Feasibility Study of Teacher Training and Technological Innovation on Childhood Development under a Nationwide Home Visiting Programme in Ecuador

Last registered on June 13, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Feasibility Study of Teacher Training and Technological Innovation on Childhood Development under a Nationwide Home Visiting Programme in Ecuador
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010767
Initial registration date
January 12, 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
January 23, 2023, 6:04 AM EST

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

Last updated
June 13, 2023, 4:31 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ecuador
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Gabriella Conti
Affiliation
University College London
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Zelee Hill
PI Affiliation
University College London
PI Name
Pamela Jervis
PI Affiliation
University of Chile
PI Name
Sweta Gupta
PI Affiliation
University College London
PI Name
Julieta Vera Rueda
PI Affiliation
University College London

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-02-07
End date
2023-08-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Behaviour, Early Childhood, Monitoring, Nudges, Teacher professional development, Field experiment
JEL code(s)
C93, D90, I28, J13
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The goal of preschool education is to support children’s cognitive, physical, and socioemotional development, providing a safe and nurturing environment for young children to learn and interact with their peers. However, estimates indicate that 250 million children (43%) younger than 5 years in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential due, in part, due to inadequate and inequitable access to preschools. In Ecuador, 60% of the children aged 3 to 4 years old remained unenrolled in 2020-21. Recognising the lack of access to public preschools and additionally the lack of motivation among parents to send their child to preschools, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education (MoE) launched a programme to provide regular home visits to ‘vulnerable’ families in 2018. Our study aims at supporting the MoE in improving the quality of the programme through professional development, technology-aided monitoring and motivational nudges. This project will evaluate if these programme improvements are viable and acceptable using a cluster randomised feasibility study in the Sierra region of Ecuador.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Conti, Gabriella et al. 2023. "Feasibility Study of Teacher Training and Technological Innovation on Childhood Development under a Nationwide Home Visiting Programme in Ecuador ." AEA RCT Registry. June 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10767-2.2
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-03-01
Intervention End Date
2023-07-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Pre-literacy and Pre-Numeracy using IDELA, Language development using TVIP, Executive functioning using IDELA and Delay-Choice Test, Child Development (caregiver report) using ECDI.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Other child development impacts: Motor skills using IDELA, Socio-emotional development using IDELA, parent-reported SDQ and self-portrait, Social preferences; Intervention take-up: participation in training sessions by teachers, tracking usage of the digital MIS by teachers and supervisors; Pathways to impact: teachers' knowledge, and professional and personal well-being, caregivers' self-efficacy, interaction with the child, and home learning environment.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomisation will occur in the 48 districts of the Sierra regime. 48 districts have been purposively sampled (out of 60 districts) using the criteria that the district has the SAFPI programme running for at least one academic year prior to the start of the study. The 48 study districts will be stratified by their size in terms of number of teachers per district, and on the number of 'new' teachers per district with no previous experience within the programme. After stratification, equal number of districts will be assigned to 2 arms (Treatment=improved programme and Control=standard programme).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer, using Stata
Randomization Unit
District
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
48 Districts
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 341 teachers (all teachers operating in the 48 districts), 1607 children, and 1607 biological mothers/primary caregivers.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment=24 districts, Control=24 districts
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.21-0.25 SD units
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comité de Ética de la Investigación en Seres Humanos, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador
IRB Approval Date
2022-09-02
IRB Approval Number
PV-21-2022, V2
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