Impacts of assignment of subject-specific teachers on learning outcomes in elementary schools

Last registered on May 19, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impacts of assignment of subject-specific teachers on learning outcomes in elementary schools
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011420
Initial registration date
May 16, 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
May 19, 2023, 10:40 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Kengo Igei
Affiliation
Keio University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Makiko Nakamuro
PI Affiliation
Keio University
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PI Name
Chien Le Quang
PI Affiliation
Keio University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-05-08
End date
2024-09-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
C93, I21, J24, J45
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Elementary school students have been taught so far in almost all subjects by a single teacher under class-based teacher assignments. Recently, the introduction of subject-based teacher assignments is widely discussed for the purpose of in-depth instruction by teachers with expertise in subject and reduction of teacher workload in Japan. Theoretically, the comparative advantage of subject-based teacher assignments is considered to increase educational effectiveness. Previous empirical studies, however, showed non-significant or adverse effects on learning outcomes. Thus, the impacts of subject-based teacher assignments remain unclear. This study, with the cooperation of a board of education of a prefecture in Japan, attempts to examine assignment of new part-time teachers specialized in math and science on learning outcomes in elementary schools, using a randomized control trial.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Le Quang, Chien, Kengo Igei and Makiko Nakamuro. 2023. "Impacts of assignment of subject-specific teachers on learning outcomes in elementary schools ." AEA RCT Registry. May 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11420-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study randomly assigns new part-time teachers specializing in math or science to the forth grade classes in public elementary schools in a prefecture in Japan. There are three treatment status; the first treatment group is assigned with new part-time teachers specializing in math, the second treatment group is assigned with those specializing in science, and the other is the control group without any new part-time teachers.
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-01
Intervention End Date
2024-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Test scores in math and science, attitudes toward learning, and study habits
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Test scores of Japanese language as spillover effect
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study adopted a stratified, three-arm, cluster randomized control trial. In selecting the target schools for this study, we first selected 60 public elementary schools with relatively low performance for each of the 5 regional education offices in the prefecture based on data from the national learning achievement survey in the 2022 school year, and whose 4th grade class sizes were 4 or less in the 2023 school year. This selection criterion followed the request of the board of education of the prefecture. Then, among the selected schools, we randomly selected 4 schools per regional education office each that would be assigned math teachers("1st treatment group"), 4 schools that were assigned science teachers ("2nd treatment group"), and 4 schools that were assigned neither teachers ("control group"), for a total of 12 schools per regional education office.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
School
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
60 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
2,500 pupils
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
20 schools control, 20 schools assigned with teachers specializing in math, 20 schools with teachers specializing in science
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Keio University SFC Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-31
IRB Approval Number
475
Analysis Plan