EQIP Science and Mathematics Teacher Training in Belize

Last registered on May 07, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
EQIP Science and Mathematics Teacher Training in Belize
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002959
Initial registration date
May 04, 2018

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 07, 2018, 7:37 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University Research and Evaluation
PI Affiliation
Center for Advanced Analytics @ BREIN

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2014-09-01
End date
2019-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The overall objective of the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) is to improve the quality of primary education by improving the skills of Belize's teachers in mathematics, science and language arts. To achieve the objective, half of the country's teaching force has been trained in classroom practices that use an inquiry- and problem-based (IPB) pedagogy. This approach is a sharp departure from the pedagogy previously used, which was predominantly teacher-centered and did not actively engage students in activities that may help them develop analytical and critical-thinking skills. A randomized control trial reveals that the IPB produces learning gains for students in all three subject areas.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Naslund-Hadley, Emma, Miguel Paredes and Roy Young. 2018. "EQIP Science and Mathematics Teacher Training in Belize." AEA RCT Registry. May 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2959-1.0
Former Citation
Naslund-Hadley, Emma, Miguel Paredes and Roy Young. 2018. "EQIP Science and Mathematics Teacher Training in Belize." AEA RCT Registry. May 07. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2959/history/29193
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Roughly half of Belize's primary education teachers and students are benefitting from the EQIP program, which is based on Inquiry- and Problem-Based (IPB) learning. IPB learning creates active problem-solving opportunities where students learn by collaboratively solving real life problems, developing explanations, and communicating ideas. Students are taught to search for information from different sources both text-based resources and own data gathering, and to develop problem-solving skills through research projects. The child’s thinking is made visible through the formulation of research questions, as well as the production and collection of evidence. The approach includes important elements of explicit instruction and scaffolding. Teachers facilitate learning by guiding students through a series of steps and explicitly relate learning to students’ prior knowledge and experiences. They provide structure and scaffolding to help students do more complex activities by not only helping students to do the activity, but comprehend why they are doing it and how it fits is related to the set of core concepts that they are exploring.
Intervention Start Date
2015-09-01
Intervention End Date
2019-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Teacher content knowledge and student achievement in Math, Science and English.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The evaluation measures the impact of the IPB program on in-service teachers’ content knowledge of Math, Science, and English subjects and on students’ academic outcomes in those same subjects.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
EQIP is being evaluated through a RCT, which requires that both treatment and control schools be surveyed. The evaluation include collection of a baseline in 2014; follow-up data in 2016, 2017 and 2018; and an endline surveys in 2019. The instruments include teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge tests, as well as student achievement tests in Math, Science, and English.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization was done in the office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
The randomization was done at the school level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The planned number of clusters was 230 primary schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Some 30,000 students.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The actual sample size is 244 primary schools (115 treated and 129 control) with some 30,000 students.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The needed sample size to ensure an 80% statistical power (beta = 0.20) with a significance level (alpha) of 0.05, was estimated as 230 schools (115 Treatment, 115 Control), a minimal detectable effect (MDE) of 0.20, and considering an intra-cluster correlation – rho - of 0.25 (consistent with the rho in other educational training programs).
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institute for Social and Cultural Research (ISCR)
IRB Approval Date
2018-04-13
IRB Approval Number
ISCR/H/2/71

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