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on Education |
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Issue of 2016‒08‒28
eighteen papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Ehlers, Tim; Schwager, Robert |
| Abstract: | We present a theory explaining the impact of ability tracking on academic performance based on grading policies. Our model distinguishes between initial ability, which is mainly determined by parental background, and eagerness to extend knowledge. We show that achievements of low ability students may be higher in a comprehensive school system, even if there are no synergy effects from teaching different students together. This arises because the comprehensive school sets a compromise standard which exceeds the standard from the low ability track. Moreover, if students with lower initial ability have higher eagerness to learn, merging classes will increase average performance. |
| Keywords: | ability tracking,comprehensive school,education,equality of opportunity,peer group effects |
| JEL: | I21 I28 D63 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:289&r=edu |
| By: | David Figlio; Paola Giuliano; Umut Özek; Paola Sapienza |
| Abstract: | We use remarkable population-level administrative education and birth records from Florida to study the role of Long-Term Orientation on the educational attainment of immigrant students living in the US. Controlling for the quality of schools and individual characteristics, students from countries with long term oriented attitudes perform better than students from cultures that do not emphasize the importance of delayed gratification. These students perform better in third grade reading and math tests, have larger test score gains over time, have fewer absences and disciplinary incidents, are less likely to repeat grades, and are more likely to graduate from high school in four years. Also, they are more likely to enroll in advanced high school courses, especially in scientific subjects. Parents from long term oriented cultures are more likely to secure better educational opportunities for their children. A larger fraction of immigrants speaking the same language in the school amplifies the effect of Long-Term Orientation on educational performance. We validate these results using a sample of immigrant students living in 37 different countries. |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J15 Z1 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22541&r=edu |
| By: | Figlio, David N. (Northwestern University); Giuliano, Paola (University of California, Los Angeles); Özek, Umut (American Institutes for Research); Sapienza, Paola (Northwestern University) |
| Abstract: | We use remarkable population-level administrative education and birth records from Florida to study the role of Long-Term Orientation on the educational attainment of immigrant students living in the US. Controlling for the quality of schools and individual characteristics, students from countries with long term oriented attitudes perform better than students from cultures that do not emphasize the importance of delayed gratification. These students perform better in third grade reading and math tests, have larger test score gains over time, have fewer absences and disciplinary incidents, are less likely to repeat grades, and are more likely to graduate from high school in four years. Also, they are more likely to enroll in advanced high school courses, especially in scientific subjects. Parents from long term oriented cultures are more likely to secure better educational opportunities for their children. A larger fraction of immigrants speaking the same language in the school amplifies the effect of Long-Term Orientation on educational performance. We validate these results using a sample of immigrant students living in 37 different countries. |
| Keywords: | long-term orientation, education, cultural transmission |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J15 Z1 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10147&r=edu |
| By: | Aomar Ibourk |
| Abstract: | The 2015-2030 strategic vision innovates the Moroccan educational system. Unlike previous reforms, this vision addresses problems that have long been ignored. Among these problems is the quality of education. Although educational quality may have been included in previous reform programs, it is considered as one of the priorities in this new vision. The purpose of this Policy Brief is to assess the status of learning achievement, which is an integral part of educational quality, of students in the fourth grade. We rely on the international comparative assessments "Trends in Mathematics and Science Study" (TIMSS) and "Progress In Reading and Literacy Study" (PIRLS) in which Morocco participated. The aim is to highlight the deficits accumulated throughout the years. |
| Keywords: | education, Morocco, eLearning achievement, TIMSS, PIRLS, Learning |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb-1614&r=edu |
| By: | Alex Armand (Navarra Center for International Development) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how the interaction between intra-household allocation of resources and parental beliefs about the returns to education influences human capital investment among poor households. For this purpose, I study a conditional cash transfer program in the Republic of Macedonia, aiming at improving secondary school enrollment among children in poor households. For identification I exploit the random allocation of payments either to mothers or household heads, together with a unique information on parental subjective expectations of returns to schooling. I show that targeting mothers leads to an increase in secondary school enrollment only for children whose parental returns are sufficiently high at the beginning of the program. This effect is associated with an increase in individual expenditure shares on education for this group. I find no differential impact for other inputs, such as monitoring of school attendance and time use. Overall, I show that the effect of channeling resources to mothers is strictly related to heterogeneity in parental perceived returns to schooling. |
