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Using Applied Behavioral Science to improve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa and India

Mon, March 11, 6:30 to 8:00pm, Hyatt Regency Miami, Floor: Third Level, Pearson 2

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

There has been substantial progress made towards achieving universal enrolment in primary education in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), enrolment rates in primary education were 99% and in India, 100% (World Bank, 2020). However, enrolment rates do not guarantee learning. Many children in LMICs complete primary school without foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 57% of 10-year-old children in LMICs were unable to understand simple written text (World Bank, 2022). The Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the prolonged closure of schools, has exacerbated these dire outcomes even further. A report published in 2022 by the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, the FCDO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), estimates that 70% of 10-year-olds in LMICs are unable to understand simple written text (World Bank, 2022).

The evidence base for new instructional practices (such as Teaching at the Right Level or structured pedagogy) that can improve FLN outcomes at scale is growing. However, in order for these practices to lead to improved FLN outcomes, teachers need to understand the difference between current and target learning levels, accept that improving instruction will require changes in their teaching practice, and actually implement those changes in the classroom. Programs that aim to improve FLN and education outcomes more generally do not always consider teachers’ behavior, including habits, motivations, and routines (Sabarwal et al., 2022). This occurs despite teacher beliefs—such as whether they think they can help students who are struggling or whether they think action will be taken against poor teacher performance—having shown to be strong predictors of student learning gains (Filmer, et al., 2021).

The emerging field of behavioral science offers a compelling opportunity to strengthen teachers’ adoption of innovative teaching practices to improve FLN outcomes in LMICs. This panel brings together experiences from five organizations implementing behavioral interventions to improve teacher practices, with the ultimate goal of improving FLN outcomes in SSA and India. All panelists are part of a select group who received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to use behavioral science to change teacher behavior to improve FLN outcomes. Panel members will discuss the various ways in which they are doing so.

Presentation 1 (Funda Wande): The presenter will discuss a Funda Wande intervention which targets the behavior of improving the use of high-quality learner and teacher support material in foundational literacy and numeracy which the program provides. We hypothesize that teachers' use of the materials, in particular the teacher’s guide, which follows a structured program will improve their instructional practice. We’ll discuss our findings in terms of what prevents teachers from using these materials on a sustained basis as well as our behaviorally informed designs that aim to get teachers to use the teacher support material and encourage students to use the student booklets.

Presentation 2 (ideas42/ARED): The presenter will provide an overview of a new teaching methodology, differentiated pedagogy in leveled smaller groups, that is being used in an after-school remediation program for second and third graders in Senegal. They will share the behavioral barriers that are preventing teachers from effectively using this methodology and preventing them from providing adequate support to multiple leveled groups of students in the same classroom. They will also share the behaviorally-designed interventions that aim to get teachers to provide support to all groups of students that are currently being evaluated in an RCT.

Presentation 3 (Busara/VVOB/TaRL): The presenter will describe the TaRL approach and how it’s implemented in Zambia through the Catch Up program. They will explain the nuances of Catch Up, highlighting the different elements of the program and stakeholders involved. Then, they will present the results from the interviews and surveys with teachers on the factors that enable or inhibit teacher motivation to teach Catch Up in the context of the program’s national scaling. Finally, the presenter will share the solutions that were co-designed with teachers to improve motivation, describe how we are testing the solutions, and present early results from the testing.

Presentation 4 (Youth Impact): This presenter will provide an overview of how we implement TaRL in Botswana, our scaling plans, and how we are using rapid impact assessments (RIAs) to support scaling, with a focus on the behavioral studies. The presenter will share the innovations that were designed to provide structured pedagogy and track teacher perceptions to the program. Finally, the presenter will share the results from the study and how they will use the data as they scale the program with the government as a partner.

Presentation 5 (CSF/CSBC): CSBC and CSF will present our evidence driven methodology to diagnose barriers and iteratively prioritize actionable behaviors that can be addressed through low-touch scalable solutions uptake of FLN practices amongst primary school teachers in the government education ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh, India. FLN teaching has suffered due to multiple system side constraints, low parental engagement, and lack of incentive structure for teachers. We will explain the barriers specific to our context, behaviourally-informed interventions, and evaluation plan to improve specific target behaviors including use of prescribed teacher guides for planning and teaching, by the conference date.

In conclusion, we will demonstrate how different organizations are applying behavioral science to better understand the barriers that prevent teachers from adopting and/or effectively using new teaching methods, and interventions that can potentially overcome these barriers. Many evaluations will be ongoing at the time of the conference, so we will not be able to present final results, but some panelists will be able to share some preliminary findings.

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