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Field
Abstract
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Before
The objective of the project is to evaluate the impact of a mentoring program for young people at risk of social exclusion on their access to and permanence in university. Educational achievement is key to social inclusion, economic mobility and the ability to develop a life project free of poverty. However, both access and educational success in post-compulsory studies tend to reproduce the educational capital of young people's homes. Barriers to university education are greater if, in addition to income and family educational capital, factors such as ethnic origin, nationality or single-parent families are taken into account. Scientific evidence based on international university transition support activities and programs suggests that individual support and guidance have a significant impact on preventing dropout and promoting success.
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After
The project aims to understand the impact of mentoring programs on high school students in Catalonia, Spain, with a focus on their performance and persistence in tertiary education. Additionally, it investigates the disparities in outcomes between being paired with a volunteer mentor versus an educational technician (ET). Employing randomized controlled trials at two levels – first at the school level and then within pairs of individuals – the project seeks to evaluate short and medium-term educational outcomes. These outcomes include persistence in tertiary education and career satisfaction. Volunteers, typically university students or graduates residing in Spain, offer firsthand experience, while ETs oversee pairs and provide mentorship. By assessing the effects of these interventions, the project aims to offer insights into effective strategies for improving educational equity and career outcomes. It considers varying approaches and resource allocations between volunteer and professional mentors.
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Trial End Date
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Before
March 31, 2024
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After
July 31, 2024
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Last Published
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Before
December 15, 2023 01:19 PM
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After
February 15, 2024 07:43 AM
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Intervention (Public)
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Before
The study seeks to find the causal impact of a social mentoring program that offers advice and follow-up to young people at risk of social exclusion to access and remain in university. This is done through a cluster randomized trial at the school level.
The intervention consists of offering a mentoring program to students in their final year of high school and higher education from schools serving disadvantaged populations. The mentors, university students who will voluntarily participate in the project, will receive training to explain their specific functions, what is expected of them and the protocols to be followed. They will also be provided with information and support material to carry out the mentoring and to be able to accompany the young people properly.
Mentors will be matched to students at the beginning of march and will continue their mentoring activities at least until the end of the first trimester in college.
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After
The study seeks to find the causal impact of a social mentoring program that offers advice and follow-up to young people at risk of social exclusion to access and remain in university. This is done through a cluster randomized trial at the school level.
The intervention consists of offering a mentoring program to students in their final year of high school and higher education from schools serving disadvantaged populations. The mentors, university students who will voluntarily participate in the project, will receive training to explain their specific functions, what is expected of them and the protocols to be followed. They will also be provided with information and support material to carry out the mentoring and to be able to accompany the young people properly.
Mentors will be matched to students at the en of April and will continue their mentoring activities at least until the end of the first trimester in college.
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Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
GPA in high school, enrolment (captured either by admi records or by the fraction of students who pass the university entrance exam) and dropout (proxied by the fraction of students that pass at least one subject in the first trimester).
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After
GPA in high school, Availability of financia support, enrolment (captured either by admi records or by the fraction of students who pass the university entrance exam), engagement in the studies of choice and dropout (proxied by passing at least one subject in the first trimester).
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Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
GPA in high school should be increase if student are more motivated to continue studying (both because of increased intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). Enrolment into university as captured either directly through administrative records obtained from the unversity or through passing the university entrance exam, which is information that shall be obtained from schools. Finally retention, or lack of dropout, will be proxied by having passed at least one subject in the first term.
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After
GPA in high school should be increase if student are more motivated to continue studying (both because of increased intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). Enrolment into university as captured either directly through administrative records obtained from the unversity or through passing the university entrance exam, which is information that shall be obtained from schools. We will capture engagement in the chosen studies by looking at attendance and having taken exams. Finally retention, or lack of dropout, will be proxied by having passed at least one subject in the first term.
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Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
This study is a clustered randomized controlled trial where the unit of randomization is the school (last year year of high school or vocational education previous to college). The recruited sample is a set of voluntary schools. In total there are 130 schools in the Catalunya region recruited for the study. We shall randomly assign 65 schools to treatment and 65 to control. Individuals in the treated schools will receive the option of being matched to a mentor starting in the spring and until the end of the natural year.
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After
This study is a clustered randomized controlled trial at two levels. The first unit of randomization is the school (last year year of high school or vocational education previous to college) and the second in the students that applied to the mentoring program. The recruited sample is a set of voluntary schools. In total there are 130 schools in the Catalunya region recruited for the study. We shall randomly assign 65 schools to treatment and 65 to control. Individuals in the treated schools that have signed up for the program will be pari-wise randomised into getting a volunteer mentor or a professional one (educational technician).
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