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Caste is a unique marker of social stratification in India. There are significant eco- nomic inequalities and considerable disparities in educational achievements between historically disadvantaged caste groups and Others. Unequal investments in their chil- dren's human capital by caste can perpetuate income inequalities and reproduce class differences between caste groups. This paper analyses caste-based disparities in house- hold expenditure on children's school education using nationally representative social expenditure data on education from 2007–08 and 2017–18 in India. The paper uses a recentered influence function (RIF) based decomposition analysis to pinpoint the key factors underpinning the disparity in private educational expenditure between disadvantaged caste groups and Others. Further, to overcome the problem of heterogeneity of data the study also employs propensity score matching (PSM) as robustness check for the decomposition analysis. The findings from decomposition and matching approaches reveal that differences in endowments, specifically income differences, between caste groups explain most of the caste-based gap in children's human capital investments. The study has implications for public policy to address educational and economic disparities between disadvantaged caste groups (ST, SC and OBC) and Others in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 13,584 observations of 4772 undergraduate students enrolled in 523 online classes offered synchronously at a research university in China, and using online-learning platform data and administrative data, this paper examines the impacts of class attendance on academic performance. Based on student-level and course-level fixed effects models with a unique set of student-course level control variables, this paper finds class attendance to have a significantly positive impact on academic performance. This effect is larger for low-performing students and smaller for students in courses with larger class sizes. The above findings survive a number of robustness checks, including a bounding technique, restricting sample to compulsory courses and limiting variation in attendance caused by whole day absence. • This paper represents the first attempt to examine the effects of class attendance on academic performance of college students in synchronous online courses. • Based on 13584 observations of 4772 students enrolled in 523 online classes at a research university in China, this paper uses a larger sample with a diverse range of courses and more accurate indicators of class attendance. • Employing student and course fixed effects, we find that students' class attendance has a significantly positive impact on their academic performance. For a one standard deviation increase in class attendance, academic performance increases by 0.08 standard deviation. • The positive attendance effect is stronger for lower-performing students and students in smaller classes, and remains substantial even for courses without mandatory attendance requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of male peer proportion on a student's academic performance. The sex ratio at 10–14 was 117.16 in 2011, and it has increased to 119.1 in 2019. The sex ratio imbalance at 10–14 tends to expand. This paper uses China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) 2013–14 and 2014–15. Considering the selection bias, this paper restricts the sample to schools that satisfy randomly-assignment conditions. The results highlight that students with a high proportion of male classmates have a lower performance in Mathematics and English but not Chinese. To explain these effects, this paper uses three channels to interpret: (1) cognitive ability, (2) learning effort, and (3) the quality of the classroom environment. It provides implications for policymakers and school administrators to take precautions in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to determine if students academic integrity during examinations, age and gender predict their academic performance and examine its implications for adopting preventive actions against cheating in examinations. It was based on the Modified Theory of Planned Behaviour. Analysis of data collected with the aid of Academic Integrity Measurement Instrument (AIMI) led to significant findings that Academic Integrity during examinations and Age significantly predict Academic Performance. There was significant predictive relationship between Age and Academic Integrity during examinations as well as between Age and Academic Performance. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between male and female students in the Academic Integrity during examinations as well as in their Academic Performances. Whereas mean Academic Integrity score of female students were slightly higher than that of the males; the mean Academic Performance of male students was higher than that of the female students. These findings have implications for test development, administration and students' academic integrity policies and practices. Test developers and administrators should consider inclusion of a segment in the question papers that assess students' academic integrity especially in developing countries like Nigeria. The essence of such inclusion is to determine the relationship between students academic integrity quotient and their academic performance. In other words, the authors strongly recommend to the examination bodies and stakeholders to consider the possibility of determining the proportion of a student's academic performance attributable to academic dishonesty or honesty. • Academic Integrity and Age significantly predict Academic Performance. • There was significant relationship between Age and Academic Integrity. • There was a statistically significant difference between male and female students in Academic Integrity. • Test developers and administrators should consider inclusion of a segment in the question papers that assess students' academic integrity especially in developing countries like Nigeria. • The essence of such inclusion is to determine the relationship between students academic integrity quotient and their academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000 s, average standardized test scores of Brazilian public primary and middle school students in both reading and mathematics on the national test, the SAEB, have risen substantially. Although the increases cut across all race and socioeconomic groups, the increases were unequal across groups and varied greatly across states and municipalities/school districts. In this paper, we describe student achievement gains in Brazil among municipalities in 2007–2017, with the goal of understanding the variation in these gains and the socioeconomic, race, and school resource correlates of that variation. Our results suggest that student social class and race were highly correlated with municipal test score gains: those municipalities with higher social class and proportionately more White students made significantly larger gains. However, municipalities with greater social class inequality made smaller gains. Certain average characteristics of teachers in a municipality and the incidence of school violence were also significantly related to student performance gains. Thus, our estimates suggest that it may be possible to soften the effects of social structural inequality among and within districts by increasing the quality of teacher resources and reducing school violence in lower academically gaining districts. • Student test score gains in 2007–2017 were large but varied greatly across districts. • Districts with higher average SES and lower proportions of Blacks made larger gains. • Controlling for SES and race, districts with lower SES inequality made larger gains. • Better-educated teachers and less school violence were also related to higher gains. • SES and race are closely related to school learning gains in an unequal society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies learning losses related to delaying the return to in presence school activities after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, for children of low socioeconomic background in Mexico by exploiting a unique data set constructed for such purpose. Data on math and reading comprehension learning outcomes for a panel of children aged 10–15 were collected between April and December 2021 in two geographically adjacent and similar states in the southern region of the country, with significant between and within state variability in the school reopening and school return process. We use alternative estimation techniques to measure changes in learning outcomes in relation to the exposure to in-presence education during a 6-month period and find that children that returned to school earlier had higher achievement scores of at least 0.27 standard deviations, and these were greater for older children. These findings highlight the potential learning losses associated with remote education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies often associate endogamy with lower academic performance. Alternatively, external exposure seems to be correlated with higher research quality. Consequently, when measuring the effects of endogamy, authors should account for academic inertia as well as the different types of mobility. In this study, a large longitudinal database on the Brazilian higher education system is used to measure the effects of endogamy and mobility on scientific production. This paper examines whether types of scholars–such as those who never leave their doctoral institution or those that have some experience elsewhere, especially abroad, show differential results. Furthermore, it measures the changes in scholars' productivity when controlling for the distinct types of academic mobility throughout their careers. Results suggest that information about how mobile an academic is before and during its career is relevant when estimating the effects of endogamy on academic productivity and international academic experiences are correlated with higher likelihood of publishing. • A large longitudinal database on the Brazilian higher education system is used to measure the effects of endogamy and mobility on scientific production. The paper measures the changes in scholars' productivity when controlling for the distinct types of academic mobility throughout their careers. • Results suggest that information about how mobile an academic is before and during its career is relevant when estimating the effects of endogamy on academic productivity and international academic experiences are correlated with higher likelihood of publishing at more prestigious journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"University Social Responsibility", commonly abbreviated as USR, is a term that was created at the beginning of the 2000 s. The term USR was advocated by the inspiration of "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)" under the rapid progression of globalization. CSR is understood as being a corporate management way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental, and social imperatives, while at the same time addressing the needs of stakeholders. Hence this term includes an idea of corporate management and competition theory. In this respect, USR can be said to differ from previously used terms to discuss universities' roles and missions. Positioning this point as a property of USR, this study focused on this term. This is a literature review that aims to extract features of USR based on its nature and to consider achievements and issues. This study classified the research topics using the text mining method first and dug deep changes in the research trends by reading papers that were selected along with those topics carefully. As a result, three features were detected: a dynamic process on the practice base, a methodology to design corporative university management, and a top-down style concept. The concept of USR differed depending on the social situation in each country, while USR has converged as a way to meet the demands of social contribution to universities in the practice process. Since around 2018, there has been a trend toward improving the substantial quality of education while intending to differentiate from other universities. • The term USR was reinterpreted based on its nature brought by introducing corporate social responsibility. • Research trends of USR are explored using text mining. • USR is not a static condition but a dynamic process. • USR has tended to be recognized as a methodology of corporate management in the process. • Recently, improving the substantial quality of education has been intended while intending to differentiate from other universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper examines the effects of sibship composition and birth order on the school enrolment and educational attainment of children, using data from the Vietnam Population and Housing Census 2009. • We find that sibship size has a significant, negative effect on child education and having an additional boy lowers children's average educational attainment for both girls and boys. • We establish that birth order has a significant, negative effect on child education attainment, although that effect seems to vanish with the youngest sibling. • The findings imply that the result of family planning policy during the 1990s and 2000s may contribute to its remarkable educational achievements. • As parents disproportionately allocate more resources for boys and earlier born children, government-targeted programs should tackle those issues to provide equal school opportunities for all children. This paper examines the effects of sibship composition and birth order on the school enrolment and educational attainment of children, using data from the Vietnam Population and Housing Census 2009. Utilizing an instrumental variable estimation method to address the endogeneity of sibship size, we find that it has a significant, negative effect on child education. Examining the impact of sibling sex composition, we find that having an additional boy lowers children's average educational attainment for both girls and boys. We establish that birth order has a significant, negative effect on child educational attainment, although that effect seems to vanish with the youngest sibling. Our findings have several policy implications. First, the negative effect of sibship size on education implies that Vietnam's lower fertility rate, the result of family planning policy during the 1990s and 2000s, may contribute to its remarkable educational achievements. Second, we find that birth order and sibling sex composition are more important than sibship size in children's educational outcomes. As parents disproportionately allocate more resources for boys and earlier born children, government-targeted programs should tackle those issues to provide equal school opportunities for all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates which micro factors among student, classroom, teacher, and school characteristics explain inequalities in public-private school achievement at the end of primary school in 14 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Using data from the 2019 CONFEMEN Education Systems Analysis Program (PASEC) assessment and an empirical strategy that leverages an educational production function, an Oaxaca-Blinder, Juhn Murphy, and Pierce decomposition, the main findings are as follows. Private schools provide a higher quality of education than public schools. The variables gender of the student, age and gender of the teacher, and number of inspections contribute to reducing inequalities between the two groups, while the variables home language, kindergarten attendance, socioeconomic level of the student's family, age of the student, and location and infrastructure of the school contribute to maintaining educational inequalities. Students who do less well in private schools are less likely to succeed in public schools. Those who do well in public schools are equally likely to do well in private schools. • This research focuses on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of education at the end of primary school. • The study uses rigorous econometric analysis to assess the issue of public-private inequities. • This research focuses on the differences in academic performance between public and private schools. • The results of this research are of interest to both public and private educational developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of schools can be defined and measured as the ratio between the outputs produced (for example, achievement and competences) and the inputs utilized (human and technical resources). Technology holds the promise of increasing the efficiency of schools' operations, although empirical evidence on this is still scarce. This paper explores whether the ICT availability and use in 2757 schools from 10 Latin American countries are associated with higher efficiency, relying on PISA 2018. A method based on a double-bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is employed. The results highlight that the availability of ICT is positively correlated with higher school efficiency. This evidence is relevant for policy implications in setting the post-COVID priorities for educational systems in the region. • We employ the PISA (2018) for the Latin American region and DEA. • We study the impact of ICT access and its use on school efficiency in the region. • We find a level of inefficiency for the region of around 25%, with a high degree dispersion. • We find that the degree of access of ICT matters for efficiency more than ICT use. • The impact of level of ICT use on efficiency is more nuanced varying across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the effect of government school attendance on refugee pupils' learning achievement and the effect of refugee concentration in schools on the learning achievement of native pupils in government schools. The study uses learning assessment data collected in refugee settlements and host communities in West Nile, Uganda. The results show that refugee pupils attending government schools do not perform differently in English but score lower in math than those in non-government schools, while native pupils attending government schools with higher refugee concentrations score lower in both English and math under the context where massive refugee influx continues. • We analyze effects of including refugees in government schools on pupils' learning. • Data come from West Nile, Uganda, during the South Sudanese refugee influx. • Attending government schools has no significant effect on refugees' English score. • Refugees score lower in maths in government schools than in non-state schools. • Natives in high refugee concentration schools score less in English and math. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certificates obtained after taking Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) are priority documents that qualify students to be admitted into tertiary level education and are also a minimum requirement to contest in some political elections in Nigeria. 'Miracle' Examination Centres (MECs) are rogue/corrupt business outfits that position as regular schools/examination centres, but in reality deploy deviant means to secure unmerited SSCE results/certificates, and hence undermine academic integrity and country-wide development. In these rogue centres, candidates can acquire unmerited desirable grades across subjects taken in SSCE, hence the 'miracle' commonly ascribed to such centres in Nigeria. This paper deploys a systematic review of Nigeria-focused exam malpractice literature to explore the drivers that facilitate the establishment and spread of MECs as well as interventions that can be used to eliminate them. Identified documents that met inclusion criteria (94: 48 non-traditional academic and 46 traditional academic publications) were retrieved and reviewed. Proximate drivers of MECs involve the actions and inactions of certain actors that are within immediate reach of influence and at grassroots, such as parents, community-based groups, and schools (school owners, principals, teachers, students, etc.). Remote drivers are