Harnessing Education For Climate Action – A Randomized Experiment in Bangladesh secondary schools

Last registered on May 11, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Harnessing Education For Climate Action – A Randomized Experiment in Bangladesh secondary schools
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011254
Initial registration date
August 02, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 10, 2023, 12:57 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
May 11, 2024, 9:40 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
World Bank

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-03-19
End date
2024-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study will explore the effectiveness of delivering climate change education in schools, using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Bangladesh. The primary objective is to examine the impact of two information interventions on students' and teachers' climate change knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to take action against climate change. Another goal is to investigate whether enhanced climate change awareness leads to greater interest in and pursuit of STEM fields.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Molina, Teresa and Shwetlena Sabarwal. 2024. "Harnessing Education For Climate Action – A Randomized Experiment in Bangladesh secondary schools." AEA RCT Registry. May 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11254-3.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Light-touch intervention (at baseline): Delivery of an audio-visual message and an informative pamphlet on climate change to students and teachers in the treatment schools. The video will be in the local language (Bangla) and specific to Bangladesh's own climate crisis.

Intensive intervention (at midline): Distribution of a climate change information booklet to students in treatment schools, along with the announcement of a reward for top performers in a test to be conducted in the future (intended to provide incentives for students to read and absorb the material). The booklet will provide information about the climate crisis, along with an emphasis on how science can be used to find creative solutions or mitigation strategies.

Intervention Start Date
2023-10-15
Intervention End Date
2024-05-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Students' knowledge about and attitudes towards climate change.
2. Students’ interest in and pursuit of STEM.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Migration intentions, school dropout
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will be testing two interventions – one light-touch information intervention at baseline and one more intensive intervention at midline. Therefore, the 140 schools in our sample will be randomized into four groups: one with no intervention at all, one that receives only the light-touch intervention, one that receives only the intensive intervention, and one that receives both.

During the baseline, surveys will be administered to students and teachers in all participating schools. The student survey aims to assess their understanding of climate change and collect background information, while a written math assessment will be conducted. Additionally, the teacher survey will gather data on their background and knowledge of climate change. Following the baseline, the light-touch treatment group schools will be shown a climate change video and receive an informative pamphlet on combatting climate change. The remaining schools will not receive any intervention.

At midline, we will administer surveys to all schools again. In addition, students in the intensive treatment schools will receive a booklet providing information about the climate crisis, along with an emphasis on how science can be used to find creative solutions or mitigation strategies. In order to provide incentives for students to read and absorb the material, we will announce a test on the material to be conducted about 2 months later. Top performers on this test will receive a reward.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in the office by a computer.
1. A division in Bangladesh was first randomly selected.
2. All the randomly selected districts were tagged high or low according to their climate change risk exposure.
3. One district from each high and low-risk exposure was then randomly selected.
4. 70 schools from the selected districts were randomly drawn and equally split into four groups:
- Pure control group: receive no intervention (17 schools)
- Light-touch only group: receive light-touch intervention only (17 schools)
- Intensive only group: receive intensive intervention only (18 schools)
- Both group: receive both interventions (18 schools)
Randomization Unit
Schools
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
140 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
5664 students and 560 teachers surveyed at baseline
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
70 control schools, 70 treatment schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institute of Health Economics University of Dhaka
IRB Approval Date
2023-04-08
IRB Approval Number
IHE/IRB/DU/19/2023/Final
Analysis Plan

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