High-Impact Educational Practices in Developing Countries: A Case Study of (I)NGO Providers in Palestine

The proposed research investigates the contribution to sustainable development of
high-impact educational practices (HIEPs) delivered by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) to undergraduate students. HIEPs include writing-intensive
courses, undergraduate research, group projects, community- and service-based
learning, study abroad, and internships (Kuh 2008). The aim of such HIEPs is to
promote students' success in academic, professional, and civic settings, with extant
evidence gathered in the US showing HIEPs do so (Brownell and Swaner 2009; Kilgo
et al 2015). Palestine is the site of the research, given the longstanding proliferation of
NGOs and their HIEPs projects there (see Calis 2013). In Palestine, NGO-delivered
HIEPs are increasingly significant for achieving sustainable development, especially
the fourth Sustainable Development Goal on education and its mission in building
capacities for sustainable development. Yet, like in other developing countries, HIEPs
in Palestine lack any scholarly investigation, especially when delivered in non-formal
educational settings. To tackle this knowledge gap, the research will use an
interpretivist approach and qualitative methods to answer three primary questions:
How and why are NGOs delivering HIEPs? What benefits arise for participants from
these HIEPs? What factors maximise the impact of NGO-delivered HIEPs? Overall,
this research will (i) expand current knowledge of and improve education policy on
non-formal education for development; and (ii) deepen understanding of the role of
educational NGOs and the impact of HIEPs in a developing country, with the ultimate
goal of making NGO-delivered HIEPs more effective in building in and beyond
Palestine a citizenry capable of contributing to sustainable development.