When Do In-service Teacher Training and Books Improve Student Achievement? : Experimental Evidence from Mongolia

Fuje, Habtamu ; Tandon, Prateek

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: SKILLS;    PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS;    UNIVERSITY DEGREE;    COMPARATIVE EDUCATION;    GENDER INEQUALITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7485
RP-ID  :  WPS7485

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study presents evidence from arandomized control trial (RCT) in Mongolia on the impact ofin-service teacher training and books, both as separateeducational inputs and as a package. The study tests for thecomplementarity of inputs and non-linearity of returns frominvestment in education as measured by students test scoresin five subjects. It takes advantage of a national-scale RCTconducted under the Rural Education and Development project.The results suggest that the provision of books, in additionto teacher training, raises student achievementsubstantially. However, teacher training and books weaklyimprove test scores when provided individually. Studentswhose teachers have received training and whose classroomshave acquired books improved their cumulative score (totaledacross five tests) by 34.9 percent of a standard deviation,relative to a control group. Students treated only withbooks improved their total score by 20.6 percent of astandard deviation relative to a control group of students.On the other hand, extra teacher training did not have astatistically significant effect on the total test score. Inaddition, providing both inputs jointly improved test scoresin most subjects, which was not the case when either inputwas provided individually. This study sheds light on therelevance of supplementing teacher training schemes withappropriate teaching materials in resource-poor settings.The policy implication is that isolated educationinvestments, in settings where complementary inputs aremissing, could deliver minimal or no return.