Overview
Education is a powerful instrument for reducing poverty and improving health, stability, and economic prosperity. Access to quality education, skills development, and lifelong learning—from early childhood to tertiary education and beyond— allows people to thrive in school, at work, and throughout their lives.
Our education research program focuses on cost-effective solutions to achieve the following goals:
Expanding opportunities for learning at all levels
Improving the quality of education
These themes align with the World Bank’s Education Strategy (World Bank 2020) and the World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education’s Promise (World Bank 2018), and they represent the key ingredients that drive the learning process.
We also develop customized data and provide evidence on program design and implementation through diagnostic reports, systematic reviews, policy dashboards, and just-in-time technical assistance. The Development Impact Group Education program also collaborates with the World Bank Education GP, countries and regions, and governments and external partners including WFP, the European Commission, the FCDO, Norad, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Themes
The Development Impact Group's Education program covers two interrelated focus areas:
1. Expanding Opportunities for Learning at All Levels
School Readiness and Youth Skills The Development Impact Group focuses on preparing, supporting, and motivating learners across education levels, including providing alternative skills. Partnered with the World Food Programme (WFP), the Development Impact Group is producing novel evidence on school feeding programs' role as a social safety net for children. The Development Impact Group also collaborates with education projects in Nigeria, Kenya, Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire to test the effectiveness of apprenticeship and vocational training programs.
- Girls' Education and Empowerment Identifying barriers to girls' education and exploring mechanisms that promote gender equity and socio-economic empowerment. In DRC, a diagnostic highlighted constraints to girls' education and provided policy recommendations for keeping girls in school. Partnerships in DRC and Nigeria explore the effectiveness of life skills training through Girls Clubs on school retention and learning outcomes.
- Social Norms and Behavioral Change Campaigns Examining community-based approaches and entertainment education to challenge harmful social norms towards education. For instance, in northern Nigeria, edutainment screenings increased parental aspirations for their children's education and reduced out-of-school rates.
2. Improving the Quality of Education
Quality Teachers The Development Impact Group explores teacher recruitment incentives, teacher training and development modalities, and measurement of teaching practices. In Brazil, providing teachers with in-service training and grants significantly improved student learning and reduced teacher turnover. In Lebanon, allocating resources towards academic advising increased college success.
School Inputs and Infrastructure The Development Impact Group studies how different school inputs, such as WASH facilities, learning materials, and edtech interventions, can improve learning environments and outcomes. Across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the Development Impact Group is trialing edtech foundational learning apps. Specifically in northern Nigeria, community screenings combined with smartphones preloaded with literacy apps improved children's learning outcomes by 35%.
School Management The Development Impact Group supports learning through effective leadership and management structures, offering school leaders professional development opportunities to ensure effective use of resources, accountability via community and parental engagement, and bureaucratic capacity to manage schools with . In Punjab (Pakistan), the Development Impact Group assessed the effectiveness of a centralized accountability system implemented at scale on school management and student outcomes. In Tanzania, the Development Impact Group is testing cost-effective ways to deliver professional development training to head teachers with support from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Safe and Inclusive Schools Identifying reliable mechanisms for school violence prevention and approaches for quality, inclusive education. In Tanzania, the Development Impact Group is working with World Bank education teams to strengthen the Primary Safe School Program, promoting safe and inclusive school climates via holistic community involvement.
Climate Change and Learning Environments Exploring the impact of efficient learning spaces and environmentally friendly school inputs on education outcomes. In northern Tanzania, the evaluation of the GivePower School Program assesses the effects of school electrification through solar panels, TV sets, and digital media.
Partnerships
The Development Impact Group's Education program collaborates with governments and partners, leveraging technology to address education challenges and improve digital management. Key partners include the EU, FCDO, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), WFP, and IFC. For example, with the World Bank Group Education Global Practice, the Development Impact Group has provided policy recommendations to keep girls in school. The Development Impact Group also contributes to the Childcare Initiative, researching childcare provision impacts, and with WFP, explores school feeding programs as a social safety net. To learn more about our partnership with WFP click here.