| Keywords: | Intrahousehold; Conditional cash transfers; expectations; returns to schooling; gender; cognitive biases |
| JEL: | D13 J12 J16 D8 I2 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nva:unnvaa:wp03-2015&r=edu |
| By: | Lincove, Jane Arnold (University of Maryland, Baltimore County); Cortes, Kalena E. (Texas A&M University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of information in the college matching behavior of low- and high-income students, exploiting a state automatic admissions policy that provides some students with perfect a priori certainty of college admissions. We find that admissions certainty encourages college-ready low-income students to seek more rigorous universities. Low-income students who are less college-ready are not influenced by admissions certainty and are sensitive to college entrance exams scores. Most students also prefer campuses with students of similar race, income, and high school class rank, but only highly-qualified low-income students choose institutions where they have fewer same-race and same-income peers. |
| Keywords: | academic undermatching and overmatching, social matching, admissions policies, Texas Top 10% Plan, automatic admissions |
| JEL: | I21 I23 J15 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10150&r=edu |
| By: | Sujata Visaria; Rajeev Dehejia; Melody M. Chao; Anirban Mukhopadhyay |
| Abstract: | In an experiment in non-formal schools in Indian slums, a reward scheme for attending a target number of school days increased average attendance when the scheme was in place, but had heterogeneous effects after it was removed. Among students with high baseline attendance, the incentive had no effect on attendance after it was discontinued, and test scores were unaffected. Among students with low baseline attendance, the incentive lowered post-incentive attendance, and test scores decreased. For these students, the incentive was also associated with lower interest in school material and lower optimism and confidence about their ability. This suggests incentives might have unintended long-term consequences for the very students they are designed to help the most. |
| JEL: | I21 I25 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22528&r=edu |
| By: | Matthew Wiswall; Basit Zafar |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how individuals "believe" human capital investments will affect their future career and family life. We conducted a survey of high-ability currently enrolled college students and elicited beliefs about how their choice of college major, and whether to complete their degree at all, would affect a wide array of future events, including future earnings, employment, marriage prospects, potential spousal characteristics, and fertility. We find that students perceive large "returns" to human capital not only in their own future earnings, but also in a number of other dimensions (such as future labor supply and potential spouse's earnings). In a recent follow-up survey conducted six years after the initial data collection, we find a close connection between the expectations and current realizations. Finally, we show that both the career and family expectations help explain human capital choices. |
| JEL: | D81 D84 I21 I23 J10 J12 J13 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22543&r=edu |
| By: | Kose, Esra (University of California, Davis); Kuka, Elira (Southern Methodist University); Shenhav, Na'ama (Dartmouth College) |
| Abstract: | While a growing literature has shown that empowering women leads to increased short-term investments in children, little is known about its long-term effects. We investigate the effect of women's political empowerment on children's human capital accumulation by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in U.S. state and federal suffrage laws. We estimate that exposure to women's suffrage during childhood leads to large increases in educational attainment for children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular blacks and Southern whites. An investigation into the mechanisms behind these effects suggests that the educational gains are plausibly driven by the rise in public expenditures following suffrage. |
| Keywords: | women empowerment, suffrage, education |
| JEL: | I21 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10148&r=edu |
| By: | Koen Frenken |
| Abstract: | : It is argued that innovation policy based on notions of market failure or system failure is too limited in the context of current societal challenges. I propose a third, complexity-theoretic approach. This approach starts from the observation that most innovations are related to existing activities, and that policy’s additionality is highest for unrelated diversification. To trigger unrelated diversification into activities that contribute to solving societal challenges, government’s main task is to organize the process of demand articulation. This process leads to clear and manageable societal objectives that effectively guide a temporary collation of actors to develop solutions bottom-up. The combination of a broad coalition, a clear objective and tentative governance are the means to cope with the inherent complexity of modern-day innovation |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uis:wpaper:1601&r=edu |
| By: | Sanchari Roy (Department of Economics, University of Sussex); Matthew Morton (World Bank); Shryana Bhattacharya (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of social-emotional or psychological capital in determining education and employment aspirations of adolescent girls and young women in India. We find that girls’ self-efficacy and mental health are important determinants of their educational and employment aspirations, suggesting that these hidden forms of human capital may serve as critical targets for interventions aiming to alter girls’ educational and economic trajectories. We also identify factors that correlate with girls’ level of self-efficacy, and find that an “enabling” and supportive family and community environment appears to be important |
