equitable and efficient laptop computers to all pupils in public primary schools. The existing education policy on ICT is imbedded in three documents namely; e-Government Strategy, National ICT Policy and Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005 which is a Policy Framework for Education, Training and Research. There is a need therefore to consolidate these documents into one. The overall objective of the consolidation is to merge and integrate education policy on ICT including the scope, usage, administration and ways to address innovations and attendant Intellectual Property Rights. In the process of strategic planning for utilizing ICT in education, key stakeholders require to be consulted. In addition to the above mentioned, specific stakeholders include the National ICT integration and innovation Centre, Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development, Center for Mathematics, Science and Education in Africa, Teacher Service Commission, Primary Teacher Training Institutions, Universities and the National ICT Steering Committee. The strategy identifies the following as key weaknesses that hamper the implementation of ICT projects: slow integration of ICT in operations and programs; inadequate human and financial resources in some key service areas to meet the rapidly growing work-related demands. In addition there exists lack of appropriate learning facilities and/or infrastructure in some education and training institutions and inadequate number of trainers in modern technology coupled with a mismatch of skills learnt and demands of the labour market. It is also noted that the legal framework is non-harmonized and this inhibits the performance of Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Further, a number of policy frameworks are yet to be operationalized thus hampering delivery of services. The strategy also identifies a Strategic Model for Laptop Project and an implementation matrix.
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

Supporting Parenting through Differentiated and Personalized Text-Messaging: Testing Effects on Learning During Kindergarten - Doss, Christopher; Fahle, Erin; Loeb, Susanna; York, Ben (2017)
Recent studies have shown that texting-based interventions can produce educational benefits in children across a range of ages. These studies vary in their focus from broad curricula on child development, to reminders about missing work, to steps needed in order to enroll in college. Given the potential effectiveness of texting, as well as the ease of systematically varying
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate; ⛔ No DOI found

A Study on Using Serious Games in Teaching German as a Foreign Language - Alyaz, Yunus; Spaniel-Weise, Dorothea; Gürsoy, Esim (Journal of Education and Learning, 2017)
The interest in Digital Game-Based Language Learning (DGBLL) has increased considerably in recent years although being a relatively new approach. Despite the interest that DGBLL took, the studies in the context of German as a Foreign Language (FL) are quite limited. Moreover, DGBLL in the Turkish context is not prevalent. Due to this gap in the literature, a research project was launched at a big state university in Turkey in 2014 to explore the potentials and limitations of DGBLL. The study focuses specifically on serious games for FL teaching and learning. The aim of the project, in addition to the promotion of linguistic skills of the learners, is to contribute to the development of professional qualifications of the future FL teachers. The present research aims to report on the pilot study of the project. A one group pre-test post-test research design was used in the study. Quantitative data was collected via two opinion questionnaires implemented at the beginning and at the end of the process as well as a receptive vocabulary test. Qualitative data was collected via semi-structuted interviews and game diaries that participants kept. Two serious games for German was selected and used with traditional dictation, transcription and reading comprehension activities. The results of an 11-week gaming activity indicated significant differences between pre- and post-tests in vocabulary. Additionaly, age was found to be an important factor that affects participants’ attitudes towards serious games. The results indicate that the participants found game activities useful for the development of other language skills.

Problems of drop-out students in Indian slum - Siddiqui, Tarannum (International Education and Research Journal, 2017)
The purpose of this paper is to find out the problems of drop-out students at elementary level, specially living in slum areas of India. Educational facility at elementary level and its relationship with infrastructural facilities is the main focus of this paper. Paper highlights the role of government to improve elementary education in slum areas of the country with special focus on drop-out students. Paper is mainly based on primary and secondary data/ information. Study has taken a total sample of 50 households (25 from each district) by using random sampling technique in the urban areas namely- Madiyaon slum of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Dharavi slum of Mumbai in Maharashtra. Intensive interviews have been conducted to procure purpose full information. The numbers of upper primary schools were found half of the primary schools in slum areas. Acording to RTE Act no students could be stop or retained in any class of primary section. To stop drop out situation at elementary level of education, paper recommends opening more government upper primary schools in the slum areas. Due to limited sample size, the research results may lack generalisation. Therefore, researchers and research institutions are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further. Dropping out from elementary education in slum areas are an unexplored area of research which has been covered in this paper.
Keywords: Elementary education in slum areas.; Indian slums; Problems of drop-out students; ⛔ No DOI found

About the Systems Theory in the Field of Education Sciences - Nicolescu, Bogdan N. (2017)

Report Cards: The Impact of Providing School and Child Test Scores on Educational Markets - Andrabi, Tahir; Das, Jishnu; Khwaja, Asim Ijaz (American Economic Review, 2017)
We study the impact of providing school report cards with test scores on subsequent test scores, prices, and enrollment in markets with multiple public and private providers. A randomly selected half of our sample villages (markets) received report cards. This increased test scores by 0.11 standard deviations, decreased private school fees by 17 percent, and increased primary enrollment by 4.5 percent. Heterogeneity in the treatment impact by initial school test scores is consistent with canonical models of asymmetric information. Information provision facilitates better comparisons across providers, and improves market efficiency and child welfare through higher test scores, higher enrollment, and lower fees.
Keywords: Belief; Communication; Education; Housing; Human Development; Income Distribution; Information and Knowledge; Infrastructure; Learning; Migration, Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Public Pensions, Analysis of Education, Education: Government Policy, Economic Development: Human Resources; Search; Unawareness, State and Local Government: Health; Welfare

Effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Students' Academic Achievement and Retention in Chemistry at Secondary Level - Hussain, Ishtiaq; Suleman, Qaiser; ud Din, M. Naseer; Shafique, Farhan (Journal of Education and Educational Development, 2017)
The current paper investigated the effects of information and communication technology on the students' academic achievement and retention in chemistry. Fifty students of 9th grade were selected randomly from Kohsar Public School and College Latamber Karak. The students were grouped into equivalent groups based on pretest score. In order to collect data, pretest posttest equivalent groups design was used. Mean, standard deviation and independent samples t-test were applied through SPSS for data analysis. Based on statistical analysis, it came to light that information and communication technology positively affects students' academic achievement and retention and ICT was found more compelling, effective and valuable in teaching of chemistry when contrasted with conventional techniques of teaching. It is recommended that information and communication technology should be used in teaching chemistry for enhancing students' academic achievement at secondary level.
Keywords: Chemistry; Computer Uses in Education; Conventional Instruction; Foreign Countries; Influence of Technology; Pretests Posttests; Retention (Psychology); Science Achievement; Science Instruction; Secondary School Science; Secondary School Students; Statistical Analysis

Sindh Public Expenditure Review - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)
Sindh has the potential to become a high middle-income province in Pakistan, but it lags far behind in terms of economic, social and development indicators. Sindh is also the most industrialized province, resource-rich and endowed with the country’s largest natural gas and coal reserves. In sum, it has the potential to become a high-growth and high-income region. Nonetheless, Sindh has yet to translate this potential into commensurate economic and social development. The province faces major developmental challenges. Sindh’s weak social indicators are partly the result of the inadequate reach and low quality of public service delivery. This Public Expenditure Review focuses on provincial finances and their utilization with the objective of identifying possible reforms to expand the resource envelope and ensure better value for money by improving the management and efficiency of public spending. It includes two important components: (i) a detailed analysis of the major revenue challenges and the various expenditures, including development spending and; (ii) and in-depth assessment of how some of the key government priorities are undertaken, such as education, health, and social protection. The hope is that by better understanding the constraints, reforms can be designed and implemented to maximize Sindh’s potential and promote a more equitable and productive path.
Keywords: Education; Finance; Fiscal Trends; Health; Inequality; Labor Force Participation; Policy; Poverty; Public Expenditure; Public Sector; Social Protection; Vulnerability

Interrogating Gender Divides in Technology for Education and Development: the Case of the One Laptop per Child Project in Ghana - Steeves, Leslie; Kwami, Janet (Studies in Comparative International Development, 2017)
The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project aims to make low-cost computers accessible to the “world’s poorest children,” presuming that the gadgets will support their empowerment via education. The project’s success globally, however, has been mixed at best, with many countries terminating their purchases due to cost, inadequate infrastructure, and negative side effects. In October 2010, Ghana suspended the country’s 3-year participation. This study examines the complex history and failure of OLPC Ghana in two pilot schools, one urban and one rural, with particular attention to gender bias. The analysis draws on interviews with government personnel, students, and teachers in the pilot classes. Despite lacking electric power in the rural community, UNDP’s Millennium Villages Project played a strong support role, making OLPC somewhat more effective with less of a gender divide in the rural school than in the urban school in Accra. Both pilot schools faced severe sustainability challenges raising decade-old questions about modernity and technological determinism. Further, in both schools, particularly the urban school, a digital divide by gender was evident.
Keywords: C: Ghana

The effect of blended learning on student performance at course-level in higher education: A meta-analysis - Vo, Hien M.; Zhu, Chang; Diep, Nguyet A. (Studies in Educational Evaluation, 2017)
The present paper analyzes the impact of blended learning (BL) on the academic achievement of higher education students. A meta-analysis (k=51 effect sizes) was conducted to perform a statistical synthesis of studies contrasting student performance in BL conditions with traditional classroom instruction. We include disciplines and instructors’ end-of-course evaluation method as moderating variables. The results show that BL demonstrates a small summary effect (g+=0.385, p<0.001) compared to traditional teaching methods A significantly higher mean effect size was found in STEM disciplines (g+=0.496) compared to that of non-STEM disciplines (g+=0.210). Nevertheless, the weighted mean effect sizes reveal no significant differences regarding of end-of-course assessment methods, namely one-moment and multiple-component assessment. The finding confirms that BL is significantly associated with greater learning performance of STEM-disciplined students than with traditional classroom practice. Accordingly, discussion concerning the findings and implications for future research are elaborated.
Keywords: Blended learning; Discipline; Higher education; Meta-analysis; Student performance

Republic of Yemen - Restoring and expanding energy access : power sector reengagement note - Huenteler, Joern Thorsten; Khanna, Ashish; Badiei, Sara; Matsuo, Tyeler Marissa; Maier, Elisabeth; Fernstrom, Erik Magnus (The World Bank, 2017)
Already before the conflict, much of Yemen’s population was deprived of basicelectricity services. Even before the conflict, Yemen was considered the least electrifiedcountry in the MENA region, with a pre-crisis access rate from all sources of only 55percent. The country’s per capita electricity consumption stood at 243 kWh in 2013,almost one-sixth of the regional average (The World Bank Group, 2016). There had been little progress in the electricity sector over the last decade. The sectormade little progress on improving operational efficiency and quality of service or inreducing high electricity losses, while costing the country over 10 percent of its GDPannually through direct and indirect subsidies (The World Bank, 2013). The ongoing conflict has significantly worsened the electricity supply situation from an already low level, with severe impact on health, education, water and sanitation, and the private sector, which all rely heavily on a functioning power supply.The top-down model of service delivery has been replaced by a combination of locally managed urban public services and a private-sector driven bottom-up model. The poor have limited access to solar so far, and there are concerns about the qualityof the installed technology.Because the limited functionality of the energy sector has severe consequences for other sectors and the overall Yemeni economy, restoring electricity supply will be a priority for any in-conflict or post-conflict engagement.A recent review of the World Bank’s interventions over the last 15 years in the energy sector concluded that alternative models for procurement and/or project implementation may be needed for in-conflict or post-conflict interventions.New, project-specific public sector institutions created for the purpose ofinfrastructure development were no panacea.Distributed infrastructure investments, while also not as successful as anticipated, tended to work better.The proposed priorities represent sequential steps the electricity system is re-built from the bottom up, both technically and institutionally.The proposed priorities and sequencing are underpinned by a vision for Yemen’spower sector that involves a stronger role for the private sector and moredecentralized service provision.

Social skills matter, but how do we measure and grow them in the classroom? - Pocinki, Allegra; Reeves, Richard V. (Brookings, 2017)
Most researchers and parents agree that effective social and emotional skills are essential to a child’s development and success as an adult. But how much do we know about these skills, how to meas…

ISR-Mongolia: Improving Primary Education Outcomes for the most vulnerable children in rural Mongolia (P130760) - World Bank (The World Bank, 2017)

Fiscal Consolidation to Accelerate Growth and Support Inclusive Development: Ghana Public Expenditure Review - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)
Ghana has experienced an extended period of robust growth since the early 2000s, supported by a favorable external environment and large investment inflows, particularly in the extractive industries. In 2011, as the start of oil production drove a surge in per capita income, Ghana graduated from low-income to lower-middle-income status. Despite the key role of the extractive industries, recent growth has been relatively inclusive, and Ghana achieved its Millennium Development Goal of halving the poverty rate by 2015. However, macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated since 2012, giving rise to substantial domestic and external imbalances. Although external shocks have underscored Ghana's vulnerability to global commodity and financial markets, the recurring nature of its imbalances reflects deeper structural deficiencies in its macroeconomic policies and public financial management (PFM) framework. A heavy focus on commodity exports has accelerated Ghana's recent growth, but the country's economic outlook increasingly hinges on a narrow range of volatile commodity prices.
Keywords: Agricultural Productivity; Fiscal Policy; Health; Macroeconomic Policy; Pay Reform; Public Education; Public Expenditure; Public Financial Management; Public Wages; Revenue Management; Taxation

Through the Looking Glass: Can Classroom Observation and Coaching Improve Teacher Performance in Brazil? - Bruns, Barbara; Costa, Leandro; Cunha, Nina (World Bank Group, 2017)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Mozilla releases research results: Zero rating is not serving as an on-ramp to the internet - Dixon, Denelle (The Mozilla Blog, 2017)
Can digital literacy and Equal Rating solutions help connect the unconnected? Today, 4 billion people live without the internet. There’s a global debate about how to connect the unconnected, but ...
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Using Randomised Controlled Trials in Education - Connolly, Paul; Biggart, Andy; Miller, Sarah; O'Hare, Liam; Thurston, Allen (BERA/SAGE Research Methods in Education, 2017)

Promoting Student–Teacher Interactions: Exploring a Peer Coaching Model for Teachers in a Preschool Setting - Johnson, Stacy R.; Finlon, Kristy J.; Kobak, Roger; Izard, Carroll E. (Early Childhood Education Journal, 2017)
Peer coaching provides an attractive alternative to traditional professional development for promoting classroom quality in a sustainable, cost-effective manner by creating a collaborative teaching community. This exploratory study describes the development and evaluation of the Colleague Observation And CoacHing (COACH) program, a peer coaching program designed to increase teachers’ effectiveness in enhancing classroom quality in a preschool Head Start setting. The COACH program consists of a training workshop on coaching skills and student-teacher interactions, six peer coaching sessions, and three center meetings. Pre-post observations of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System of twelve classrooms assigned to peer coaching were compared to twelve control classrooms at baseline and following the intervention. Findings provide preliminary support that the peer coaching program is perceived as acceptable and feasible by the participating preschool teachers and that it may strengthen student–teacher interactions. Further program refinement and evaluation with larger samples is needed to enhance student–teacher interactions and, ultimately, children’s adaptive development.
Keywords: Classroom quality; Head Start; Peer coaching; Professional development; Professional learning communities; Student–teacher interactions

Higher education reforms: Latin America in comparative perspective - Bernasconi, Andrés; Celis, Sergio (Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2017)
This article introduces a special issue of EPAA/AAPE devoted to recent higher education reforms in Latin America. The last two decades have seen much policy development in higher education in the region, examined and discussed by scholars in each country, but dialog with the international literature on higher education reform, or an explicit comparative focus, have been mostly absent from these works. By way of presentation of the papers included in this issue, we first provide an overview of major policy changes in higher education in the Latin American region since the 1990s. We then turn to the six works in this special issue to describe the theories and methods supporting them. Next, we illustrate how general analytic categories can be derived from single or multi country case studies to illuminate themes capable of cutting across the particulars of national contexts, with their unique traditions, policy paths, and politics. Our three common threads are, first, the types of drivers for reform, that is, how policy change originates, either bottom-up from the institutions, or top-down from the government, and various possibilities in between. Second, understanding challenges to institutional autonomy in a continuum of intensity of state intended intervention in higher education. Third, explaining different levels of strain between public and private sectors in higher education based on conditions of competition for economic resources. While the papers in this special issue do not cover all countries, nor all issues on which policy has been crafted in the last two decades across the region, the collection of articles herein account for topics of enduring importance: faculty work in Ecuador, financial aid in Colombia, public policy decentralization in Argentina, quality assurance models in Colombia and Uruguay, the emerge of new institutions and universities in Argentina and Uruguay, and social justice, access, and inclusion in higher education, in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. The articles presented in this special issue provide much insight onto higher education policy in Latin America and, additionally, offer ample opportunity to develop social science knowledge on the basis of strong comparative work.
Keywords: Change in universities

Improving Literacy Instruction in Kenya Through Teacher Professional Development and Text Messages Support: A Cluster Randomized Trial - Jukes, Matthew C. H.; Turner, Elizabeth L.; Dubeck, Margaret M.; Halliday, Katherine E.; Inyega, Hellen N.; Wolf, Sharon; Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons; Brooker, Simon J. (Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2017)
We evaluated a program to improve literacy instruction on the Kenyan coast using training workshops, semiscripted lesson plans, and weekly text-message support for teachers to understand its impact on students’ literacy outcomes and on the classroom practices leading to those outcomes. The evaluation ran from the beginning of Grade 1 to the end of Grade 2 in 51 government primary schools chosen at random, with 50 schools acting as controls. The intervention had an impact on classroom practices with effect sizes from 0.57 to 1.15. There was more instruction with written text and more focus on letters and sounds. There was a positive impact on three of four primary measures of children’s literacy after two years, with effect sizes up to 0.64, and school dropout reduced from 5.3% to 2.1%. This approach to literacy instruction is sustainable, and affordable and a similar approach has subsequently been adopted nationally in Kenya.
Keywords: Africa; Classroom Observation Techniques; Dropout Rate; ERIC, Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE); Early Childhood Education; Effect Size; Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Teachers; Faculty Development; Foreign Countries; Grade 1; Grade 2; Handheld Devices; Improving Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa Using Rigorous Research Designs; Intelligence Tests; Intervention; Interviews; Kenya; Literacy Education; Maximum Likelihood Statistics; Pretests Posttests; Primary Education; Program Effectiveness; Promising Interventions Are Great, but Are They Enough?; Questionnaires; RCT; Randomized Controlled Trials; Raven Progressive Matrices; Rural Schools; Statistical Analysis; Teacher Improvement; Teaching Methods; Telecommunications; What We Are Learning About Early Education in Sub-Saharan Africa; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2096051; ___working_potential_duplicate; __finaldtb; early grade reading; literacy instruction

Understanding Sierra Leonean and Liberian teachers’ views on discussing past wars in their classrooms - Shepler, Susan; Williams, James H. (Comparative Education, 2017)
Various curricular and textbook initiatives exist to aid in the national processes of coming to terms with past violence, often serving the political goals of the victors, sometimes supported by international transitional justice institutions. Sierra Leone and Liberia each experienced a devastating civil war during the 1990s and into the 2000s, and each is struggling to rebuild shattered education systems. In addition, each country has experienced a set of post-conflict transitional justice initiatives: Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in each, and a Special Court for Sierra Leone. Although their respective ministries of education have attempted to address peace education through UNICEF-sponsored curriculum revision processes, those efforts have not yet reached the majority of serving teachers, so a discussion of teachers’ actual practices is vital. This article uses interviews with teachers in rural and urban Sierra Leone and Liberia to discuss whether and how teachers talk about past war in their classrooms; whether they think it is important to discuss past conflicts, and if so, why; and what kind of curricular support would help them better teach about the wars. The article discusses how and why teachers embrace or subvert official efforts through their classroom practices, and compares the Sierra Leone and Liberia contexts and results. This research will help us to understand teachers’ own perspectives on addressing past conflict in their classrooms, and perhaps help policy-makers better implement their peace education initiatives.
Keywords: Education; Liberia; Sierra Leone; teachers; teaching about conflict; transitional justice

Enhancing peer interaction: an aspect of a high-quality learning environment in Finnish early childhood special education - Syrjämäki, Marja; Sajaniemi, Nina; Suhonen, Eira; Alijoki, Alisa; Nislin, Mari (European Journal of Special Needs Education, 2017)

Teacher Coaching: What We Know - Evans, David (World Bank Blogs - Development Impact, 2017)
“Teacher coaching has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional models of professional development.” In Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan’s newly updated review “The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence, ” they highlight that reviews of the literature on teacher professional development (i.e., ...

65 % of Nigerian schools lack electricity, says UN chief - Lawal, Iyabo (The Guardian (Nigeria), 2017)

How 30% of Children Taught Themselves to Read - Curious Learning (Curious Learning, 2017)
In April our colleague Markos traveled from Addis Ababa to Wonchi, a remote village in Ethiopia. His goal: to track down 20 children who had participated in a digital learning pilot, four years ago. What he found stunned our team – all six of the children he tested had taught themselves to read, usi

Open Government Case Study: Costing Sierra Leone’s Open Data Program - Joswiak, Naomi (Results for Development, 2017)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

External Validity: The Next Step for Systematic Reviews? - Avellar, Sarah A.; Thomas, Jaime; Kleinman, Rebecca; Sama-Miller, Emily; Woodruff, Sara E.; Coughlin, Rebecca; Westbrook, T’Pring R. (Evaluation Review, 2017)
Background:Systematic reviews?which identify, assess, and summarize existing research?are usually designed to determine whether research shows that an intervention has evidence of effectiveness, rather than whether an intervention will work under different circumstances. The reviews typically focus on the internal validity of the research and do not consistently incorporate information on external validity into their conclusions.Objectives:In this article, we focus on how systematic reviews address external validity.Methods:We conducted a brief scan of 19 systematic reviews and a more in-depth examination of information presented in a systematic review of home visiting research.Results:We found that many reviews do not provide information on generalizability, such as statistical representativeness, but focus on factors likely to increase heterogeneity (e.g., numbers of studies or settings) and report on context. The latter may help users decide whether the research characteristics?such as sample demographics or settings?are similar to their own. However, we found that differences in reporting, such as which variables are included and how they are measured, make it difficult to summarize across studies or make basic determinations of sample characteristics, such as whether the majority of a sample was unemployed or married.Conclusion:Evaluation research and systematic reviews would benefit from reporting guidelines for external validity to ensure that key information is reported across studies.
Keywords: external validity; systematic reviews

Systems Approaches to Public Sector Challenges: Working with Change - OECD (OECD, 2017)

Repositories of Open Educational Resources: An Assessment of Reuse and Educational Aspects - Santos-Hermosa, Gema; Ferran-Ferrer, Núria; Abadal, Ernest (The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2017)
Keywords: OER; evaluation; higher education; open educational resources; repositories; reuse

The National Bank of Rwanda - ICDL (ICDL Africa, 2017)
The National Bank of Rwanda strives to be a world class Central Bank that contributes to economic growth & development, by using robust monetary policy tools to maintain stable market prices. The Bank ensures financial stability in a free market economy as it embraces innovations, diversity, inclusiveness, and economic integration. The Central Bank of Rwanda …

Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review - Xiao, Yu; Watson, Maria (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2017)
Literature reviews establish the foundation of academic inquires. However, in the planning field, we lack rigorous systematic reviews. In this article, through a systematic search on the methodology of literature review, we categorize a typology of literature reviews, discuss steps in conducting a systematic literature review, and provide suggestions on how to enhance rigor in literature reviews in planning education and research.
Keywords: CitedIn:BIBBTVET

Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review - Xiao, Yu; Watson, Maria (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2017)
Literature reviews establish the foundation of academic inquires. However, in the planning field, we lack rigorous systematic reviews. In this article, through a systematic search on the methodology of literature review, we categorize a typology of literature reviews, discuss steps in conducting a systematic literature review, and provide suggestions on how to enhance rigor in literature reviews in planning education and research.
Keywords: CitedIn:BIBBTVET

Implementation Completion and Results Report (TF-14253, TF-14358) - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2017)

General equilibrium effects of (improving) public employment programs: experimental evidence from India - Muralidharan, Karthik; Niehaus, Paul; Sukhtankar, Sandip (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017)
Public employment programs may aﬀect poverty both directly through the income they provide and indirectly through general-equilibrium eﬀects. We estimate both eﬀects, exploiting a reform that improved the implementation of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and whose rollout was randomized at a large (sub-district) scale. The reform raised beneﬁciary households’ earnings by 14%, and reduced poverty by 26%. Importantly, 86%of income gains came from non-program earnings, driven by higher private-sector (real) wages and employment. This pattern appears to reﬂect imperfectly competitive labor markets more than productivity gains: worker’s reservation wages increased, land returns fell, and employment gains were higher in villages with more concentrated landholdings. Non-agricultural enterprise counts and employment grew rapidly despite higher wages, consistent with a role for local demand in structural transformation. These results suggest that public employment programs can eﬀectively reduce poverty in developing countries, and may also improve economic eﬃciency.

Targeted Remedial Education: Experimental Evidence from Peru - Saavedra, Juan E; Näslund-Hadley, Emma; Alfonso, Mariana (Inter-American Development Bank, 2017)
Improving learning among low-achieving students is a challenge in education. We present results from the first randomized experiment of an inquiry-based remedial science education program for low-performing elementary students in a developing-country setting. Third-grade students in 48 low-income public elementary schools in Metropolitan Lima who score at the bottom half of their school distribution in a science test taken at the beginning of the school year are randomly assigned to receive up to 16 remedial science tutoring sessions of 90 minutes each. Control group compliance with assignment is close to perfect. Treatment group compliance is 40 percent, equivalent to 4.5 tutoring sessions, or a 4 percent increase in total science instruction time. Despite the low treatment intensity, students assigned to the remedial sessions score 0.12 standard deviations higher on a science endline test, with all gains concentrated among boys. We find no evidence of remedial education producing within-student spillovers to other subject areas (math or reading) or spillovers on other students in the classroom. We conclude that low-intensity remedial education can have an effect on science learning among low-achieving students.

