Beyond "What Works": A Hybrid Trial to Inform System-Aligned Scaling of Remedial Education in Senegal

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Towards effective scaling and systems-change: Lessons from implementation research on improving foundational learning in India, Kenya, Uganda, and Senegal

Proposal

Emerging research emphasizes that scaling education innovations effectively requires moving beyond traditional impact evaluation toward a systems perspective that recognizes the political, cultural, and institutional dimensions of implementation (Gibbs et al., 2020). Scholars also argue that scaling efforts grounded in a systems perspective must adopt innovative methodologies, particularly qualitative approaches that are often overlooked in traditional scaling research, which move beyond an overdependence on randomized control trials and better account for the inherent complexity and unpredictability of systems (Sutoris, 2018). Our study addresses this need by integrating impact and implementation science to inform how a summer remedial education program in Senegal can be adapted, scaled and sustained through system-aligned strategies.

This presentation shares preliminary findings and methodological insights from a hybrid impact evaluation and implementation research trial of Ndaw Wune Vacances (NWV), an accelerated, community-led remediation program implemented by Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED) in Senegal. The program targets students who have completed second or third grade but are struggling in reading and math, providing intensive summer instruction utilizing structured pedagogy and leveled instructional groups to strengthen foundational skills and reduce their risk of repetition and dropout.

Our hybrid trial combines a rigorous Randomized Control Trial (RCT) to assess learning outcomes with an implementation study that explores the variation in program effects across schools and contexts. Unlike conventional evaluations that focus solely on learning outcomes, our study interrogates the underlying system dynamics and implementation variation that shape program effectiveness. This design moves beyond the traditional focus on “what works” by also investigating how, why, and under what conditions impacts occur. Using qualitative methods—including deviant case analysis and interviews with key stakeholders within different levels of the system, such as teachers, head teachers, coaches, and local government officials —we examine the contextual, behavioral, and institutional factors that facilitate or hinder implementation.

Our presentation contributes to the growing field of systems-informed education research by demonstrating how hybrid trials can illuminate both the impact and the contextual conditions of implementation. By embedding implementation research into the evaluation process, we aim to surface insights on the institutional, behavioral, and systemic factors that drive or inhibit success. In doing so, we offer a model for how impact and implementation research can work together to inform the scaling of education innovations in partnership with governments and local actors.

Authors

• Fernanda Soares, University of Notre Dame

• TJ D'Agostino, University of Notre Dame

• Mamadou Ly, ARED

• Maurice Sikenyi, University of Notre Dame