Cluster Randomised Evaluation of Teacher Training and Technology-enabled Monitoring and Support on Childhood Development in Home Visiting at Scale

Last registered on August 10, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cluster Randomised Evaluation of Teacher Training and Technology-enabled Monitoring and Support on Childhood Development in Home Visiting at Scale
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011908
Initial registration date
August 09, 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
August 10, 2023, 1:42 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ecuador
Region
Costa

Primary Investigator

Name
Gabriella Conti
Affiliation
University College London
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Julieta Vera Rueda
PI Affiliation
University College London
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Pamela Jervis
PI Affiliation
University of Chile
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-08-14
End date
2024-04-15
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Early Childhood, Home Visiting, Monitoring, Messages, 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 socio-emotional 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. In our study we collaborate with the MoE to improve the quality of this programme through professional development, technology-aided monitoring, and support for both teachers and parents. The evaluation will test if these programme improvements lead to an increase in child development outcomes using a cluster randomised control trial.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Conti, Gabriella, Pamela Jervis and Julieta Vera Rueda. 2023. "Cluster Randomised Evaluation of Teacher Training and Technology-enabled Monitoring and Support on Childhood Development in Home Visiting at Scale." AEA RCT Registry. August 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11908-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-13
Intervention End Date
2024-03-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Pre-literacy and Pre-Numeracy using IDELA, Language development using TVIP, Executive functioning using IDELA, and ECDI
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Other child development impacts: Motor skills using IDELA, Socio-emotional development using IDELA and parent-reported SDQ, Social preferences, Mental health; 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 47 districts of the Costa regime. 47 districts have been purposively sampled (out of 58 districts). A total of 5 districted were excluded from the evaluation due to security concerns. The 47 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 on Stata
Randomization Unit
District
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
47 Districts
Sample size: planned number of observations
47 Districts
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment=24 districts, Control=23 districts
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.23-0.29 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
2023-07-17
IRB Approval Number
PV21-2023, V4
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