Promoting Literacy Through Cognitive Science: Experimental evidence from the United Arab Emirates

Last registered on June 30, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Promoting Literacy Through Cognitive Science: Experimental evidence from the United Arab Emirates

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0014676

Initial registration date

November 05, 2024

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

November 15, 2024, 1:29 PM EST

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

Last updated

June 30, 2025, 1:35 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United Arab Emirates

Region

Ras Al Khaimah

Primary Investigator

Name

Todd Pugatch

Affiliation

University at Buffalo

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Anett John

PI Affiliation

University of Birmingham

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2024-09-30

End date

2025-05-30

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

early grade literacy; cognitive science; Arabic literacy; United Arab Emirates; perceptual learning

JEL code(s)

I21, O22

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

We evaluate a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in the United Arab Emirates of an innovative early-grade literacy curriculum based on insights from cognitive science studies on language acquisition. A key problem faced by Arabic speakers learning to read, particularly those from poorer households, is the difference between the (origin-specific) Arabic dialects used at home and the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) used for instruction. This Arabic diglossia (use of two language varieties) leads students in the Arab world to view MSA as a foreign language (Eviatar and Ibrahim, 2014) and reduces interest in learning. We test a newly developed reading and oral grammar MSA curriculum called Iqra (derived from the Arabic word for “read”) for students entering primary school. Iqra relies on perceptual and statistical learning of language to help students detect visual patterns and probabilistic structure in MSA that they would not learn at home. Practice and systematic repetition of analogic, predictable patterns help transfer information into implicit memory, which is durable and facilitates automaticity (Abadzi and Martelli, 2014; Abadzi, 2018). The curriculum has shown promise in a pilot study in the United Arab Emirates. This study will test the program in a full-scale RCT, including impact on literacy and measurement of the underlying cognitive processes hypothesized in the theory of change.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

John, Anett and Todd Pugatch. 2025. "Promoting Literacy Through Cognitive Science: Experimental evidence from the United Arab Emirates." AEA RCT Registry. June 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14676-1.1

Sponsors & Partners

Partner

Name

Al Qasimi Foundation

Type

ngo

URL

https://www.alqasimifoundation.com/

Name

J-PAL MENA

Type

ngo

URL

https://www.povertyactionlab.org/middle-east-and-north-africa

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Iqra is an early grade Arabic literacy curriculum. The curriculum applies insights from cognitive science to instruction of Arabic for beginning readers. Practice and systematic repetition of analogic, predictable patterns help transfer information into implicit memory, which is durable and facilitates automaticity (Abadzi and Martelli, 2014; Abadzi, 2018).

Intervention (Hidden)

Iqra innovates by attending to letter size and spacing whereas other programs tend toward visual distractors that interfere with learning the letters and their sounds. Practice and systematic repetition of analogic, predictable patterns (i.e., statistical learning) intend to transfer the information into implicit memory.

Iqra differs from traditional approaches to Arabic literacy in several ways:
1. Letter by letter instruction: The Iqra textbook does not introduce the letters in alphabetical order; it begins with letters which have less complex orthographic shapes to recognize. The Iqra textbook introduces only one new letter per lesson and builds onto previously taught
letters.
2. Omission of pictures: intended to remove distractors from the text
3. Large and spaced letters: Letters and words in the Iqra textbook are printed in large font size, and there is much spacing between letters.
4. Extensive practice and feedback: The Iqra textbook has three pages of individual practice for each lesson. On these pages, the different shapes of each letter are introduced then combined with other previously introduced letters. When letters have been introduced, they appear
in proceeding exercises as words. As more words are practiced, students read short, simple sentences.
5. Focus on decoding and reading: The Iqra textbook focuses on the reading skill only. There are no writing exercises.

Intervention Start Date

2024-10-21

Intervention End Date

2025-05-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Literacy: modified Arabic version of Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGMA)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Student perceptual learning
Curricular implementation
Teaching quality

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Cluster RCT. The unit of randomization is the classroom. Primary school classrooms are randomly assigned to Iqra or control. Control classrooms receive only the business as usual approach to Arabic literacy. We stratify random assignment by school. Half of a school's classrooms designated for the study are randomly assigned to Iqra, half to control. Classrooms consist of first grade or kindergarten students, depending on the school. Control classrooms receive the standard version of Arabic literacy.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office using Stata

Randomization Unit

classrooms

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

83 classrooms (spread across 26 schools)

Sample size: planned number of observations

target: 83 classrooms * 15 students = 1,245 students. In practice, the number of students will be smaller, because not all classrooms have 15 students.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

42 classrooms treatment, 41 classrooms control

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

MDE for primary outcome (literacy) in sd units = 0.25. Assumptions: 5% test size, 80% power, 83 classrooms (42T/41C), 15 students/classroom, ICC = 0.2, control sd = 0.8 (to account for precision gains from baseline)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB