Access, Sorting, and Achievement: The Short-Run Effects of Free Primary Education in Kenya

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 226-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne M Lucas ◽  
Isaac M Mbiti
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Private School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
School Entry ◽  
Exit Examination ◽  
Free Primary Education ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

We examine the impact of the Kenyan Free Primary Education program on student participation, sorting, and achievement on the primary school exit examination. Exploiting variation in pre-program dropout rates between districts, we find that the program increased the number of students who completed primary school, spurred private school entry, and increased access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We argue that the program was welfare enhancing as it promoted educational access without substantially reducing the test scores of students who would have been in school in the absence of the program. (JEL H52, I21, I28, O15)

Broken Promises: Constitutional Litigation for Free Primary Education in Swaziland

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-442
Author(s):  
Ann Skelton ◽  
Serges Djoyou Kamga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Original Order ◽  
Free Primary Education ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Subsequent Application ◽  
The Right

AbstractSwaziland's Constitution of 2005 promised that every Swazi child would have the right to free primary school education, within three years of the constitution coming into operation. That date having passed, a civil society group took the matter to court. The case initially fared well, but in a subsequent application for performance on the original order, the court balked at making an immediately enforceable order, citing lack of resources as an obstacle. That approach was upheld by the Supreme Court. This article examines the courts’ pronouncements within the Swazi constitutional context. It discusses judicial deference, avoidance and pragmatism. Swaziland's free primary education judgments are compared with those of courts in South Africa. The remedial orders of those courts demonstrate that, although educational goods and services cannot be delivered overnight, creativity and oversight by the courts can ensure that an immediate start is made towards delivering on the constitutional promise.

Assessing the impact of free primary education using retrospective and prospective data: lessons from the Nairobi case study

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses Waithanji Ngware ◽  
Moses Oketch ◽  
Alex Chika Ezeh ◽  
Maurice Mutisya ◽  
Charles Epari Ejakait
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
Prospective Data ◽  
Free Primary Education ◽  
The Impact

The effect of free primary education policy on late school entry in urban primary schools in Kenya

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 603-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses W. Ngware ◽  
Moses Oketch ◽  
Alex C. Ezeh ◽  
Maurice Mutisya
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Entry ◽  
Free Primary Education

scholarly journals Report Cards: The Impact of Providing School and Child Test Scores on Educational Markets

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 1535-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahir Andrabi ◽  
Jishnu Das ◽  
Asim Ijaz Khwaja
Keyword(s):  
Market Efficiency ◽  
Private School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Information Provision ◽  
Report Cards ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Canonical Models ◽  
Subsequent Test ◽  
Private Providers ◽  
The Impact

We study the impact of providing school report cards with test scores on subsequent test scores, prices, and enrollment in markets with multiple public and private providers. A randomly selected half of our sample villages (markets) received report cards. This increased test scores by 0.11 standard deviations, decreased private school fees by 17 percent, and increased primary enrollment by 4.5 percent. Heterogeneity in the treatment impact by initial school test scores is consistent with canonical models of asymmetric information. Information provision facilitates better comparisons across providers, and improves market efficiency and child welfare through higher test scores, higher enrollment, and lower fees. (JEL D83, H75, I21, I28, O15, O18)

scholarly journals Data collection report: the Impact of the Coronacrisis on primary education staff in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Geven
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
The Impact

We ask primary school staff about the impact of the coronacrisis on education and teaching in the Netherlands. How do they teach from a distance? How do they stay in touch with parents and children? Which digital means do they use? How does the crisis affect their teaching, and education more generally?

scholarly journals Assessing Attitudes of Primary School Teachers towards Free Primary Education in Swaziland: The Case of Shiselweni Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
T.D. Mushoriwa ◽  
V.T. Mlangeni ◽  
M. Kurebwa
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Full Professor ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
Free Primary Education ◽  
University Of Fort Hare ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
The University

ABSTRACT: This study was designed to assess the attitudes of Primary School teachers towards FPE (Free Primary Education) recently introduced in Swaziland, with the ultimate aim of establishing how the teachers feel about the change given the increase in enrolments in the schools. The survey research design was employed. Data were sourced from 118 teachers (females = 50%) through a semi-structured questionnaire and follow-up interviews. While data were largely analysed through the Likert scale analysis procedures described in this study, Cramer’s V was the statistic used to test if gender significantly influenced attitudes towards FPE. The study found that the majority of the teachers (73%) had negative attitudes towards FPE mainly because of, among other things, large teacher-pupil ratios (1:70) which increased their workload; shortage of resources and infrastructure; being viewed as lowering educational standards; and the fact that the teachers were not consulted despite being the key implementers. Cramer’s V yielded an insignificant positive relationship (0.06) between gender and attitudes; and this meant that gender did not significantly influence the teachers’ attitudes towards the introduction of FPE. KEY WORD: Assessing; Teacher Attitudes; Free Primary Education; Increased Enrolments; Gender. ABSTRAKSI: “Menilai Sikap Guru-guru Sekolah Dasar terhadap Pendidikan Dasar Gratis di Swaziland: Kasus Daerah Shiselweni”. Penelitian dirancang untuk menilai sikap guru-guru Sekolah Dasar terhadap PDG (Pendidikan Dasar Gratis) yang baru-baru ini diperkenalkan di Swaziland, dengan tujuan akhir menentukan bagaimana perasaan para guru tentang perubahan tersebut mengingat meningkatnya pendaftaran murid di sekolah. Desain penelitian survei digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Data bersumber dari 118 guru (perempuan = 50%) yang diperoleh melalui kuesioner semi-terstruktur dan wawancara lanjutan. Data sebagian besar dianalisis melalui prosedur skala Likert, sedangkan V Cramer adalah statistik yang digunakan untuk menguji apakah jenis kelamin secara signifikan mempengaruhi sikap. Studi ini menemukan sebagian besar guru (73%) memiliki sikap negatif terhadap PDG terutama karena, antara lain, besarnya rasio guru-murid (1:70) yang meningkatkan beban kerja; kurangnya sumber daya dan infrastruktur; dipandang akan menurunkan standar pendidikan; dan fakta bahwa guru tidak diajak urun-rembug meskipun sebagai pelaksana kunci. V Cramer menghasilkan hubungan positif yang tidak signifikan (0.06) antara gender dan sikap; dan ini berarti bahwa gender tidak berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap sikap guru. KATA KUNCI: Menilai; Sikap Guru; Pendidikan Dasar Gratis; Peningkatan Pendaftaran; Gender.  About the Authors: T.D. Mushoriwa, Ph.D. is a Full Professor at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa; V.T. Mlangeni is a Teacher at the Nhlangano Central High School in Swaziland; and M. Kurebwa is a Lecturer at the Zimbabwe Open University, Midlands, in Zimbabwe. Corresponding author is: [email protected] to cite this article? Mushoriwa, T.D., V.T. Mlangeni & M. Kurebwa. (2016). “Assessing Attitudes of Primary School Teachers towards Free Primary Education in Swaziland: The Case of Shiselweni Region” in MIMBAR PENDIDIKAN: Jurnal Indonesia untuk Kajian Pendidikan, Vol.1(2) September, pp.143-150. Bandung, Indonesia: UPI [Indonesia University of Education] Press, ISSN 2527-3868 (print) and 2503-457X (online). Chronicle of the article: Accepted (July 16, 2016); Revised (August 17, 2016); and Published (September 30, 2016).

scholarly journals The Aggregate Effect of School Choice: Evidence from a Two-Stage Experiment in India *

2015 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 1011-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Muralidharan ◽  
Venkatesh Sundararaman
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Omitted Variables ◽  
School Students ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We present experimental evidence on the impact of a school choice program in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that provided students with a voucher to finance attending a private school of their choice. The study design featured a unique two-stage lottery-based allocation of vouchers that created both student-level and market-level experiments, which allows us to study the individual and the aggregate effects of school choice (including spillovers). After two and four years of the program, we find no difference between test scores of lottery winners and losers on Telugu (native language), math, English, and science/social studies, suggesting that the large cross-sectional differences in test scores across public and private schools mostly reflect omitted variables. However, private schools also teach Hindi, which is not taught by the public schools, and lottery winners have much higher test scores in Hindi. Furthermore, the mean cost per student in the private schools in our sample was less than a third of the cost in public schools. Thus, private schools in this setting deliver slightly better test score gains than their public counterparts (better on Hindi and same in other subjects), and do so at a substantially lower cost per student. Finally, we find no evidence of spillovers on public school students who do not apply for the voucher, or on private school students, suggesting that the positive effects on voucher winners did not come at the expense of other students.

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