| Keywords: | social-emotional skills, self-efficacy, aspirations, adolescents, youth, gender, labor market, education |
| JEL: | I20 I31 Z00 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:9716&r=edu |
| By: | Alex Armand (Navarra Center for International Development) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of parental expected returns to schooling as determinants of future schooling decisions. I show that when observing schooling decisions two years after the collection of information about perceived returns, parental subjective expectations are strong predictors for the probability of the child to be enrolled in secondary school. I provide evidence that this relation is distinctively different when looking at boys and girls. By using the unique longitudinal dimension of the dataset, I provide evidence against cognitive biases in expectation reporting and against endogeneity issues, which supports the use of subjective data in decision models. |
| Keywords: | Intrahousehold; Conditional cash transfers; expectations; returns to schooling; gender; cognitive biases |
| JEL: | D13 J12 J16 D8 I2 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nva:unnvaa:wp02-2015&r=edu |
| By: | Anne Gordon; Katherine Niland; Mary Kay Fox |
| Abstract: | This brief describes how School Nutrition Dietary Assessment (SNDA) studies have informed policies governing the content of school meals. |
| Keywords: | SNDA, nutrition, lunch standards, saturated fat, school breakfast, milk, healthy hunger-free kids act |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:3121d696cde3458dacef258d908cf4d9&r=edu |
| By: | Paulo A. Meyer M. Nascimento |
| Abstract: | O debate contemporâneo sobre financiamento estudantil passa por duas questões-chave: i) maneiras fiscalmente responsáveis de viabilizar mais recursos para instituições públicas, inclusive mediante maior participação do corpo discente nos custos de seus estudos, mas sem erigir barreiras adicionais ao acesso; e ii) desenhos de programas nacionais de crédito educativo que privilegiem objetivos de equidade, ao mesmo tempo que limitem o aporte de subsídios públicos. São questões ainda pouco discutidas no Brasil, mas que tendem a entrar na agenda pública diante dos problemas fiscais do Estado brasileiro e da deterioração dos indicadores econômicos do país. Este Texto para Discussão (TD) busca encaminhar tal debate a partir da apresentação das características principais e das variações mundo afora de empréstimos com amortizações contingentes à renda (ECRs) como política de crédito educativo, introduzindo em seguida uma discussão geral sobre os limites e as possibilidades de sua adoção no Brasil. Discorre-se especificamente sobre: i) a transformação em um ECR do Fundo de Financiamento Estudantil (Fies); ii) a introdução de uma sistemática de financiamento compartilhado dos estabelecimentos públicos, por meio de um ECR atrelado a contribuições financeiras de seus ex-estudantes; iii) a utilização de mecanismos de ECR para expandir crédito destinado ao financiamento do custo de vida durante períodos de estudos; e iv) a utilização de instrumentos financeiros de capital próprio correlatos aos ECRs para reformular modalidades do Fies que não vieram a ser implementadas de fato ou não se mostraram viáveis no formato inicialmente planejado, como o Fies técnico, o Fies empresa e o Fies pós-graduação. Busca-se, com essa discussão preliminar, iniciar uma agenda de pesquisas sobre a viabilidade, o alcance e a pertinência, do ponto de vista econômico, social, legal, político, técnico e gerencial, do funcionamento no país de sistemas de ECR para o financiamento da formação superior e profissional. The contemporary debate on postsecondary student funding involves two key issues: a) fiscally responsible ways to allocate more resources to public institutions, as by increasing student participation on the costs of their studies in a manner that avoids additional barriers to access; b) design of student aid programs emphasizing equity goals, while limiting the amount of public subsidies. These are usually poorly discussed topics in the Brazilian context. Nonetheless, the current scenario of fiscal restriction and deteriorating economic indicators may bring to light topics such as cost sharing in public universities and the provision of income contingent loans (ICL). This paper presents a literature review on ICL, which are little known in Brazil, and discusses possible ways to implement them in the Brazilian context. The major objective is twofold: i) to introduce a research agenda on cost sharing in public higher education institutions; ii) to propose a reformulation of the existing federal student aid program designed for low-income students enrolled in private institutions. Besides that, ICL and equity-like financial instruments are briefly discussed as alternatives to: iii) expand the availability and decrease the costs of loans to finance student living costs; iv) finance professional certificates and postgraduate courses. This paper is an initial approach to these issues, yet to be further developed in future studies. |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2220&r=edu |
| By: | Nyström, Kristina (Department of Industrial Economics and Management, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies which grading systems students choose for their degree projects if they are to choose, and what the motivational factors behind making this choice are. Furthermore, students’ perception the importance of grades and the quality of their degree project for their competitiveness in the labor market are studied. Student record data and a survey dataset to students conducting their degree project at the Department of Industrial Economics and Management at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden during 2016 are used to study students grading scale choices. During spring semester 2016 students were able to choose between the Pass/fFail or A-F grading scale for their degree project which implies that the data reflect students revealed preferences for grading scale. Data from study record transcripts show that 55 percent selected the two-step (Pass/Fail) grading scale, while 45 percent of the students selected the seven-step grading scale (A-F). The GPA score among students choosing the Pass/Fail scale is somewhat higher compared to students choosing A-F grading scale. Among the empirical findings it could be mentioned that perceptions of how a Pass/Fail grading scale promotes good learning and to what extent it motivates students to do a good job on the degree project are rather dispersed among students. What they do agree on is that the Pass/Fail grading system reduces stress. |
| Keywords: | grading system; degree project; labor market entry |
| JEL: | A20 J60 |
| Date: | 2016–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kthind:2016_015&r=edu |
| By: | Willian Washington Wives; Luis Claudio Kubota; Tel Amiel |
| Abstract: | A introdução de novas tecnologias em ambiente escolar raramente parte apenas de uma decisão individual do educador. Ela se insere em um contexto mais amplo, em que se apresentam questões internas e externas à instituição de ensino. O objetivo deste Texto para Discussão é investigar as condições sistêmicas que contribuem ou inibem o desenvolvimento de diferentes atividades preparadas pelos docentes com o uso de novas tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs), por meio de quatro estudos de caso. As unidades de análise foram dois colégios particulares e duas escolas públicas de Brasília. O arcabouço conceitual para a análise foi a teoria da atividade (TA). Conduzimos um múltiplo estudo de caso em quatro escolas, particulares e públicas. Entre os principais resultados, podem-se destacar: a importância da liderança para que o uso das TICs se dê de forma integrada na instituição de ensino; a proatividade como modo de superar as limitações materiais (no caso das públicas); o fato de as condições materiais não necessariamente significarem práticas mais arrojadas no uso das TICs; e o fato de os níveis de inserção das tecnologias não indicarem qualquer relação fundamental com a mudança nos papéis tradicionais de professores e estudantes. Trabalhos dessa natureza devem ser analisados com cautela, ao se inferirem suas conclusões para o conjunto. No entanto, permitem vislumbrar uma série de nuances que não seria possível captar de outro modo. School technology integration rarely begins with school or educator choice. It is part of a wider context where external and internal factors have direct influence on the goals and tools that are adopted over time. The objective of this discussion paper is to investigate the systemic conditions that contribute or inhibit the development of different activities by teachers making use of new media. We compiled a list of well-known conditions for technology integration success and mapped these in the historical and culturally bound perspective of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). We conducted a multiple case-study analysis of four schools, public and private. Among the main results, we can highlight the following: the importance of the leadership for an integrated use of ICTs in the schools, proactivity as a means to overcome material limitations (for the public schools), material conditions do not necessarily translate in more advanced practices in ICT use, different levels of ICT use do not have any structural relation with the change in traditional teacher and student roles. Case studies such as this have to be analyzed with caution when trying to generate inferences to school systems as a whole. On the other hand, study proposes a methodology that can help elicit tensions in technology integration, pointing to avenues for school development. |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2218&r=edu |
| By: | Alison Wellington; Hanley Chiang; Kristin Heallgren; Cecilia Speroni; Mariesa Herrmann; Paul Burkander |
| Abstract: | This report is the third report from the national evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund. It provides findings on the implementation of pay-for-performance bonuses for teachers and principals and the impacts of the bonuses on educator and student outcomes after three years. |
| Keywords: | pay-for-performance, teacher compensation, principal compensation |
| JEL: | I |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:c01a81e283374843b1d4b39ce76b56dc&r=edu |
| By: | Govert E. Bijwaard; Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Per Tynelius; Finn Rasmussen |
| Abstract: | Education is negatively associated with mortality for most major causes of death. The literature ignores that cause-specific hazard rates are interdependent and that education and mortality both depend on cognitive ability. We analyze the education-mortality gradient at ages 18-63 using Swedish register data. We focus on months lost due to a specific cause of death which solves the interdependence problem, and use a structural model that derives cognitive ability from military conscription IQ scores. We derive the educational gains in months lost and the selection effects for each cause of death, and quantify the selection contribution of observed characteristics and unobserved cognitive ability. In a standard Cox model that controls for observed IQ, primary education was associated with 6 months lost when compared to secondary education. In a structural model that accounts for cognitive ability the difference was 43% larger. In addition, the largest educational gains were achieved for the lowest education group in the reduction of external cause mortality. The educational gains in cardiovascular mortality was small, mainly due to large selection effects. These results suggest that educational differences in cause specific mortality may be biased by conventional Cox regression analyses. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2016-007&r=edu |