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Does Effective School Leadership Improve Student Progression and Test Scores? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Malawi

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  • Salman Asim
  • Stefan Dercon
  • Ravinder Gera Casley
  • Donna Harris

Abstract

Evidence from high-income countries suggests that the quality of school leadership has measurable impacts on teacher behaviors and student learning achievement. However, there is a lack of rigorous evidence in low-income contexts, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study tests the impact on student progression and test scores of a two-year, multi-phase intervention to strengthen leadership skills for head teachers, deputy head teachers, and sub-district education officials. The intervention consists of two phases of classroom training along with follow-up visits, implemented over two years. It focuses on skills related to making more efficient use of resources; motivating and incentivizing teachers to improve performance; and curating a culture in which students and teachers are all motivated to strengthen learning. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 1,198 schools in all districts of Malawi, providing evidence of the impact of the intervention at scale. The findings show that the intervention improved student test scores by 0.1 standard deviations, equivalent to around eight weeks of additional learning, as well as improving progression rates. The outcomes were achieved primarily as a result of improvements in the provision of remedial classes.

Suggested Citation

  • Salman Asim & Stefan Dercon & Ravinder Gera Casley & Donna Harris, 2024. "Does Effective School Leadership Improve Student Progression and Test Scores? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Malawi," CSAE Working Paper Series 2024-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
  • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2024-05
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education Quality; Primary School; Education Policy; Field Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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