Do School Electriﬁcation and Provision of Digital Media Deliver Educational Beneﬁts? First-year Evidence from 164 Tanzanian Secondary Schools - Seo, Hee Kwon (University of Chicago, 2017)

Aspirations and the Role of Social Protection: Evidence from a Natural Disaster in Rural Pakistan - Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung (World Development, 2017)
Citizens’ aspirations are increasingly recognized as an important dimension of their well-being. Those with high aspirations set ambitious goals for themselves, and those with low aspirations may fall prey to a poverty trap. Do natural disasters negatively impact aspirations? If so, can governments blunt these effects? We consider Pakistan’s devastating 2010 floods—and the government’s uneven relief efforts—to analyze these questions. We first show that the extreme rainfall generating this disaster significantly reduced aspirations, even when current levels of household expenditure, wealth, and education are taken into account. Individuals experiencing 2010 monsoon season rainfall that was one standard deviation higher than average had aspiration levels 1.5years later that were 0.15 standard deviations lower than those of similar individuals experiencing just average levels of rainfall. This is the same negative shock to aspirations that one would experience as a result of a 50% reduction in household expenditures. Moreover, the negative effect of natural disasters on aspirations is especially strong among the poor, and among those who are most vulnerable to weather shocks. However, exploiting exogenous variation in flood relief access, we show that government social protection can attenuate these negative impacts. Individuals in villages that received Citizens Damage Compensation (Watan Card) Program flood relief—providing cash equivalent to 9.4% of annual household expenditures in each of the three years following the disaster—saw significantly lower declines in aspirations than did those in similarly affected villages without this relief. This offers a new understanding of social protection; it not only restores livelihoods and replaces damaged assets, but also has an enduring effect by easing mental burdens, and thus raising aspirations for the future. The negative effects of natural disasters and the efficacy of government relief programs may thus be underestimated if aspirations are ignored.
Keywords: Pakistan; South Asia; climate change; political economy of development; political psychology; state capacity

ECT 300 Educational Technology: What are some of the limitations of using live radio broadcasts in teaching? - Nasib, Tim (somi, 2017)
CHAPTER 6  EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING 6a v).Analyze some of the limitations of using live radio broadcasts in teaching. 6.7 Limitations of live radio broadcasts. As mentioned earlier in this unit eve…

Spatial models for the rational allocation of routinely distributed bed nets to public health facilities in Western Kenya - Macharia, Peter M.; Odera, Patroba A.; Snow, Robert W.; Noor, Abdisalan M. (Malaria Journal, 2017)
In high to moderate malaria transmission areas of Kenya, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are provided free of charge to pregnant women and infants during routine antenatal care (ANC) and immunization respectively. Quantities of LLINs distributed to clinics are quantified based on a combination of monthly consumption data and population size of target counties. However, this approach has been shown to lead to stock-outs in targeted clinics. In this study, a novel LLINs need quantification approach for clinics in the routine distribution system was developed. The estimated need was then compared to the actual allocation to identify potential areas of LLIN over- or under-allocation in the high malaria transmission areas of Western Kenya.
Keywords: ANC utilization; Equity; LLINs allocation; Spatial modelling

Examining the impact of instructional technology and material design courses on technopedagogical education competency acquisition according to different variables - Gokdas, Ibrahim; Torun, Fulya (Kuram ve Uygulamada Egitim Bilimleri, 2017)
The need to integrate technology into education has made necessary a thorough examination of teachers’ technopedagogical competencies. While training preservice teachers, it is of particular importance that they acquire technopedagogical education competences during their preservice education. Practical and theoretical course content and Instructional Technology and Material Design (ITMD) courses are thought to be essential for preservice teachers’ technopedagogical education competency acquisition. However, the role of ITMD courses in preservice teachers’ technopedagogical education competency acquisition has remained obscure in the literature. As such, the study aims to describe the effect that ITMD courses have on technopedagogical education competency acquisition. The research was conducted with a total of 186 preservice teachers studying in the departments of classroom teaching and preschool teaching in a Faculty of Education in Turkey. The research data were gathered using the Technopedagogical Education Competency Scale (TPACK-deep), developed by Kabakci Yurdakul, Odabasi, Kilicer, Coklar, Birinci, and Kurt. This five-point Likert type scale consists of a total of four factors, i.e. design, proficiency, ethics, and exertion. The internal reliability coefficient of the 33-item scale was .95. The scale was applied by faculty members in-line with the course description designated by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) as a pre- and post-test at the beginning and end of the semester that the course was given. A paired samples t-test and CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis were incorporatedly employed to analyze the data. The research showed that ITMD courses influenced preservice teachers’ acquisition of technopedagogical education competencies. The following were observed to be critical predictor variables in technopedagogical education competency acquisition: having received computer training prior to taking the ITMD courses and the average time one spends using a computer per day.
Keywords: Communication; Computers; Core curriculum; Early childhood education; Education; Educational technology; Knowledge; Learning; Mathematics; Pedagogy; Preschool education; Science education; Social research; Students; Teacher education; Teaching methods; Web 2.0; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2095985; __finaldtb

Assessing Research-Practice Partnerships - Henrick, Erin C; Cobb, Paul; Penuel, William R; Jackson, Kara; Clark, Tiffany (William T. Grant Foundation., 2017)

Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census: Thematic Report on Disability - Kabia, Francis; Tarawally, Umaru (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2017)

Teachers and the Teaching Profession in Sierra Leone: A Comprehensive Situation Analysis - Wright, Cream (TSC, 2017)

Shades of Grey: Guidelines for Working with the Grey Literature in Systematic Reviews for Management and Organizational Studies - Adams, Richard J.; Smart, Palie; Huff, Anne Sigismund (International Journal of Management Reviews, 2017)
This paper suggests how the ‘grey literature’, the diverse and heterogeneous body of material that is made public outside, and not subject to, traditional academic peer-review processes, can be used to increase the relevance and impact of management and organization studies (MOS). The authors clarify the possibilities by reviewing 140 systematic reviews published in academic and practitioner outlets to answer the following three questions: (i) Why is grey literature excluded from/included in systematic reviews in MOS? (ii) What types of grey material have been included in systematic reviews since guidelines for practice were first established in this discipline? (iii) How is the grey literature treated currently to advance management and organization scholarship and knowledge? This investigation updates previous guidelines for more inclusive systematic reviews that respond to criticisms of current review practices and the needs of evidence-based management.
Keywords: -FullBiblioUHMLgen; -GeneralCitations; -missingHU; DL4D cited; NOTdocs.opendeved.net; publicImportV1

Measuring school readiness globally: Assessing the construct validity and measurement invariance of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) in Ethiopia - Wolf, Sharon; Halpin, Peter; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Dowd, Amy Jo; Pisani, Lauren; Borisova, Ivelina (Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2017)
The post 2015 context for international development has led to a demand for assessments that measure multiple dimensions of children's school readiness and are feasibly administered in low-resource settings. The present study assesses the construct validity of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) developed by Save the Children using data from a sample of children (∼5 years of age; N=682) from rural Ethiopia. The study (a) uses exploratory and confirmatory bi-factor analyses to assess the internal structure of the assessment with respect to four hypothesized domains of school-readiness (Early Numeracy, Early Literacy, Social-Emotional development, and Motor development); (b) uses latent regression to examine concurrent validity of the domains against a limited set of child and family characteristics; and (c) establishes measurement invariance across three focal comparisons (children enrolled in center-based care versus home-based care; girls versus boys; and treatment status in a cluster randomized controlled trial of a center-based program). The results support the conclusion that the IDELA is useful for making inferences about children's school readiness. Implications for future use of the IDELA and similar instruments are discussed.
Keywords: Ethiopia; Factor analysis; Measurement invariance; School readiness; Sub-Saharan Africa

When cost-effective interventions are unaffordable: Integrating cost-effectiveness and budget impact in priority setting for global health programs - Bilinski, Alyssa; Neumann, Peter; Cohen, Joshua; Thorat, Teja; McDaniel, Katherine; Salomon, Joshua A. (PLOS Medicine, 2017)

To take learning seriously, start by measuring it - World Bank (World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education's Promise, 2017)

100 Women: 'We can't teach girls of the future with books of the past' - Perasso, Valeria (BBC News, 2017)
Research suggests women are either written off or portrayed in stereotypes roles in primary school textbooks from all over the world.

Pakistan uses regulations to tighten grip on INGOs - Naviwala, Nadia (Devex, 2017)
Byzantine and ambiguous legal processes, unclear regulations, and ad hoc security requirements hinder the work of international NGOs in a country where distrust of foreign funded entities runs deep.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

A Survey of ICT Capacity in Ghana's Public Colleges of Education (Transforming Teacher Education and Learning, 2017)
The survey of ICT capacity at 40 colleges of education (CoEs) reflects a considerable amount of work, by many people. The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) acknowledges with thanks, Consumer Insights Consult (CiC) research team, Cyprian Ekor, Elvis Akpabli, Emmanuel Mireku, George Asare, Kennedy Amedume, Daniel Amewuda, Philemon Opoku. NCTE staff, Jacob T. Akunor, Anthony Dzidzornu, Emmanuel Attey Yebuah, Ebenezer Osei Adu, Nicholas Ameyaw and Kwaku Gyampoh. Transforming Teaching and Learning in Ghana (T-TEL) staff, Dr. Björn Haßler, Dr. Rosie Lugg, Mr. Charlie Gordon, Ms. Beryl Opong-Agyei, Dr. Rich Tobin and Ms. Caroline Jordan. Particular thanks is extended to Jacob Tetteh Akunor, who led this exercise on behalf of the NCTE and to the Senior managers, ICT tutors, ICT technicians and student teacher participants at all 40 CoE that participated, and gave so generously of their time and expertise.
Keywords: _DOILIVE; _not_EdTechHub; _zenodoODE; dode_eth-src-dode

EIA- A Teacher Education Project in Bangladesh: An Analysis from Diversified Perspectives - Karim, Abdul; Mohamed, Abdul Rashid; Prof., School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, richsesusm@gmail.com; Rahman, Mohammad Mosiur; Graduate Research Student, School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, mosiurbhai@gmail.com (International Journal of Instruction, 2017)
English in Action (EIA) is an ongoing teacher education project which places mobile technology at the centre of its action. Most of the studies carried out focused on the changes EIA brought in teachers’ classroom actions. Along with this, they also explored the classroom to observe whether the input given during training program is implemented in real life. No study has been conducted that compares and contrasts the components of mobile learning in general and the components EIA is using. This study, particularly, drew a comparative analysis between the mobile learning and EIA initiated mobile learning to reveal the extent it matched or mismatched to the components of mobile learning. It also scrutinized teachers’ behavior in the classroom after participating in EIA. It also penetrated to find the contents to be reviewed. Qualitative method was used to conduct this study. The result revealed that the components of EIA match to the mobile learning ones to the extent that EIA entails those suiting the context. Few elements were seemed absent as they are less suitable in such context. Besides, teachers were found bringing changes in their classrooms. The introduction of action research and reflective teaching were suggested to add to EIA’s program.

Fighting Illiteracy in the Arab World - Abu Hammud, Muwafaq; Jarrar, Amani G. (International Education Studies, 2017)
Illiteracy in the Arab world is becoming an urgent necessity particularly facing problems of poverty, ignorance, extremism, which impede the required economic, social, political and cultural development processes. Extremism, violence and terrorism, in the Arab world, can only be eliminated by spreading of knowledge, fighting illiteracy. The study shows that illiteracy rate among males in the Arab world is 25% for males, (46%) for Females. Results of the study show that if the educational situation in all Arab countries does not change, illiteracy rates will increase in the Arab world, and the number of illiterates in the Arab world will reach 49 million in the category of age of 15 years, and by 2024,it may reach 5.5 million of youth (15 - 24 years). The study identifies factors affecting the rise of illiteracy in the Arab world, particularly: Low economic level of many Arab countries, the growing security, political turmoil and internal problems experienced by most Arab countries, Social reasons, and random policies and contradiction in the trends and areas of combating illiteracy. The study concluded that illiteracy has a significant impact on social behavior, and that democracy, political participation, violence, cultural development, respect, pluralism, and accepting diversity, are all affected by illiteracy. The study recommends that Arab governments must formulate clear strategies linked to development plans to save 100 million Arab citizens who suffer from illiteracy, and ignorance. Illiteracy is to be taken seriously because it entails misunderstanding democracy, lack of youth interest in political affairs, corruption, and therefore the absence of comprehensive reform programs.

Vision for SLR tooling infrastructure: Prioritizing value-added requirements - Al-Zubidy, Ahmed; Carver, Jeffrey C.; Hale, David P.; Hassler, Edgar E. (Information and Software Technology, 2017)
Context Even with the increasing use of Systematic Literature Reviews (SLR) in software engineering (SE), there are still a number of barriers faced by SLR authors. These barriers increase the cost of conducting SLRs. Objective For many of these barriers, appropriate tool support could reduce their impact. In this paper, we use interactions with the SLR community in SE to identify and prioritize a set of requirements for SLR tooling infrastructure. Method This paper analyzes and combines the results from three studies on SLR process barriers and SLR tool requirements to produce a prioritized list of functional requirements for SLR tool support. Using this list of requirements, we perform a feature analysis of the current SLR support tools to identify requirements that are supported as well as identify the need for additional tooling infrastructure. Results The analysis resulted in a list 112 detailed requirements (consolidated into a set of composite requirements) that SE community desires in SLR support tools. The requirements span all the phases of the SLR process. The results show that, while recent tools cover more of the requirements, there are a number of high-priority requirements that are not yet fully covered by any of the existing tools. Conclusion The existing set of SLR tools do not cover all the requirements posed by the community. The list of requirements in this paper is useful for tool developers and researchers wishing to provide support to the SLR community with SE.
Keywords: Empirical software engineering; Systematic literature review; Tooling infrastructure; _Added-ailr-2024

Use of digital game based learning and gamification in secondary school science: The effect on student engagement, learning and gender difference - Khan, Amna; Ahmad, Farzana Hayat; Malik, Muhammad Muddassir (Education and Information Technologies, 2017)
This study aimed to identify the impact of a game based learning (GBL) application using computer technologies on student engagement in secondary school science classrooms. The literature reveals that conventional Science teaching techniques (teacher-centered lecture and teaching), which foster rote learning among students, are one of the major concerns in Pakistan Education system. This leads to student disengagement in science lessons eventually resulting in student absenteeism and dropouts from the schools. This study consisted of five stages: (1) examining the impact of Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) and gamification on engagement, learning and gender difference, and literature related to using DGBL models for instructional design; (2) planning learning activities and developing a GBL application based on a specific content in Science; (3) conducting an intervention with a sample of 72 participants of 8th grade (aged 12–15) in a low cost private school of Pakistan following quasi-experimental research framework; (4) observing behaviour and emotions of the participants during science lessons; (5) conducting pre and post tests to assess the learning outcomes of participants followed by focus groups discussion. Analysis from Friedman test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test show that the GBL application has a positive influence on student engagement. However, GBL application was not equally effective for all students since girls outperformed boys in terms of engagement and learning outcomes. This study gives insights into the development of better educational games to promote student learning.

Disability in and Around Urban Areas of Sierra Leone - Trani, Jean-Francois; Bah, Osman; Bailey, Nicki; Browne, Joyce; Groce, Nora; Kett, Maria (2017)

Not just for special occasions: supporting the professional learning of teachers through critical reflection with audio-visual information - Saito, Eisuke; Khong, Thi Diem Hang (Reflective Practice, 2017)
Despite increased use of professional learning communities in the teacher education field, they do not necessarily guarantee change in teachers’ daily practice. This study is a multiple case study of three school leaders in Vietnam to connect their teachers’ learning and practice by utilising visual records. In the cases studied, we see a progression of models of joint reflection based on visual information, from only occasional reflection to daily critical reflection, the latter of which the authors call ‘vide-flection’ referring to a process for people to consider their actions, thoughts, or experiences by utilising video-recorded images. For joint vide-flection, school leaders visit every classroom for several minutes every day to observe the wellbeing and learning of pupils and video-record struggles or breakthroughs in children’s learning; they share those images with teachers to jointly reflect on the situations. Through this vide-flection, teachers develop more detailed awareness of pupils needs.
Keywords: Reflective practice; Vietnam; critical reflection; professional learning; teacher professional development; vide-flection

20 innovative edtech projects from around the world - Trucano, Mike (World Bank Blogs, 2017)
Also available in: Español | Français what did I miss? For the past two decades, I've worked on issues at the intersection of the education and technology sectors in middle- and low-income countries and emerging markets around the world. It's been a fascinating job: Over the past 20 years, I've ...

Open data in developing economies: Toward building an evidence base on what works and how - Verhulst, Stefaan; Young, Andrew (African Minds, 2017)
In essence, the book seeks to answer the following key questions: • What makes open data uniquely relevant to developing economies? • How can the impact of open data in developing economies be captured and evidence be developed? • How can open data be leveraged as a new asset for development?
Keywords: Andrew Young; Open Data in Developing Economies: Toward Building an Evidence Base on What Works and How; SSRN; Stefaan Verhulst

Internet access and education: key considerations for policy makers - Internet Society (2017)
The Internet has immense potential to improve the quality of education, which is one of the pillars of sustainable development. This Internet Society briefing outlines ways in which policymakers can unlock that potential through an enabling framework for access to the Internet. It sets out five priorities for policymakers: infrastructure and access, vision and policy, inclusion, capacity, and content and devices. Together these represent key considerations for unlocking access to the Internet in support of education.

Allô École! Using mobile technologies to connect government, teachers, and parents - World Bank (World Bank, 2017)
A World Bank pilot is promoting a mobile social accountability platform « Allô École! » to increase accountability in the primary education sector of the DRC.
Keywords: C: Democratic Republic of Congo

CONSORT-Equity 2017 extension and elaboration for better reporting of health equity in randomised trials - Welch, Vivian A.; Norheim, Ole F.; Jull, Janet; Cookson, Richard; Sommerfelt, Halvor; Tugwell, Peter; Symposium, CONSORT-Equity and Boston Equity (BMJ, 2017)
We outline CONSORT-Equity 2017 reporting standards, an extension to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement that aims to improve the reporting of intervention effects in randomised trials where health equity is relevant. Health inequities are unfair differences in health that can be avoided by reasonable action. We defined a randomised trial where health equity is relevant as one that assesses effects on health equity by evaluating an intervention focused on people experiencing social disadvantage or by exploring the difference in the effect of the intervention between two groups (or as a gradient across more than two groups) experiencing different levels of social disadvantage, or both. We held a consensus meeting with diverse potential users from high, middle, and low income countries, including knowledge users such as patients and methodologists. We discussed evidence for each proposed extension item from empirical studies, reviews, key informant interviews, and an online survey, aiming to improve clarity of reporting without imposing undue burden on authors. The new guidance contains equity extensions to 16 items from CONSORT 2010 plus one new item on research ethics reporting, with examples of good practice and a brief explanation and elaboration for each. Widespread uptake of this guidance for the reporting of trials where health equity is relevant will make it easier for decision makers to find and use evidence from randomised trials to reduce unfair inequalities in health.
Keywords: _C:Bulgaria BGR; _C:Canada CAN; _C:India IND; _C:Madagascar MDG; _C:Malawi MWI; _C:Mexico MEX; _C:New Zealand NZL; _C:Norway NOR; _C:Pakistan PAK; _C:Thailand THA; _C:Uganda UGA; _C:United States USA; __C:scheme:1

How (Not) to Fix Problems that Matter: Assessing and Responding to Malawi's History of Institutional Reform - Bridges, Kate; Woolcock, Michael (World Bank, 2017)
Malawi can be understood as a microcosm of institutional reform approaches in developing countries more broadly. A common feature of such approaches, whether implemented by government or donors, is reform initiatives that yield institutions that "look like" those found in higher-performing countries but rarely acquire the same underlying functionality. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of previous institutional reform projects in Malawi, as well as interviews with Malawi-based development practitioners. The paper finds a plethora of interventions that, merely by virtue of appearing to be in conformity with "best practices" elsewhere, are deemed to be successful yet fail to fix underlying problems, sometimes in contradiction to internal and public narratives of positive progress. This unhappy arrangement endures because a multitude of imperatives, incentives, and norms appear to keep governments and donors from more closely examining why such intense, earnest, and long-standing efforts at reform have, to date, yielded so few successes. This paper seeks to promote a shift in approach to institutional reform, offering some practical recommendations for reform-minded managers, project teams, and political leaders in which the focus is placed on crafting solutions to problems that Malawians themselves nominate, prioritize, and enact.
Keywords: Capacity Building; Civil Service; Development Effectiveness; Governance; Institutions; Legitimacy; Public Administration; Public Sector; Reform

Endline Evaluation Report Step Change Window - Coffey International (Coffey International Development LTD, 2017)

Not just for special occasions: supporting the professional learning of teachers through critical reflection with audio-visual information - Saito, Eisuke; Khong, Thi Diem Hang (Reflective Practice, 2017)
Despite increased use of professional learning communities in the teacher education field, they do not necessarily guarantee change in teachers’ daily practice. This study is a multiple case study of three school leaders in Vietnam to connect their teachers’ learning and practice by utilising visual records. In the cases studied, we see a progression of models of joint reflection based on visual information, from only occasional reflection to daily critical reflection, the latter of which the authors call ‘vide-flection’ referring to a process for people to consider their actions, thoughts, or experiences by utilising video-recorded images. For joint vide-flection, school leaders visit every classroom for several minutes every day to observe the wellbeing and learning of pupils and video-record struggles or breakthroughs in children’s learning; they share those images with teachers to jointly reflect on the situations. Through this vide-flection, teachers develop more detailed awareness of pupils needs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
Keywords: ADULTS; AUDIOVISUAL aids in education; AUDIOVISUAL materials; CRITICAL thinking studies; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; EDUCATION; FOCUS groups; INTERVIEWING; PROFESSIONAL education; PROFESSIONAL employee training; REFLECTION (Philosophy); RESEARCH funding; Reflective practice; SCHOOL administrators; TEACHER training; TEACHING; THEMATIC analysis; VIETNAM; Vietnam; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2099873; __finaldtb; critical reflection; professional learning; teacher professional development; vide-flection

Books or laptops? The effect of shifting from printed to digital delivery of educational content on learning - Bando, Rosangela; Gallego, Francisco; Gertler, Paul; Fonseca, Dario Romero (Economics of Education Review, 2017)
Information and communication technologies can be used for educational purposes, but these devices may also pose as distractors that may tamper with the learning process. This paper presents results from a randomized controlled trial in which laptops replaced traditional textbook provision in elementary schools in high poverty communities in Honduras. We show that at the end of one school year, we fail to reject that there were no differences between laptop and textbook provision on mathematics and Spanish test scores and in non-academic outcomes related to coding and verbal fluency.
Keywords: Computers; E-learning; Education; RCT; Technology; Textbooks

Pathways to Educational Success Among Refugees: Connecting Locally and Globally Situated Resources - Dryden-Peterson, Sarah; Dahya, Negin; Adelman, Elizabeth (American Educational Research Journal, 2017)
This study identifies pathways to educational success among refugees. Data are from an original online survey of Somali diaspora and in-depth qualitative interviews with Somali refugee students educated in the Dadaab refugee camps of Kenya. This research builds on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to consider both the locally and globally situated nature of resources across refugees’ ecosystems. Analysis examines the nature and content of student-identified supports and their perceived influence on access to and persistence in school as well as the mediating role of technology. The findings suggest consideration of both locally situated relationships and globally situated relationships as critical educational supports. Implications include leveraging naturally occurring virtual relationships to support educational success of refugees and other young people who are physically isolated from access to needed supports in their local region.
Keywords: Google Scholar/ refugee education technology; RER theme_pedagogies and modalities

Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria - Nowell, Lorelli S.; Norris, Jill M.; White, Deborah E.; Moules, Nancy J. (International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2017)
As qualitative research becomes increasingly recognized and valued, it is imperative that it is conducted in a rigorous and methodical manner to yield meaningful and useful results. To be accepted as trustworthy, qualitative researchers must demonstrate that data analysis has been conducted in a precise, consistent, and exhaustive manner through recording, systematizing, and disclosing the methods of analysis with enough detail to enable the reader to determine whether the process is credible. Although there are numerous examples of how to conduct qualitative research, few sophisticated tools are available to researchers for conducting a rigorous and relevant thematic analysis. The purpose of this article is to guide researchers using thematic analysis as a research method. We offer personal insights and practical examples, while exploring issues of rigor and trustworthiness. The process of conducting a thematic analysis is illustrated through the presentation of an auditable decision trail, guiding interpreting and representing textual data. We detail our step-by-step approach to exploring the effectiveness of strategic clinical networks in Alberta, Canada, in our mixed methods case study. This article contributes a purposeful approach to thematic analysis in order to systematize and increase the traceability and verification of the analysis.

World Report 2018 - Human Rights Watch (2017)
World Report 2018 summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from late 2016 through November 2017.

Localization & Translation Are Not The Same - But What's The Difference? - Clear words translations (Clear Words Translations, 2017)
If you're wondering what the difference is between localization and translation, check out this article before you start going global.

Implementing large-scale instructional technology in Kenya: Changing instructional practice and developing accountability in a National Education System - Piper, Benjamin; Oyanga, Arbogast; Mejia, Jessica; Pouezevara, Sarah (International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 2017)
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...
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

FTTX to be distributed by three companies: Ogero head (The Daily Star Lebanon, 2018)

Kenya National Examination Council (2018)

Making Ghanaian Girls Great (Varkey Foundation, 2018)
The MGCubed Project uses solar-powered and satellite-enabled distance learning infrastructure to deliver interactive learning sessions to students, teachers, communities and government officials.

Train for Tomorrow, Ghana (Varkey Foundation, 2018)
Funded by Dubai Cares, Train for Tomorrow (T4T) is a US$ 2 million remote teacher training project in Ghana’s Eastern Region .

