What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews

In the past two years alone, at least six systematic reviews or meta-analyses have examined the interventions that improve learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, these reviews have sometimes reached starkly different conclusions: reviews, in turn, recommend information techn...

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Main Authors:	Evans, David K., Popova, Anna
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	en_US
Published:	World Bank Group, Washington, DC 2015
Subjects:	education impact evaluation human capital
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21642

id	okr-10986-21642
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-216422021-04-23T14:04:03Z What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews Evans, David K. Popova, Anna education impact evaluation human capital In the past two years alone, at least six systematic reviews or meta-analyses have examined the interventions that improve learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, these reviews have sometimes reached starkly different conclusions: reviews, in turn, recommend information technology, interventions that provide information about school quality, or even basic infrastructure (such as desks) to achieve the greatest improvements in student learning. This paper demonstrates that these divergent conclusions are largely driven by differences in the samples of research incorporated by each review. The top recommendations in a given review are often driven by the results of evaluations not included in other reviews. Of 227 studies with student learning results, the most inclusive review incorporates less than half of the total studies. Variance in classification also plays a role. Across the reviews, the three classes of programs that are recommended with some consistency (albeit under different names) are pedagogical interventions (including computer-assisted learning) that tailor teaching to student skills; repeated teacher training interventions, often linked to another pedagogical intervention; and improving accountability through contracts or performance incentives, at least in certain contexts. Future reviews will be most useful if they combine narrative review with meta-analysis, conduct more exhaustive searches, and maintain low aggregation of intervention categories. 2015-03-30T19:11:30Z 2015-03-30T19:11:30Z 2015-02 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21642 en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7203 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank Group, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	en_US
topic	education impact evaluation human capital
spellingShingle	education impact evaluation human capital Evans, David K. Popova, Anna What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7203
description	In the past two years alone, at least six systematic reviews or meta-analyses have examined the interventions that improve learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, these reviews have sometimes reached starkly different conclusions: reviews, in turn, recommend information technology, interventions that provide information about school quality, or even basic infrastructure (such as desks) to achieve the greatest improvements in student learning. This paper demonstrates that these divergent conclusions are largely driven by differences in the samples of research incorporated by each review. The top recommendations in a given review are often driven by the results of evaluations not included in other reviews. Of 227 studies with student learning results, the most inclusive review incorporates less than half of the total studies. Variance in classification also plays a role. Across the reviews, the three classes of programs that are recommended with some consistency (albeit under different names) are pedagogical interventions (including computer-assisted learning) that tailor teaching to student skills; repeated teacher training interventions, often linked to another pedagogical intervention; and improving accountability through contracts or performance incentives, at least in certain contexts. Future reviews will be most useful if they combine narrative review with meta-analysis, conduct more exhaustive searches, and maintain low aggregation of intervention categories.
format	Working Paper
author	Evans, David K. Popova, Anna
author_facet	Evans, David K. Popova, Anna
author_sort	Evans, David K.
title	What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
title_short	What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
title_full	What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
title_fullStr	What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
title_full_unstemmed	What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews
title_sort	what really works to improve learning in developing countries? : an analysis of divergent findings in systematic reviews
publisher	World Bank Group, Washington, DC
publishDate	2015
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21642
_version_	1764448854820782080

What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? : An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews

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