Learning about Schools in Development by Charles Kenny

Learning about Schools in Development

(CGDEV Working Paper 236)
December 2010

There has been considerable progress in school construction and enrollment worldwide. Paying kids to go to  school can help overcome remaining demand-side barriers to enrollment. Nonetheless, the quality of education appears very poor across the developing world, limiting development impact. Thus we should measure and promote learning not schooling. Conditional cash transfers to students on the basis of attendance and scores, school choice, decentralization combined with published test results, and teacher pay based on attendance and performance may help. But learning outcomes are primarily affected by the broader environment in which students live, suggesting a learning agenda that stretches far beyond education ministries.

Global Children's Survey Finds What Children Want Is An Education

Give them a dollar or make them president and what would they do? Most children across the world say their first order of business would be to improve education by building schools, providing school supplies and increasing access to education for all children. Their next priority would be providing food and water. Almost half said they would spend their dollar on food or water, ahead of clothes, toys and sports.

These findings are taken from the ChildFund Alliance global children's survey, Small Voices, Big Dreams*, released this week in recognition of Universal Children's Day (20 November). The survey polled 3,000 children aged 10 to 12 from 30 developing countries across the world - from Afghanistan to Zambia - as well as 300 children from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.