Mobile Learning Lab Evaluation & Analysis - 60 Million Girls (60 million girls, 2018)

Operational research on the use of mobile school report card (mSRC) as a management tool - Abdulai, Abdul-Gafaru; Nunyonameh, Collins; Salifu, Adam (Ghana Education Service/UNICEF, 2018)

Effect of Mastery Learning Approach on Senior School Students' Academic Performance and Retention in Circle Geometry. - Adeniji, Saidat Morenike; Ameen, Saka Khadijat; Dambatta, B. U.; Orilonise, Razak (International Journal of Instruction, 2018)

Equity and Quality in an Education Public-Private Partnership: A study of the World Bank-supported PPP in Punjab, Pakistan - Afridi, Momina (Oxfam, 2018)

Classification of HEC Recognized Journals - Ahmad, Aftab (2018)

Developing a situational judment test for adminission into initial teacher education in Oman: An exploratory study - Al Hashmi, WaleedTalib Abdullah (University of York, 2018)

Revealing Stereotypes: Evidence from Immigrants in Schools - Alesina, Alberto; Carlena, Michaela; La Ferrara, Eliana; Pinotti, Paolo (2018)
If individuals become aware of their stereotypes, do they change their behavior? We study this question in the context of teachers' bias in grading im...

E-learning critical success factors: Comparing perspectives from academic staff and students - Alhabeeb, Abdullah; Rowley, Jennifer (Computers & Education, 2018)
This article advances knowledge on the factors that lead to successful e-learning in universities, through a comparative study of the perspectives of academic staﬀ and students. In particular, it contributes to the limited knowledge bases on the eﬀectiveness of e-learning in Saudi Arabia, and on the diﬀerences in perspectives of diﬀerent groups of stakeholders in e-learning. Based on previous research, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to convenience samples of academic staﬀ and students at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Respondents were invited to express their opinion regarding the importance of a number of factors to the success of e-learning. Principal Component Analysis was conducted on each dataset, in turn, to assess the loading of items onto factors, and the variance explained. The most important ﬁnding from this study is that the perspectives of students and academic staﬀ diﬀer, with there being nine factors for academic staﬀ and seven for students. Categories that are common to both groups are: student characteristics, instructor characteristics, ease of access, and support and training. The order for academics is: student characteristics, ease of access, instructor characteristics, and support and training; and, the order for students is: instructor characteristics, student characteristics, support and training, and ease of access.

All Children Reading Announces eKitabu and SIL LEAD as Winners of Book Boost: Access for All Challenge - All Children Reading (2018)

Skills-Building Programs to Reduce Child Marriage in Bangladesh: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Amin, S; Saha, J; Ahmed, J (Journal of Adolescent Health Volume 63, Issue 3, September 2018, Pages 293-300, 2018)

Nearly one-in-five teens can’t always finish their homework because of the digital divide - Anderson, Monica; Perrin, Andrew (Pew Research Center, 2018)
Some teens in America are more likely to face digital hurdles when trying to complete their homework.

Annual Status of Education Report (rural) 2018 - ASER Centre (Assessment Survey Evaluation Research (India), 2018)

Annual Development Plan 2019/20 - Azad Government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir (2018)

Impact of Online Computer Assisted Learning on Education: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in China - Bai, Yu; Tang, Bin; Wang, Boya; Auden, Emma; Mandell, Blake (Rural Education Action Program (REAP), 2018)
Education of poor and disadvantaged populations has been a long-standing challenge for education systems in both developed and developing countries. In China, millions of students in rural areas and migrant communities lag far behind their urban counterparts in terms of academic achievement. When they fall behind, they often have no way to catch up. Many of their parents have neither the skills nor the money to provide remedial tutoring; rural teachers often do not have time to give students the individual attention they need. Given this, there is growing interest by both educators and policymakers in helping underperforming students catch up using computer assisted learning (CAL). While CAL interventions have been shown to be effective internationally and elsewhere in China, traditional software-based CAL programs are difficult and costly to implement. An online version of CAL (OCAL), however, may be able to bypass many of offline CAL’s implementation problems and enhance the remedial tutoring experience. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence on whether OCAL programs can be effective in improving the quality of rural primary school education in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of an OCAL intervention on the academic and non-academic performance of students and to explore the mechanism behind OCAL’s impact. Importantly, we also aim to assess the cost effectiveness of the new OCAL program versus traditional CAL interventions. To achieve these objectives, we carried out a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving over 1650 fifth grade students in 44 schools in rural areas and migrant communities across China. Students in the 22 treatment schools attended two 40minute OCAL sessions during their computer class each week for one semester; the students in the other 22 schools were in the control group and did not receive any intervention. According to our findings, OCAL improved overall English scores of students in the treatment group relative to the control group by 0.56 standard deviations. This impact is large when compared with offline CAL programs. We found that OCAL also led to a positive change in the attitudes of students towards English learning and towards student aspirations for their future education level. We found three possible explanations for OCAL’s impact. After rejecting the possibility of the Hawthorne Effect or self-efficacy-induced changes, we believe interest-oriented stimulation is the main source of improvement among students. The chance for comparison and competition with peers, as well as customized remedial question banks tailored to each student’s individual needs, likely contributed to the measured increases in academic performance among students in our sample. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the OCAL program is more cost-effective than traditional offline CAL, a comparison which is significant for policymakers as it indicates high potential for OCAL program expansion.
Keywords: Quality: H; Relevance: M; ⛔ No DOI found

Design Research in Education: A Practical Guide for Early Career Researchers - Bakker, Arthur (Routledge, 2018)
Design Research in Education is a practical guide containing all the information required to begin a design research project. Providing an accessible background to the methodological approaches used in design research as well as addressing all the potential issues that early career researchers will encounter, the book uniquely helps the early career researcher to gain a full overview of design research and the practical skills needed to get their project off the ground. Based on extensive experience, the book also contains multiple examples of design research from both undergraduate and postgraduate students, to demonstrate possible projects to the reader. With easy to follow chapters and accessible question and response sections, Design Research in Education contains practical advice on a wide range of topics related to design research projects including: The theory of design research, what it entails, and when it is suitable The formulation of research questions How to structure a research project The quality of research and the methodological issues of validity and reliability How to write up your research The supervision of design research. Through its theoretical grounding and practical advice, Design Research in Education is the ideal introduction into the field of design based research and is essential reading for bachelor's, master's and PhD students new to the field, as well as to supervisors overseeing projects that use design research.

Unstructured data in marketing - Balducci, B; Marinova, D (Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2018)

The Economic Lives of Young Women in the Time of Ebola: Lessons from an Empowerment Program - Bandiera, Oriana; Buehren, Niklas; Goldstein, Markus; Rasul, Imran; Smurra, Andrea (World Bank, 2018)
We evaluate an intervention to raise young women’s economic empowerment in Sierra Leone, where women frequently experience sexual violence and face multiple economic disadvantages. The intervention provides them with a protective space (a club) where they can …nd support, receive information on health/reproductive issues and vocational training. Unexpectedly, the post-baseline period coincided with the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Our analysis leverages quasi-random across-village variation in the severity of Ebola-related disruption, and random assignment of villages to the intervention to document the impact of the Ebola outbreak on the economic lives of 4 700 women tracked over the crisis, and any ameliorating role played by the intervention. In highly disrupted control villages, the crisis leads younger girls to spend signi…cantly more time with men, out-of-wedlock pregnancies rise, and as a result, they experience a persistent 16pp drop in school enrolment post-crisis. These adverse e¤ects are almost entirely reversed in treated villages because the intervention enables young girls to allocate time away from men, preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancies and enabling them to re-enrol in school post-crisis. In treated villages, the unavailability of young women leads some older girls to use transactional sex as a coping strategy. The intervention causes them to increase contraceptive use so this does not translate into higher fertility. Our analysis pinpoints the mechanisms through which the severity of the aggregate shock impacts the economic lives of young women, and shows how interventions in times of crisis can interlink outcomes across younger and older cohorts. JEL Classi…cation: I25, J13, J24.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Redesigning an education project for child friendly radio: a multisectoral collaboration to promote children’s health, education, and human rights after a humanitarian crisis in Sierra Leone - Barnett, Sarah; van Dijk, Jetske; Swaray, Abdulai; Amara, Tamba; Young, Patricia (BMJ, 2018)
Sarah Barnett and colleagues describe how an educational project was rapidly adapted into a radio education programme after the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone

Integrating analyses in mixed methods research - Bazeley, Patricia (SAGE Publications Ltd., 2018)
Integrating Analyses for Mixed Methods Research goes beyond mixed methods research design and data collection, providing a pragmatic discussion of the challenges of effectively integrating data to facilitate a more comprehensive and rigorous level of analysis. Showcasing a range of strategies for integrating different sources and forms of data as well as different approaches in analysis, readers learn to plan, conduct, and disseminate complex analyses with confidence. Key techniques include: . Building an integrative framework . Analyzing sequential, complementary and comparative data . Identifying patterns and contrasts in linked data . Categorizing, counting, and blending mixed data . Managing dissonance and divergence . Transforming analysis into warranted assertions With clear steps that can be tailored to any project, this book is perfect for students and researchers undertaking their own mixed methods research.
Keywords: Methodology; Mixed methods research; Research; Social sciences

Indonesia got schooled: 15 years of rising enrolment and flat learning profiles - Beatty, Amanda; Berkhout, Emilie; Bima, Luhur; Coen, Thomas; Pradhan, Menno; Suryadarma, Daniel (Research on Improving Systems of Education, 2018)

Data analysis methods for qualitative research: managing the challenges of coding, interrater reliability, and thematic analysis. - Belotto, Michael J. (The Qualitative Report, 2018)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Teacher Policies, Incentives, and Labor Markets in Chile, Colombia, and Perú: Implications for Equality - Bertoni, Eleonora; Elacqua, Gregory; Jaimovich, Analía; Rodríguez, Julio; Santos, Humberto (Inter-American Development Bank, 2018)

Preparation and support for teachers in public schools: Reflections on the first year of teaching - Bowsher, A.; Sparks, D.; Hoyer, K.M. (2018)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

The University Research System in Pakistan - British Council (2018)
With the support of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and the British Council, Knowledge Platform conducted in 2018 a seminal research project titled The University Research System

Toward data-driven education systems: Insights into using information to measure results and manage change - Brookings (Brookings Institution, 2018)

Applying the information search process model to analyze aspects in the design of serious games for children with hearing impairment - Cano, Sandra; Alghazzawi, Daniyal M.; Arteaga, Jaime Muñoz; Fardoun, Habib M.; Collazos, César A.; Amador, Viviana Bustos (Universal Access in the Information Society, 2018)
Deaf children traditionally face greater challenges and encounter difficulties particular to their abilities. The Information Search Process model (ISP) is oriented in the context of the present work as a process of searching for information about children with a hearing impairment in the area of literacy, applying the different stages of the ISP model to identify different aspects of hearing impairment. A case study was carried out at the USAER school in Aguascalientes, Mexico, a school that enables children with hearing impairments to be included in regular secondary schooling. The children here are aged 12–15 years and have literacy problems. Eight children from 7 to 11 years of age were also evaluated in the Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Cali, Colombia. The ISP model can be deemed to have been useful for identifying the relevant needs to support both teachers and deaf children. A need was identified, to construct a game that integrates the activities undertaken following the FitzGerald keys and in turn allow them to assess learning through different activities that help increase the semantic repertoire.

Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. - CAST (2018)

Supporting home language reading through technology in rural South Africa - Castillo, Nathan M; Wagner, Daniel A (Journal Articles (Literacy.org), 2018)
This paper describes a short-term longitudinal study in South Africa, with children in grades 1-3, some of whom received a multimedia technology reading support program in one of three home languages and English (through exisiting computer labs in schools). Findings reveal a positive and significant impact on local language reading acquisition among children with multimedia support. The study shows that effective literacy support can help struggling rural learners make significant gains that will help them complete their schooling. The ability to accomplish a full cycle of primary school with fully developed reading skills has significant implications for life-long learning.
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

How behavior spreads: the science of complex contagions - Centola, Damon (Princeton Analytical Sociology Series, 2018)
"A new, counterintuitive theory for how social networks influence the spread of behavior. New social movements, technologies, and public-health initiatives often struggle to take off, yet many diseases disperse rapidly without issue. Can the lessons learned from the viral diffusion of diseases be used to improve the spread of beneficial behaviors and innovations? In How Behavior Spreads, Damon Centola presents over a decade of original research examining how changes in societal behavior--in voting, health, technology, and finance--occur and the ways social networks can be used to influence how they propagate. Centola's startling findings show that the same conditions accelerating the viral expansion of an epidemic unexpectedly inhibit the spread of behaviors. While it is commonly believed that "weak ties"--long-distance connections linking acquaintances--lead to the quicker spread of behaviors, in fact the exact opposite holds true. Centola demonstrates how the most well-known, intuitive ideas about social networks have caused past diffusion efforts to fail, and how such efforts might succeed in the future. Pioneering the use of Web-based methods to understand how changes in people's social networks alter their behaviors, Centola illustrates the ways in which these insights can be applied to solve countless problems of organizational change, cultural evolution, and social innovation. His findings offer important lessons for public health workers, entrepreneurs, and activists looking to harness networks for social change.Practical and informative, How Behavior Spreads is a must-read for anyone interested in how the theory of social networks can transform our world"--Provided by publisher
Keywords: Human behavior

PDIA Toolkit: A DIY Approach to Solving Complex Problems - Centre for International Development (Harvard University, 2018)

The Internal and External Validity of the Regression Discontinuity Design: A Meta-Analysis of 15 Within-Study Comparisons - Chaplin, Duncan D.; Cook, Thomas D.; Zurovac, Jelena; Coopersmith, Jared S.; Finucane, Mariel M.; Vollmer, Lauren N.; Morris, Rebecca E. (Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2018)
Theory predicts that regression discontinuity (RD) provides valid causal inference at the cutoff score that determines treatment assignment. One purpose of this paper is to test RD's internal validity across 15 studies. Each of them assesses the correspondence between causal estimates from an RD study and a randomized control trial (RCT) when the estimates are made at the same cutoff point where they should not differ asymptotically. However, statistical error, imperfect design implementation, and a plethora of different possible analysis options, mean that they might nonetheless differ. We test whether they do, assuming that the bias potential is greater with RDs than RCTs. A second purpose of this paper is to investigate the external validity of RD by exploring how the size of the bias estimates varies across the 15 studies, for they differ in their settings, interventions, analyses, and implementation details. Both Bayesian and frequentist meta-analysis methods show that the RD bias is below 0.01 standard deviations on average, indicating RD's high internal validity. When the study-specific estimates are shrunken to capitalize on the information the other studies provide, all the RD causal estimates fall within 0.07 standard deviations of their RCT counterparts, now indicating high external validity. With unshrunken estimates, the mean RD bias is still essentially zero, but the distribution of RD bias estimates is less tight, especially with smaller samples and when parametric RD analyses are used.

Access and use of internet in teaching and learning at two selected teachers’ colleges in Tanzania - Chirwa, Mussa (International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2018)
Recently, the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is inevitable especially in improving education system. It is on the basis of this reality that this paper investigated access and use of Internet in teaching and learning in teachers’ colleges (TCs), basing on two selected colleges in Tanzania. The results indicate that the majority (83.2%) of respondents used the Internet for academic purposes, 61.3% used it for searching news and 50% for communication, slightly more than a half (52%) of the respondents were using Internet for games and entertainments while only (43%) used it for social network. However, the frequency of using internet for academic purposes is not convincing as only 12.5% of the respondents used it daily. There is also limited access to internet and ICT facilities in these teachers’ colleges in Tanzania. It is therefore, concluded that the parent ministry in co-operation with college principals should improve Internet access and use in TCs by ensuring that there is good access to ICT facilities that offers internet services, tutors are well trained on ICTs basics and information literacy, and that the ratio of tutors and student-teachers to computers and other ICTs available in their colleges is improved.
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

A framework for evaluating appropriateness of educational technology use in global development programs - CITE (Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Education) (Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Education (CITE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2018)

'Staggering' trade in fake degrees revealed - Clifton, Helen; Chapman, Matthew; Cox, Simon (2018)

Assessing the Impacts of Literacy Learning Games for Syrian Refugee Children: An executive overview of Antura and the Letters and Feed the Monster Impact Evaluations - Comings, J (Resource Centre, 2018)
Keywords: RER theme_pedagogies and modalities

Evaluation of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) – Literacy and Numeracy Education Support (LANES) program in Tanzania (2014–2018) - Connal, Criana; Strath, Annelie; Dihenga, Khalid (Global Partnership for Education (GPE), 2018)

Policy Paper on Punjab Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) Award - CPDI (2018)

Worldwide inequality and poverty in cognitive results: Cross-sectional evidence and time-based trends - Crouch, Luis; Gustafsson, Martin (University of Oxford, 2018)

A Meta-analysis of the Peer Evaluation Effects on Learning Achievements in Blended Learning Environment - Cui, Papan; Zheng, Lanqin (International Conference on Blended Learning, 2018)

6 key insights into the data and information education leaders want most - Custer, Samantha; King, Elizabeth; Atinc, Tamar Manuelyan; Read, Lindsay; Sethi, Tanya (Brookings Institute, 2018)
Researchers summarize their new analysis of two unique global surveys that assess the use of data and evidence by education leaders in developing countries.

Toward data-driven education systems: Insights into using information to measure results and manage change - Custer, Samantha; King, Elizabeth; Atinc, Tamar Manuelyan; Read, Lindsay; Sethi, Tanya (Brookings Institute, 2018)

Inequality as higher education goes online - Czerniewicz, Laura (Springer, 2018)

For children with disabilities in Nigeria, educational opportunities remain scant - Dark, Shayera (Devex, 2018)

Wrapping of a Social Innovation MOOC - Deacon, Andrew; Jaffer, Tasneem; Jawitz, Jeff; Small, Janet; Walji, Sukaina (Academic Conferences and publishing limited, 2018)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

How is E-Learning helping to combat Southeast Asia teacher shortage? - Debroy, Ananya (2018)