Testing and scaling-up supply- and demand-side interventions to improve Kindergarten educational quality in Ghana

Last registered on June 10, 2015
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Testing and scaling-up supply- and demand-side interventions to improve Kindergarten educational quality in Ghana
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000704
Initial registration date
June 10, 2015

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
June 10, 2015, 4:38 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ghana
Region
Greater Accra Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Sharon Wolf
Affiliation
New York University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jere Behrman
PI Affiliation
University of Pennsylvania`
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PI Name
J. Lawrence Aber
PI Affiliation
New York University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2015-06-08
End date
2017-06-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Eary childhood, teacher training
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study investigates supply- and demand-side approaches to improving the quality of Kindergarten education in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Specifically, we investigate how a teacher in-service training program with monitoring and feedback follow-up affects teacher practices, classroom quality, and child learning. In addition, we investigate if the impacts are enhanced when implemented alongside a parental awareness program about early childhood development and learning. This research project consists of a randomized controlled trial where 240 schools (from both private and public sector) will be assigned to the (1) in-service teacher-training program only; (2) in-service teacher-training program plus parental awareness program; or (3) control condition. The experiment will be carried out during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years, and students and teachers will be tracked for two years. The study will compare implementation challenges in public and private schools, and examine several important sources of potential heterogeneity of impact, including public vs. private sector schools and various child characteristics. The project will improve understanding of how to improve the teaching skills and capacities for Kindergarten teachers in Ghana and in other contexts that have a largely untrained teacher workforce, in a scalable and sustainable fashion.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Aber, J. Lawrence, Jere Behrman and Sharon Wolf. 2015. "Testing and scaling-up supply- and demand-side interventions to improve Kindergarten educational quality in Ghana." AEA RCT Registry. June 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.704-1.0
Former Citation
Aber, J. Lawrence, Jere Behrman and Sharon Wolf. 2015. "Testing and scaling-up supply- and demand-side interventions to improve Kindergarten educational quality in Ghana." AEA RCT Registry. June 10. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/704/history/4402
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
(1) In-service teacher training, followed by 2 refresher trainings, plus monitoring and feedback visits; (2) Parental awareness program involving a video, pamphlet and discussion about early childhood development and education, and administered through school PTA meetings.
Intervention Start Date
2015-09-15
Intervention End Date
2016-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
(1) Child learning and development (both “cognitive” and “non-cognitive” outcomes), (2) classroom quality and teacher well-being (considered the mediating mechanisms through which impacts on children would occur), and (3) parental perceptions and knowledge of early childhood development and education.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized control trial
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Schools
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
240 schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
480 teachers, 3600 children, 3600 parents
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
80 school control; 80 schools teacher training; 80 schools teacher training + parental awareness program
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Innovations for Poverty Action IRB
IRB Approval Date
2015-06-02
IRB Approval Number
#1328
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials