GCRF_NF46 Children's learning and development in the time of Covid19: Evidence from an ongoing longitudinal study in Ghana
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Imperial College Business School
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and related social and economic crises are undermining children's education in low- and middle-income countries through school closures, unequal access to remote-learning activities, and increased household food insecurity and poverty. Groups at greater risk, including girls and children from the poorest families, are likely being disproportionately affected, amplifying existing inequalities in child education, health and broader development.
We embed in an ongoing longitudinal project, Quality Preschool for Ghana, a study of the pandemic's repercussions on children's education and broader development for a representative sample of urban Ghanaian boys and girls aged 10-12 years (N=~2,000), their households, and teachers (N=~400).
We have four main goals. First, we investigate household and child vulnerability and resilience to the crisis, with three phone surveys with parents and one phone survey with children starting in late summer, followed by already-funded child and parent direct assessments later in the 2020-2021 school-year. Second, with three additional phone surveys with teachers, we generate new data on how children, parents and teachers are faring with the remote-learning implemented during school closures and with re-entry into in-person schooling should that happen in the 2020-21 school year. Third, by piggy-backing on already-funded data collection activities planned for later in the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, and combined with four prior rounds of data on these children starting in preschool, we examine inequalities in the effects of the crisis on learning and broader child development domains (health, psycho-social outcomes). Fourth, we monitor changes in poverty and food security and examine their associations with later-in-life children's educational outcomes.
The proposed study provides the Ghanaian government with unique, real-time data to inform remote-learning, school-reentry, how children, families and teachers are coping with the crisis, and social-protection efforts. Results will provide timely and much-needed academic and policy insights for Ghana and broader global educational efforts to protect children from the long-term effects of the pandemic on their learning and development.
We embed in an ongoing longitudinal project, Quality Preschool for Ghana, a study of the pandemic's repercussions on children's education and broader development for a representative sample of urban Ghanaian boys and girls aged 10-12 years (N=~2,000), their households, and teachers (N=~400).
We have four main goals. First, we investigate household and child vulnerability and resilience to the crisis, with three phone surveys with parents and one phone survey with children starting in late summer, followed by already-funded child and parent direct assessments later in the 2020-2021 school-year. Second, with three additional phone surveys with teachers, we generate new data on how children, parents and teachers are faring with the remote-learning implemented during school closures and with re-entry into in-person schooling should that happen in the 2020-21 school year. Third, by piggy-backing on already-funded data collection activities planned for later in the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, and combined with four prior rounds of data on these children starting in preschool, we examine inequalities in the effects of the crisis on learning and broader child development domains (health, psycho-social outcomes). Fourth, we monitor changes in poverty and food security and examine their associations with later-in-life children's educational outcomes.
The proposed study provides the Ghanaian government with unique, real-time data to inform remote-learning, school-reentry, how children, families and teachers are coping with the crisis, and social-protection efforts. Results will provide timely and much-needed academic and policy insights for Ghana and broader global educational efforts to protect children from the long-term effects of the pandemic on their learning and development.
Publications
Wolf S
(2022)
Medium-term protective effects of quality early childhood education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
in Child development
Wolf S
(2022)
Remote learning engagement and learning outcomes during school closures in Ghana
in International Journal of Educational Research
| Description | So far, we have the following key findings from the first round of surveys: 1. Private schools offered more distance learning and personalized learning opportunities to students than public schools. Only slightly more than half of teachers reported that their schools offered some distance learning activities while schools were closed, with no large differences between public and private schools. School type, however, mattered for the type of distance learning activities that schools were offering. Private schools provided more individualized distance learning materials to students and communicated directly with families through online classes or instant messages. Public school teachers were more likely to provide assignments to their students through hardcopy materials and to encourage participation in government educational programming. 2. Many children faced barriers and lacked vital educational resources and support from both teachers and caregivers while attempting to engage in distance learning. public school children participated at lower rates than their private school counterparts and had less access to educational resources including such as the Internet, technological devices, radio, and television. Overall, 12% and 19% of children who attended private and public schools, respectively, reported receiving no support at all from their caregiver. For those who received support, the type of support children received from their caregivers varied by the type of school they were attending prior to school closures. Public school children had less access to textbooks, internet connectivity, smart devices and other tools that would assist in bridge the gap between learning in the classroom and learning at home. 3. Students with disabilities had a great difficulty accessing distance learning material provided by their schools, creating larger educational gaps. Students with disabilities made up about 2% of this sample, the most commonly diagnoses being intellectual disabilities, visually and hearing impaired. 74% of teachers were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the accessibility of TV and radio distance learning for children with disabilities. Likewise, 65% of caregivers indicated that either distance learning and/or education resources provided by the school were not accessible for children with disabilities. 4. Learning inequalities by school type and socioeconomic status are large. Even while controlling for previous literacy and numeracy scores from earlier rounds of surveys assessing the same childre, private school children outperformed their public school peers by 0.27 and 0.35 s.d., respectively. Likewise, students with high socioeconomic status experienced similar increases in both literacy and numeracy scores. No noticeable difference is found between scores across gender. 5. 30% of children reported hunger in the previous month, with larger rates for low socioeconomic status, boys and public school children. As of March 2022, we note the following additional findings: (i) Early childhood education acts as a protective factor for children's engagement in education during crises We report here the results for a study (R&R #3, Child Development) examining the role of QP4G in supporting learning engagement during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic led to extended school closures globally. Access to remote learning opportunities during this time was vastly unequal within and across countries. Higher-quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve later academic outcomes, but longer-term effects during crises are unknown. This study provides the first experimental evidence of how previously attending a higher-quality ECE program affected child engagement in remote learning and academic scores during pandemic-related school closures in Ghana. Children (N=1,668; 50.1% male; Mage=10.1 years; all Ghanaian nationals) who attended a higher-quality ECE program at age 4/5 years had greater engagement in remote learning activities (d=0.14), but not better scores in language and literacy and math. Previous exposure to higher-quality ECE may support child educational engagement during crises. (ii) Effects of the pandemic on teachers. These findings are captured in a IPA policy brief (reported in the engagement section). Teachers were also highly affected by the pandemic. Among other findings, we highlight the following: • Nearly 20% of teachers left the teaching profession when schools reopened. Those who left teaching were more likely to work in a private school. • Upon reopening schools, teachers were concerned about a wide array of issues. The most highly reported was the health and safety of their students and themselves. • As students returned to school, nearly half of teachers reported that more than 50 percent of their students are behind in learning. Twenty-one percent indicate that the learning loss is "very large." • To address learning loss once schools re-opened, teachers most frequently reported assigning extra homework (59 percent) and holding remedial or after school classes (39 percent) to mitigate this loss. Private school teachers reported organizing more after school classes for students (44 percent versus 33 percent of public-school teachers). This finding is consistent with the pattern observed during distance learning, whereby private school teachers were also more likely to engage students in individualized learning activities during those months. We are currently in the process of analysing the latest rounds of data, collected in the Spring/Summer 2021 and in January-March 2022. This rich and unique dataset - including detailed information on children, parents and teachers experiences during the school closures and upon their re-opening across two academic years - is allowing us to explore more questions that what we originally envisaged at the beginning of this project. First, we will examine medium-term effects of the QP4G intervention, as planned, but we are also, in addition, investigating issues related to inequalities in access and uptake of remote learning, the protective role of preschool education during crises, learning losses related to the pandemic, and validity of in-person phone assessments. |
| Exploitation Route | We organised a webinar with Ministry of Education and GES directors and officers to enhance uptake and use of study findings. We will do another webinar (open) on March 11. We are currently producing a memo for distributing on the project website and to key stakeholders. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education,Healthcare |
| URL | https://www.poverty-action.org/publication/impact-covid-19-children%E2%80%99s-learning-and-development-ghana |
| Description | The study was shared with a cross section of stakeholders via a webinar. Participants included- Ministry of Education staff (policy makers and implementers) and civil society, as well as development partners. The research team and research partner IPA also presented the research (in-person/virtual) to participants at the National Education Week 2021 and 2022, the annual review and planning conference of the Ministry of Education, with policy makers, implementers, development partners, and civil society in attendance. The Ministry also pulled together research during the COVID-era to complement the research the research tean shared - focusing on learning gaps and return to school. Overall, our study formed part of the Ministry's drive to optimize post COVID return to school rates and support learners to bridge learning gap among vulnerable groups of children. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Title | New instruments to measure child learning by phone |
| Description | We adapted, piloted, and administered at scale new scales for conducting learning assessments by phone. This is a new and active area of research, and we are currently validating these measures by examining their reliability compared to in-person data collection. We are also active part of an international group of researchers that is examining this question in a variety of these settings. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Assessing the quality of learning assessments by phone is an important area of research, as these tools could be used for routine learning assessments at scale, given their lower costs compared with in-person assessments. |
| Description | Conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at CIES conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://cies2021.org/wp-content/uploads/PROGRAM.pdf |
| Description | Policy brief on remote learning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The COVID 19 pandemic and the associated social and economic downturn are undermining children's educational and developmental outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Leveraging an on-going longitudinal study, researchers in Ghana conducted phone surveys and other research activities to measure the pandemic's repercussions on children's education and broader developmental outcomes. On average, private school students and students with high socioeconomic status had higher test scores at the end of the school closure period compared with their public- school counterparts, even when controlling of their previous scores. Additionally, 72 percent of public school children missed daily lunches that are received by the Ghana School Feeding Program and 30 percent of surveyed children claimed they experienced hunger during school closures. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.poverty-action.org/publication/impact-covid-19-children%E2%80%99s-learning-and-developme... |
| Description | Policy brief on teachers experiences during the pandemic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators and students worldwide to rapidly shift to distance learning. As a result, governments, school systems, and educators worked to provide continuity in learning and services accessed through schools-such as school feeding programs-while trying to reconcile persistent equity gaps in access to technology and material and social resources. To date, global educational research has largely focused on how existing disparities and the social and economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 have undermined children's learning. Much less data exist on how teachers fared during distance learning and the return to in-person schooling. This brief leverages an ongoing longitudinal study on children, parents, and teachers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Researchers conducted two rounds of phone surveys with 514 primary-school teachers from public and private schools to measure the pandemic's repercussions on both children's education and teacher well-being. Data were collected during school closures (October 2020) and when schools reopened (mid-January 2021) after ten months of distance learning. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.poverty-action.org/publication/experience-educators-during-covid-19-pandemic-surveys-dur... |
| Description | Presentation at Ghana National Education Week: Evidence Summit 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of study findings by Dr Esinam Avornyo at Ghana National Education Week: Evidence Summit 2021: Remodelling Education for Sustainable Teaching and Learning. The Evidence Summit, which forms part of the National Education Week (NEW), was held on September 29, 2021. The event brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to a) share rigorous evidence that has been collected about innovative approaches to improving access to STEM education and use of digital technology in learning, in Ghana and internationally; and b) identify ways to build resilience in the education system for quality education delivery. The Ministry of Education holds the National Education Week (NEW) annually to engage stakeholders in the review of sector performance and collectively strategize towards the attainment of sector targets in the ensuing year. The theme for NEW 2021 focused on "Reimagining Education for National Transformation." The Evidence Day of NEW provided a platform to discuss best practices and to draw out lessons for policy and education planning. Papers were presented, linked to this year's NEW theme, across the sub-sectors of education from early grade to tertiary level. This assisted policymakers and sector practitioners with evidence to inform reform, planning, and policy implementation for improved service delivery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.poverty-action.org/event/ghana-national-education-week-evidence-summit-2021 |
| Description | Presentation at Society for Research on Child Development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of findings at Society for Research on child development, one of the most important conferences in the field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.srcd.org/event/srcd-2021-biennial-meeting/schedule-glance |
| Description | Presentation on remote learning and learning losses at National Reading Day in Ghana |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of study findings and learning inequalities at National Reading day organised in partnership with the Ministry of Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | COVID-19 and its associated school closures present significant challenges for Ghana's education system. Ghanaian children were out of school from March 2020 until January 2021, losing out on the hours of learning that the structured school setting presents along with other benefits such as the school feeding program. Under the present conditions, research and data offer guidance to inform the reopening of schools. On March 11, 2021, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) hosted this webinar presented emerging data on the effects of COVID-19 on education in Ghana. 482 registered attendees from across the globe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.poverty-action.org/event/learning-time-pandemic-effects-covid-19-students%E2%80%99-learn... |
| Description | Webinar with Ministry of Education/Ghana Education Services to present results from first round of survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We organised a webinar to present the findings from the first round of phone surveys to children, parents and teachers to Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Services general and district directors, and other key employees. We restricted specifically to this audience because we wanted to provoke in-depth discussions and debate that could enhance the uptake of the data generated through our project for informing policies for children's learning in this return-to-school phase |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |