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Do role models increase student hope and effort? Evidence from India

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  • Prateek Chandra Bhan

Abstract

This paper offers experimental evidence on the significance of role-models on fostering hope, increasing effort and improving the academic performance of primary school students in India. Students from private schools were individually randomised to a treatment or a placebo group. Treated students watch a short film produced as a part of the experiment in Jaipur, Rajasthan - the study location. The placebo group students watch a television show for kids, 'Malgudi Days'. I find a 0.17 standard deviation (s.d.) increase in student hope and 0.25 s.d increase in their effort, immediately after the intervention. The one-off treatment leads to a 0.16 s.d. increase on standardised test scores in English, six-weeks after the intervention. Along with hope, I find significant improvements in students' self-efficacy or optimism and happiness. A cost-effectiveness analysis highlights role-models as a promising treatment intervention tool that can have an effect on student motivation and their learning outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Prateek Chandra Bhan, 2020. "Do role models increase student hope and effort? Evidence from India," Working Papers 2021_01, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    • Handle: RePEc:gla:glaewp:2021_01
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anderson, Michael L., 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 103(484), pages 1481-1495.
    2. Sarah Baird & Craig McIntosh & Berk Özler, 2011. "Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(4), pages 1709-1753.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gehrke, Esther & Lenel, Friederike & Schupp, Claudia, 2022. "Interest exploration and investments in education: Experimental evidence from Cambodia," OSF Preprints k6tqr, Center for Open Science.
    2. Bhan, Prateek Chandra & Wen, Jinglin, 2024. "Role models among us: Experimental evidence on inspirations and gender disparities set in stones," Working Papers 39, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
    3. Cecchi, Francesco & Garcia, Adriana & Lensink, Robert & Wydick, Bruce, 2022. "Aspirational hope, dairy farming practices, and milk production: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Esther Gehrke & Friederike Lenel & Claudia Schupp, 2023. "Occupational Aspirations and Investments in Education: Experimental Evidence from Cambodia," CESifo Working Paper Series 10608, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Role models; hope; effort; education; primary school; India.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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