Distance Learning for Marginalized Girls in Ghana

Last registered on June 27, 2014
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Distance Learning for Marginalized Girls in Ghana
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000128
First published
June 27, 2014, 4:09 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ghana
Region
Volta & Greater Accra

Primary Investigator

Name
Christopher Ksoll
Affiliation
Mathematica Policy Research
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2013-11-01
End date
2016-12-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Recent efforts to increase primary school education enrollment in developing countries have been very successful, yet major challenges persist in improving the quality of educational outcomes. In sub-Saharan Africa, high drop out rates, especially for girls, as well as student and teacher absenteeism are major impediments to learning. Many students, especially low-income children in rural areas, miss so much school due to family obligations that they become chronic repeaters. This study assesses the impact of a program that aims to improve student retention and the learning outcomes for marginalized pupils in Ghana through distance learning and an after-school girls’ empowerment program.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ksoll, Christopher. 2014. "Distance Learning for Marginalized Girls in Ghana." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.128-1.0
Former Citation
Ksoll, Christopher. 2014. "Distance Learning for Marginalized Girls in Ghana." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/128/history/1977
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The Making Ghana Girls Great (MGCubed) program, implemented by the Global Education Management System (GEMS), is based on the premise that diminished learning time, due to high rates of teacher and student absenteeism, contributes to low learning levels, and that a lack of female role models contributes to a high drop out rate for girls.

The program introduces distance learning and after-school girls club called the Wonder Women, both led by facilitators from the community, most of them female. Researchers will evaluate the impact of the distance learning program and the after-school program on learning outcomes. The program targets marginalized boys and girls aged 7-14 who are currently enrolled in school, and girls who have dropped out of school or never attended school. The marginalized pupils are defined as those who are above the average age for their class, those who have more than five siblings, who walk more than 30 minutes to reach school, or who have a history of not attending school.

70 will receive the intervention program. Within the 70 treatment schools, 80 students will receive the in-school component, and 40 of those students who are girls, plus 10 out-of-school girls, will participate in the after-school Wonder Women program. All students are randomly selected from lists of marginalized pupils from each school.
Intervention Start Date
2014-06-01
Intervention End Date
2016-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Literacy and math test scores from EGRA/EGMA test; literacy and math test scores from TCAI test; empowerment indicators from questionnaire.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
150 schools were randomly selected from a population of eligible schools. Treatment status was randomly assigned to 70 schools (leaving 80 control schools). Respondents were randomly selected based on criteria to identify marginalization.Respondents will be surveyed at baseline, midline and endline to measure the impact of the program.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in Stata
Randomization Unit
At school level to select treatment schools.
Students were selected into the program based on eligibility criteria, stratified by gender. If multiple students met the criteria, then they were selected at random.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
150 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
9000 pupils
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 schools and 55 students per school
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Ottawa
IRB Approval Date
2013-08-01
IRB Approval Number
06-13-36
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