the actions and inactions of the examination bodies and regulatory institutions that allow MECs to thrive. We consider the remote drivers to be away from immediate reach of influence as shown in our conceptual framework. Therefore, addressing the challenge of MECs by focusing on proximate drivers, appears to be feasible within the short and mid-terms, unlike the remote drivers. • Certificates obtained from writing Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCEs) are priority documents in Nigeria. • The pressure to obtain these certificates have given rise to endemic exam malpractice. • Rogue schools popularly known as miracle examination centres (MECs) position to make profit by 'helping' candidates cheat. • We conducted a systematic review to understand the nature of MECs, the drivers, as well as proposed solutions to the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous empirical studies tend to attribute the impact of school fees to improvements in schooling access or quality. First, in this study, we argue that the implementation of school fee abolition programs varies widely across countries; therefore, its success or failure is unique. Second, evaluation of fee elimination programs should not be viewed as the results of eliminating fees per se but as part of a comprehensive program package since they are usually combined with other interventions. This paper attempts to quantify the impact of the primary school fee abolition program in Mozambique implemented over 2004 and 2005. The country took a unique approach. The government pilot-tested the program, planned it years ahead, and put other interventions in place to prepare for shocks associated with enrollment surge. Using the relevant age cohort to determine a child's exposure to the program, we found that from 2005 through 2008, the enrollment probability of the official primary school age (6−12) children was statistically and significantly higher by 11.6% points. When treatment intensity was allowed to vary across age, we found that age 9 benefitted the most, and there were potential positive spillover effects on secondary school enrollment as enrollment probability increased significantly across all ages up to age 18. The impact is also widespread across urban, rural areas and both genders, but it particularly has much larger effects on the more vulnerable group of children, the poor in rural areas and girls. Our analysis also highlights an ample number of late entrants in Mozambique as in most developing countries. The results show that the program, reducing the cost of education, has successfully raised enrollment rates among younger official school-age children. • We review different approaches to the implementation of school fee abolition programs across countries. • Fee elimination programs should be evaluated as a comprehensive intervention program rather than fees per se. • We attempt to quantify the impact of the 2004–2005 primary school fee abolition program in Mozambique. • The country was one of the few that implemented a "Gradualist" approach to fee elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of a large-scale scholarship introduced by the Indonesian government in 2010 that provides generous financial assistance for poor students. By using administrative data from a large public university in Indonesia, this study estimates the likely effect of the scholarship on student academic performance during university. Using matching methods of coarsened exact matching (CEM) that take into account the selection criteria used for scholarship allocation, we find that the scholarship is positively associated with student performance in terms of GPA. Furthermore, we find that these positive associations are strongest for the least advantaged group in terms of family income. • BIDIKMISI is a large-scale scholarship from the Indonesian government for poor university students. • The targeting is effective as the majority of the recipients were students from poor families. • The administrative data and matching methods provide estimations of the effect of scholarship. • We find that the scholarship positively impacts student performance in terms of GPA. • The effects are strongest for the least advantaged group in terms of family income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning is a fundamental human right, the basis of developing human capital and the foundation of human development. Basic skills provide individuals, their families and communities with the foundations needed to participate in society and to achieve better life chances. The shift in focus from mass access to mass learning has drawn attention to the question of who is and is not attaining these skills, and why. Opportunities to learn depend on access to schooling, but also the effectiveness of that schooling. There is considerable evidence of learning inequalities, both across and within countries. However, less is known about whether these patterns of inequality are rooted in variations in school effectiveness. In this paper we use evidence from Young Lives school surveys in Ethiopia, India and Vietnam to consider differences in girls' and boys' learning outcomes and progress and investigate how these patterns relate to school effectiveness. We explore whether girls or boys are 'sorted' into more or less effective schools and whether the same schools are differentially effective for boys and girls. Findings from India are perhaps closest to the 'typical' story that is often heard, in which girls, particularly those in rural areas, have lower attainment and attend less effective schools. In comparison, in Vietnam, girls have higher test scores and attend more effective schools on average, with this pattern driven by the higher performance of girls in rural areas. In Ethiopia, the divide between urban and rural areas is predominant in this context, over and above other areas of inequality including gender. Comparing results from these different areas of analysis and from three very different countries reveals the complexities of understanding how gender relates to educational outcomes. It demonstrates the importance of understanding gendered outcomes and school effectiveness in context. • Educational outcomes depend on access to education and the quality of that education. • Cross-country analysis reveals the complexities of how gender and school effectiveness relate to educational outcomes. • In India, where there is greatest school choice, girls have lower attainment and attend less effective schools than boys. • In Vietnam, the opposite is true - girls perform better and attend more effective schools. • In Ethiopia, the divide between urban and rural areas is predominant, over other axes of inequality including gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]