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Universalization of basic education in India has increased demand for access to secondary schooling, yet concerns about quality and equity remain. While evidence of poor learning attainment continues to accumulate, less is known about classroom interactions or how these relate to student outcomes. In this article, we employ a unique data set that links school effectiveness and classroom observation data to examine the relationship between these dimensions. We show that teacher classroom practices represent a potentially distinctive aspect of school quality only weakly associated with effectiveness measures in two states in India. We discuss the implications of this for understandings of equity of learning opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam has achieved near-universal access to compulsory schooling over the past two decades. However, inequalities between ethnic majority and minority students are stark at post-compulsory levels, where progression is selective based on academic criteria and ability to pay. In this article, we adopt a mixed-methods approach to examine quality and equity for ethnic minority students in upper secondary education. Across five provinces, we find that ethnic minority students attend "less effective" upper secondary schools than ethnic majority students. However, an in-depth case study of an ethnic minority boarding school in Lao Cai province provides an example of positive deviance. Guided by a targeted affirmative action policy, the provincial government invests a relatively high level of resources to provide fee-free, high-quality schooling for gifted ethnic minority students. We consider the extent to which such policies can redress socioeconomic inequalities in Vietnam, and wider lessons for creating more equitable education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's informal economy accounts for more than half the country's GDP but is characterised by low levels of skills, and considerable barriers to skills development for workers. The Government of India has implemented ambitious policy initiatives for upskilling, designed to catalyse 'formalisation' of the economy, and improve productivity. However, evidence on skills development remains weak. Drawing on systematic review methodologies, this article reviews and synthesises the literature on the practical barriers to upskilling. It finds that access to, and quality of, training (especially for women) are serious limitations, while skills are often under-utilised in the absence of supportive labour market and wider business environment conditions. Training is often insufficiently linked to labour market and learner needs, and the capacity of the training system is limited. Government should increase investment in training for the informal sector, and consider strengthening incentives for training providers to focus on improving training quality and relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary school enrolment in Ethiopia has more than doubled over the past two decades. In spite of this impressive achievement, and as in many low- and middle-income countries that have experienced rapid expansion, the Ethiopian education system is characterised by a 'learning crisis' in which many children are leaving school without basic numeracy and literacy skills. In this paper, we explore the relationship between low learning levels and the features of an education system characterised by a sudden increase in learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, including 'first generation learners', or students whose parents have never been to school. Using unique longitudinal school survey data, we examine whether first-generation learner status represents an additional layer of disadvantage in the Ethiopian education system; the relationship between first-generation learner status and learning outcomes; and the educational trajectories of first generational learners through primary school. Based on these findings, we consider the implications of a rising tide of access for Ethiopia as it seeks to provide equitable, quality education for all by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Human capital development, including the expansion and improvement of schooling, has played a crucial role in Vietnam's strong and relatively inclusive economic growth in recent years. Universal access to primary and lower secondary education have been achieved, but progression to upper secondary remains, for the most part, rationed by entrance examinations and the payment of fees. Both supply and access have improved strongly at upper secondary level since the 1990s, in line with rising demand for higher skilled school-leavers. However, it is less clear whether access to upper secondary schooling, and its wider social and economic benefits, is provided equitably. In this paper we employ a unique longitudinal dataset to examine the patterns of both access and attainment in upper secondary education in Vietnam. We consider their implications for equitable educational progression and the extent to which, in light of these patterns, the system can be described as meritocratic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive gaps between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds are particularly significant in the developing world. We propose and use a new decomposition strategy to measure the contribution of early childhood and school influences to the cognitive gap between urban and rural eight-year-old children in Peru. This strategy accounts for the relation between family choices and skill inputs and is less prone to biases than those employed before. We find that school influences occurring between ages 6 and 8, account for a significant share of urban/rural cognitive gap (around 35%). The share attributable to early childhood influences is important but no larger than 50%. Because skill depreciates, only a fraction of the gap (70–80%) is carried forward to the next period. Therefore, inequalities in school environments are sustaining a cognitive gap that would otherwise be smaller and this explains why differences that emerge during early