Mentorship and Role Modeling: Evidence from High School Students in Saudi Arabia

Last registered on July 05, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Mentorship and Role Modeling: Evidence from High School Students in Saudi Arabia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011351
Initial registration date
May 31, 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
June 06, 2023, 3:58 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 05, 2023, 10:46 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Alessandra Gonzalez
Affiliation
University of Chicago
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jennifer Peck
PI Affiliation
Swarthmore College
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PI Name
Inmaculada Macias-Alonso
PI Affiliation
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2019-02-13
End date
2028-10-01
Keywords
Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Development
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
The labor market in Saudi Arabia has changed dramatically over the past twenty years, with rapid
increases in women’s employment in the private sector. We investigate the role of mentoring in helping
female high school students navigate this new economic reality. We use a random- priority invitation
design to estimate the effects of an after-school formal mentoring program for high school
students in Riyadh. The program provides training and mentoring aimed at supporting students in
completing high school and making informed post-graduation plans. The study investigates the impact
of the program on the educational and career aspirations of participants.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gonzalez, Alessandra, Inmaculada Macias-Alonso and Jennifer Peck. 2023. "Mentorship and Role Modeling: Evidence from High School Students in Saudi Arabia." AEA RCT Registry. July 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11351-1.3
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We use a random-priority invitation design to estimate the effects of an after-school formal mentoring program for low-income high school students in Riyadh.
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-15
Intervention End Date
2028-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The study investigates the impact of the program on the educational and career aspirations of participants. Our primary outcomes of interest include whether participation in the program is associated with effects on willingness to work, attain additional training or internships, further study, graduate from high school or stay at home (unemployed) after high school graduation.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
A secondary outcome of interest is whether heterogeneous support from family members, including siblings participating in the same mentoring program, moderate the impact of the program on plans after high school graduation (including willingness to work, attain additional training or internships, further study, graduate from high school or stay at home).

.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We use a random-priority invitation design to estimate the effects of an after-school formal mentoring program for low-income high school students in Riyadh.

We partnered with a non-profit organization in Riyadh to embed our study in their routine data collection and evaluation research program in order to evaluate their mentoring program for high school students. Our pilot study used the same random-priority invitation design when the program was limited to female students. We therefore base our expanded full study on the pilot but evaluate the program as expanded to include male high school students as well.

Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 60 students will be surveyed every year for about 5 years.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We plan to collect data on about 60 students over 5 years for around 300 students total.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 students
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Our power calculations are based the results of the pilot study conducted in 2019. In the pilot we began with a baseline of 61 candidates our partner had identified as eligible to fill 19 open spots in the mentoring program. We randomized invitation priority among this group, and our partner extended invitations in this random-priority order. After approximately 40% attrition between baseline and endline we completed the study with a sample of 31 matched responses from girls in the randomized priority group. Our pilot started with 51 candidates who completed the baseline survey. At the same scale it would take six to seven years of enrollment to detect the desired effect size across all outcomes. Between efforts to expand the sample and reaching less conservative targets we are expecting that five years would be enough data collection for all variables of interest.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The University of Chicago
IRB Approval Date
2019-02-13
IRB Approval Number
IRB19-0087
Analysis Plan