The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain't Learning by Lant Pritchett

Author:Lant Pritchett [Pritchett, Lant]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Education, Aims & Objectives, Educational Policy & Reform, General, Evaluation & Assessment, Experimental Methods, History, Organizations & Institutions, Social Science, Developing & Emerging Countries
ISBN: 9781933286778
Google: PQ72AAAAQBAJ
Publisher: CGD Books
Published: 2013-09-29T17:00:00+00:00

Source: Adapted from Duflo, Dupas, and Kremer (2012).

The idea behind using solid research methods (such as randomization) is to prove what works so that these new ideas can be scaled up. What is interesting is that this study (the results of which were available in roughly their current form in 2007) has produced two additional actions, both of which illustrate the dangers of isomorphic mimicry.

First, researchers tried to replicate the findings that additional contract teachers would improve student test scores at a larger scale than the original study (Bold et al. 2013). In doing so they replicated the process using both the Kenyan Ministry of Education and an international NGO, World Vision. Bold and colleagues found that when the original policy of contract teachers was implemented by the NGO, it had exactly the same impact, with relatively big effect size learning gains for students exposed to contract teachers. But when the Ministry of Education was responsible for implementation, even of the same design and using contract teachers, the impact on student learning was zero. So the Ministry appeared to be adopting a best practice of policies that had been “proven” by “rigorous research” to work, but it did not have the same impact.

Second, given the long lag of busy researchers in producing papers, one can see isomorphic mimicry play out in real time. Duflo, Dupas, and Kremer (2012) conclude their report with the following statement:

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