childhood can remain unchanged after children start school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While critical thinking is widely regarded as a key outcome of higher education, research has shown that in practice it is only developed when certain conditions are in place, relating to the pedagogical approach, the nature of the curriculum and the level of challenge, amongst other factors. This article reports on findings from a four-year mixed methods study in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya, aiming to investigate the factors underpinning the successful development of critical thinking amongst undergraduate students. A two-stage critical thinking assessment was conducted with students in 15 sites, showing that only some of the institutions were ensuring significant gains in students' critical thinking, even when endorsing learner-centred methods. The study points to the central importance of teaching orientations amongst lecturers, involving a deep shift in approaches to knowledge, and a facilitation rather than a transmission approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of basic literacy and numeracy skills among Vietnamese primary school children are high by comparison with other countries of a similar income level, and the country has made impressive gains in primary enrolment in recent years as well as improving the quality of schooling. Nonetheless, there remain substantial gaps in school performance between children from more and less advantaged backgrounds. Part of the justification of free public schooling consists in the equalisation of ‘opportunities to learn’ and the mitigation of learning inequalities which result from differences in home-background advantage. In this paper we examine the learning achievement of pupils in primary Grade 5 and explore the relationships between home-background, teacher, peer and school factors and learning progress in Grade 5, using data from Young Lives. We find that disadvantaged pupils receive relatively equitable access in relation to indicators of ‘fundamental’ school quality, a considerable policy success regarding the provision of ‘minimum standards’. However, differences by home advantage are relatively large where more sophisticated ‘opportunities to learn’ are considered, such as the number of hours of instruction received, including through ‘extra classes’, as well as access to learning resources such as computers, internet and non-text books. Analysis of the predictors of attainment suggests that some of these are likely to constitute an important part of the explanation for the persistence of learning inequalities by home background in Vietnam, suggesting that following success in equalising basic inputs, policy attention should turn more directly to boosting wider ‘opportunities to learn’ among disadvantaged pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the impact that poverty, access to education and school quality have on children in developing countries such as Ethiopia, Vietnam, and India.

Educational access in developing countries has improved significantly in recent years, but less evidence is available on learning and learning progress in comparative perspective. This paper employs data from Young Lives to examine levels and trends in cognitive skill development and the links to enrolment in school across the four study countries for pupils aged five to 15. Non-continuous patterns of enrolment are linked to lower learning levels in all countries, as are key indicators of home background disadvantage. Large differences in learning and learning progress are also found between the four countries’ education sytems, with ‘learning gains’ being typically highest in Vietnam and much lower in India (Andhra Pradesh) and Ethiopia. Inequalities linked to prior learning and home backgrounds are wide in Peru, while in Ethiopia and India relatively low levels of learning progress are a more general concern. In Ethiopia, both enrolment and quality improvements remain priorities for policy, while in India high levels of primary school enrolment, at younger ages than in the other study countries, suggest that comprehensive quality improvements may be required, nonetheless with a focus on disadvantaged pupils and those with low attainment in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Advocates of teacher value-added modelling (VAM) argue that this technique can provide evidence on teacher effectiveness to inform teacher policies and broader education system reforms. Critics contend that value-added is a poor proxy for teacher quality and as such is of questionable utility, especially where teacher accountability is concerned. In low- and middle-income countries, and especially sub-Saharan Africa, where the challenge of the 'learning crisis' is most severe, a lack of longitudinal data has precluded extensive debate on the matter. In this paper we explore the potential of value-added analysis for diagnostic purposes in the context of Ethiopia. We make use of data from the Young Lives longitudinal study – specifically two rounds of school surveys conducted in Ethiopia between 2012 and 2017 when pupils were in grades 4–8. Learning levels in the Young Lives sites in Ethiopia are very considerably below curricular expectations. Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia faces a significant challenge in terms of a 'learning crisis' and in terms of the attendant need to develop policies to improve educational effectiveness within the confines of very limited resources. We discuss the background to VAM models and their use, including in relation to the context of Ethiopia. The paper shows that learning progress in primary schools varies widely between classrooms, and between pupils within the same classroom. Some schools and teachers are more successful in raising overall attainment by 'raising the floor' of learning and narrowing the dispersion. Others are more successful by 'raising the roof'. Less effective teachers appear to be particularly ineffective for pupils with higher scores at the start of the year. In contrast, the most effective teachers showed high levels of 'value-added' for pupils at all levels of prior performance. Diagnostic analysis of teacher value-added has potential, we argue, to aid understanding of contributors to low levels of learning such as: (i) over-ambitious curricula; (ii) absence of 'teaching at the right level'; (iii) within class heterogeneity and pupil grouping strategies; and (iv) teaching and learning strategies – such as 'differentiation' or 'mastery'. • The crisis of low levels of learning in many sub-Saharan African contexts, affects a majority of pupils. • Causes of low levels of learning outcomes are many. • Value-added analysis analysis offers important potential for education system diagnostic research and practice. • Teachers in sub-Saharan Africa face large and heterogenous classes in challenging and poorly resourced conditions. • Differential value-added analysis does not provide for the identification of causal pathways. • Differential value-added analysis can draw attention to avenues for potential intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ghana has seen notable poverty reduction alongside improvements in school participation since 1991. This paper examines the role of education in determining welfare and poverty and its reciprocal, the role of welfare and other aspects of economic privilege in the determination of school attendance and progression. Two groups of models are presented using data from the Ghana Living Standard Surveys. The results suggest that education levels play an important role in determining household welfare and that higher levels of education have relatively larger and increasing benefits. Improvements are observed in relation to lower levels of educational access over the period, while the lucrative benefits of progression beyond the compulsory phase are found largely to be the preserve of relatively economically privileged households. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines access to and exclusion from basic education in Ghana over the period 1991-2006, using data derived from the Ghana Living Standards Surveys. It uses the CREATE 'zones of exclusion' model to explore schooling access outcomes within the framework of the household production function. Empirical findings indicate that the period was marked by large-scale quantitative access gains in Ghana. However, rates of progress through the system, as well as rates of dropout, showed no such improvements. Progress towards completion of the basic phase of education was found to be the preserve of the relatively privileged, raising questions of equity in relation to both the supply and demand for schooling. While Ghana may be one of few countries in Africa to achieve universal initial access to education, considerable challenges lie ahead in terms of improving rates of retention and completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neo-classical ‘human capital theory’ continues to be invoked as part of the rationale for educational expansion in the developing world. While the theory provides a route from educational inputs to economic outputs in terms of increased incomes and standards of living, the route is contingent and relies upon a number of key assumptions. This study examines these assumptions alongside student expectations of their educations in the context of Ghana using data collected from a survey conducted at higher education institution and from the Ghana Statistical Service''s ongoing living standards surveys. Data indicate that students have high economic expectations but that trends in wages and employment are leading to ‘wage compression’ which may ultimately make expectations difficult to fulfill. The relatively low private costs of education, particularly higher education, may mean, however, that educational investment remains very much a ‘rational’ choice in economic terms. However, the study finds that key assumptions of successful human capital investment went largely unsatisfied in Ghana. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Inequality. • Inequalities. • Learning poverty. • Learning at the bottom of the pyramid. • Equity. • Learning assessment. • Quality. • Learning levels. This paper explores the quantitative relationships between average levels of learning achievement across countries, changes in average levels of learning achievement, the inequality of distribution of achievement (akin to income or wealth inequality in general development analysis), and the proportion of students learning at or below an absolute minimum (akin to poverty in general development analysis). The paper uses a variety of data from cross-national and national assessments: aggregate data, micro (student-level) data, school-level data, and time-series data. The paper shows how various factors such as gender or wealth impact learning levels, but also shows that 'systems-related' inequality, not directly related to such factors, is typically much larger than inequality associated with any of those factors. The paper shows that countries progress from very low average levels of achievement to middle levels more by reducing the percentage of students with very low scores (that is, by paying attention to the 'bulging' left-hand tail of the distribution) than by increasing the percentage of high performing students. The availability of micro data from a particular case allows exploration of the relationship between inequality measures and measures of the percentage of students below a low level of achievement and shows that, at least in that case, the reduction in inequality that accompanies improvements in the average levels takes place mostly through a reduction in the percentage below a low level. Unlike in the case of income, where vast reductions in income poverty seem possible without reducing income inequality, the evidence presented here suggests that this typically does not happen with learning levels: inequality reduction, reductions in percentages below a low level, and improvements in the averages are all empirically connected. More work is needed to show whether that connection is also causal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the research degree paper "Education, poverty and culture in Ghana 1991-2010," by Caine Rolleston, is presented.