What Works in Developing Nations to Get Children Into School and Keep Them There? A Systematic Review of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research

Methodologies: Descriptive

WestEd researchers are using systematic review techniques to identify, retrieve, and analyze experimental and quasi-experimental studies in developing nations that included at least one outcome measure relevant to getting children into school and keeping them there.

Research Questions

• Primary Question

  What are the effects of interventions implemented in developing countries on measures of enrollment, attendance, retention, and progression?

• Secondary Question

  What are the effects of interventions on learning outcomes as measured by test scores, grades, and other achievement measures?

Methodology

WestEd researchers used systematic review techniques to search for, identify, and analyze experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted in developing nations.

A developing nation was one that was classified by the World Bank to have a lower-income, lower-middle income or upper-middle income economy; per capita income in these nations ranges from approximately $750 to $11,000 (in U.S. dollars).

To be included, studies had to use randomized controlled designs or quasi-experimental designs that controlled for baseline differences on the major outcome measure.

Researchers searched approximately 30 electronic databases along with the use of other methods to identify studies. They used a 50-item coding instrument to extract data from each eligible study.

Following two rounds of screening, researchers included 72 studies in the final sample.

When possible, researchers created effect sizes in eight major categories:

• Enrollment
• Attendance
• Retention
• Progression
• Math scores
• Language scores
• Global test scores
• Other achievement measures

Researchers used standardized mean effects (i.e., Cohen's d (and its approximations) to transform data contained in the retrieved evaluation reports. Random effects models were assumed when analyzing the data.

Key Findings

Study results will be available following the study's completion date.

Contact Information

Anthony Petrosino
781.481.1117
apetros@wested.org