IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v48y2016icp66-78.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How does classroom composition affect learning outcomes in Ugandan primary schools?

Author

Listed:
  • Jones, Sam

Abstract

There is widespread agreement that schooling quality should be a priority in the post-2015 education agenda, but less agreement on how quality can be enhanced in a cost effective manner. In Uganda, classroom overcrowding is often considered a critical cause of poor learning outcomes. This paper investigates how various aspects of classroom composition, including class size and the achievement distribution of classmates, affect individual learning. Using test score data for over 250,000 children, such compositional factors are found to be relevant. However, their influence on learning is not so large as to justify major standalone policy interventions. Rather, pedagogical changes that support children with literacy difficulties merit particular consideration.

Suggested Citation

  • Jones, Sam, 2016. "How does classroom composition affect learning outcomes in Ugandan primary schools?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 66-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:48:y:2016:i:c:p:66-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.11.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059315300122
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.11.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sacerdote, Bruce, 2011. "Peer Effects in Education: How Might They Work, How Big Are They and How Much Do We Know Thus Far?," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 4, pages 249-277, Elsevier.
    2. Pritchett, Lant & Beatty, Amanda, 2012. "The Negative Consequences of Overambitious Curricula in Developing Countries," Working Paper Series rwp12-035, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. Scott E. Carrell & Frederick V. Malmstrom & James E. West, 2008. "Peer Effects in Academic Cheating," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(1).
    4. Sam Jones & Youdi Schipper & Sara Ruto & Rakesh Rajani, 2014. "Can Your Child Read and Count? Measuring Learning Outcomes in East Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 23(5), pages 643-672.
    5. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 1999. "School Inputs and Educational Outcomes in South Africa," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 1047-1084.
    6. David K. Evans & Anna Popova, 2016. "What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 242-270.
    7. Nadir Altinok & Claude Diebolt & Jean-Luc Demeulemeester, 2014. "A new international database on education quality: 1965--2010," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(11), pages 1212-1247, April.
    8. Griliches, Zvi & Hausman, Jerry A., 1986. "Errors in variables in panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 93-118, February.
    9. Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & Michael Kremer, 2011. "Peer Effects, Teacher Incentives, and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1739-1774, August.
    10. Glick, Peter & Sahn, David E., 2009. "Cognitive skills among children in Senegal: Disentangling the roles of schooling and family background," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 178-188, April.
    11. Cheti Nicoletti & Birgitta Rabe, 2019. "Sibling spillover effects in school achievement," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 482-501, June.
    12. Eliana Garces & Duncan Thomas & Janet Currie, 2002. "Longer-Term Effects of Head Start," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 999-1012, September.
    13. Spaull, Nicholas & Kotze, Janeli, 2015. "Starting behind and staying behind in South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 13-24.
    14. Victor Lavy & M. Daniele Paserman & Analia Schlosser, 2012. "Inside the Black Box of Ability Peer Effects: Evidence from Variation in the Proportion of Low Achievers in the Classroom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(559), pages 208-237, March.
    15. Marco Manacorda, 2012. "The Cost of Grade Retention," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(2), pages 596-606, May.
    16. Mazumder Bhashkar, 2011. "Family and Community Influences on Health and Socioeconomic Status: Sibling Correlations Over the Life Course," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, September.
    17. Caroline M. Hoxby, 2000. "The Effects of Class Size on Student Achievement: New Evidence from Population Variation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1239-1285.
    18. Scott E. Carrell & Mark L. Hoekstra, 2010. "Externalities in the Classroom: How Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Affect Everyone's Kids," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 211-228, January.
    19. Figlio, David N., 1999. "Functional form and the estimated effects of school resources," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 241-252, April.
    20. Michael Kremer & Alaka Holla, 2009. "Improving Education in the Developing World: What Have We Learned from Randomized Evaluations?," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 513-545, May.
    21. Ammermüller, Andreas & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen, 2006. "Peer Effects in European Primary Schools: Evidence from PIRLS," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-027, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    22. Adrienne M. Lucas & Patrick J. McEwan & Moses Ngware & Moses Oketch, 2014. "Improving Early‐Grade Literacy In East Africa: Experimental Evidence From Kenya And Uganda," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 950-976, September.
    23. Deon Filmer & Amer Hasan & Lant Pritchett, 2006. "A Millennium Learning Goal: Measuring Real Progress in Education," Working Papers 97, Center for Global Development.
    24. Angrist, Joshua D., 2014. "The perils of peer effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 98-108.
    25. MacKinnon, James G, 1992. "Model Specification Tests and Artificial Regressions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 102-146, March.
    26. Matthew Neidell & Jane Waldfogel, 2010. "Cognitive and Noncognitive Peer Effects in Early Education," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(3), pages 562-576, August.
    27. Ashenfelter, Orley & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Estimates of the Economic Returns to Schooling from a New Sample of Twins," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1157-1173, December.
    28. Nazmul Chaudhury & Jeffrey Hammer & Michael Kremer & Karthik Muralidharan & F. Halsey Rogers, 2006. "Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 91-116, Winter.
    29. Foureaux Koppensteiner, Martin, 2014. "Automatic grade promotion and student performance: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 277-290.
    30. Greene, Jay P. & Winters, Marcus A., 2009. "The effects of exemptions to Florida's test-based promotion policy: Who is retained?: Who benefits academically?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 135-142, February.
    31. Lant Pritchett and Amanda Beatty, 2012. "The Negative Consequences of Overambitious Curricula in Developing Countries - Working Paper 293," Working Papers 293, Center for Global Development.
    32. Deininger, Klaus, 2003. "Does cost of schooling affect enrollment by the poor? Universal primary education in Uganda," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 291-305, June.
    33. Sebastian Fehrler & Katharina Michaelowa & Annika Wechtler, 2009. "The Effectiveness of Inputs in Primary Education: Insights from Recent Student Surveys for Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1545-1578.
    34. Caroline Hoxby, 2000. "Peer Effects in the Classroom: Learning from Gender and Race Variation," NBER Working Papers 7867, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Waly Wane & Gayle Martin, 2013. "Education and Health Services in Uganda : Data for Results and Accountability," World Bank Publications - Reports 16683, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2015. "Aid, education policy, and development," WIDER Working Paper Series 135, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Bölükbaş, Sema & Gür, Bekir S., 2020. "Tracking and inequality: The results from Turkey," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Aguiar, Ana Lúcia & Aguiar, Cecília, 2020. "Classroom composition and quality in early childhood education: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Cirera, Laia & Castelló, Judit Vall & Brew, Joe & Saúte, Francisco & Sicuri, Elisa, 2022. "The impact of a malaria elimination initiative on school outcomes: Evidence from Southern Mozambique," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    5. Masino, Serena & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2016. "What works to improve the quality of student learning in developing countries?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 53-65.
    6. Sakaue, Katsuki & Wokadala, James, 2022. "Effects of including refugees in local government schools on pupils’ learning achievement: Evidence from West Nile, Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    7. Mouzinho Mário & Celso M. Monjane & Ricardo Santos, 2020. "The education sector in Mozambique: From access to epistemic quality in primary education," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-130, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Sam Jones, 2020. "Testing the Technology of Human Capital Production: A General‐to‐Restricted Framework," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(6), pages 1429-1455, December.
    9. Atuhurra, Julius & Alinda, Violet, 2018. "Basic Education curriculum effectiveness in East Africa: A descriptive analysis of primary mathematics in Uganda using the ‘Surveys of Enacted Curriculum’," MPRA Paper 87583, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2015. "Aid, education policy, and development," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-135, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Atuhurra, Julius & Alinda, Violet, 2017. "Basic Education curriculum effectiveness analysis in East Africa: Using the ‘Surveys of Enacted Curriculum’ framework to describe primary mathematics and English content in Uganda," MPRA Paper 79017, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 May 2017.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wennberg, Karl & Norgren, Axel, 2021. "Models of Peer Effects in Education," Working Papers 21/3, Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Educational Leadership and Excellence.
    2. Feng, Han & Li, Jiayao, 2016. "Head teachers, peer effects, and student achievement," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 268-283.
    3. Hill, Andrew J., 2014. "The costs of failure: Negative externalities in high school course repetition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 91-105.
    4. Heather Antecol & Ozkan Eren & Serkan Ozbeklik, 2016. "Peer Effects in Disadvantaged Primary Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(1), pages 95-132.
    5. Andersland, Leroy, 2017. "Peer Effects from a School Choice Reform," Working Papers in Economics 9/17, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    6. de Gendre, Alexandra & Salamanca, Nicolás, 2020. "On the Mechanisms of Ability Peer Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 13938, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Ruijs, Nienke, 2017. "The impact of special needs students on classmate performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 15-31.
    8. Fruehwirth, Jane Cooley & Gagete-Miranda, Jessica, 2019. "Your peers’ parents: Spillovers from parental education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Silvia Mendolia & Alfredo R Paloyo & Ian Walker, 2018. "Heterogeneous effects of high school peers on educational outcomes," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(3), pages 613-634.
    10. Servaas van der Berg & Gabrielle Wills & Rebecca Selkirk & Charles Adams & Chris van Wyk, 2019. "The cost of repetition in South Africa," Working Papers 13/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    11. Stephen Gibbons & Shqiponja Telhaj, 2016. "Peer Effects: Evidence from Secondary School Transition in England," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(4), pages 548-575, August.
    12. Piper, Benjamin & Simmons Zuilkowski, Stephanie & Dubeck, Margaret & Jepkemei, Evelyn & King, Simon J., 2018. "Identifying the essential ingredients to literacy and numeracy improvement: Teacher professional development and coaching, student textbooks, and structured teachers’ guides," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 324-336.
    13. Jones, Sam, 2013. "Class Size Versus Class Composition: What Matters for Learning in East Africa?," WIDER Working Paper Series 065, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Dinarte Diaz,Lelys Ileana, 2020. "Peer Effects on Violence : Experimental Evidence from El Salvador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9187, The World Bank.
    15. Hikaru Kawarazaki & Minhaj Mahmud & Yasuyuki Sawada & Mai Seki, 2023. "Haste Makes No Waste: Positive Peer Effects of Classroom Speed Competition on Learning," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 85(4), pages 755-772, August.
    16. Delavallade, Clara & Griffith, Alan & Shukla, Gaurav & Thornton, Rebecca, 2017. "Participation, learning, and equity in education: Can we have it all?," IFPRI discussion papers 1627, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Berlinski, Samuel & Busso, Matias & Giannola, Michele, 2023. "Helping struggling students and benefiting all: Peer effects in primary education," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    18. Coveney, Max & Oosterveen, Matthijs, 2021. "What drives ability peer effects?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    19. Roller, Marcus & Steinberg, Daniel, 2020. "The distributional effects of early school stratification - non-parametric evidence from Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    20. Sam Jones, 2013. "Class Size Versus Class Composition: What Matters for Learning in East Africa?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-065, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:48:y:2016:i:c:p:66-78. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.
    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy