Using Phone-Based Tutoring to Support Resilient Education Systems in Emergencies

• In Event: What works to support continuous learning when schools close through personalized learning?

Proposal

This paper will review new evidence on phone-based tutorials delivered during school disruptions and project future applications for similar programs in EiE settings. Included in this paper will be key insights and lessons that can inform better remote programming in emergency contexts.

In 2020, Youth Impact developed a phone-based tutorial modality, called ConnectEd, to reach children at the height of the pandemic. Using simple phone calls and one-way SMS messages, the program reached students remotely with impactful targeted content to improve learning. This study served as an initial proof of concept demonstrating the effectiveness of phone-based education programs to reach students in disrupted settings.

Since then, a coalition of partners in five countries replicated and tested ConnectEd in different settings with a variety of delivery models. On average, phone call tutorials improved learning by 0.33 standard deviations, which was over a third larger than the median effectiveness of education interventions (Evans and Yuan, 2022). One of these trials occurred in the Philippines, where education was further disrupted by Typhoon Rai. Despite the detrimental effects of the typhoon, phone call tutorials continued to be effective, with 0.26 standard deviation gains relative to the control group. These results reveal that phone call tutorial effectiveness persists across multiple education emergencies.

Authors

• Amanda Beatty, Youth Impact

• Karen Clune, Youth Impact

• Moitshepi Matsheng, Youth Impact

• Noam Angrist, Youth Impact; What Works Hub for Global Education, University of Oxford

• Thato Letsomo, Youth Impact

• Colin Crossley, Youth Impact