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Creating Socio-emotional Skills: Evidence From Developing Countries

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, Independence Ballroom I
Hosted By: Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association
  • Chair: Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Harvard University

The Effect of Teacher Socio-emotional Support on Learning in Math, Language, and Executive Function in Early Elementary School: Evidence From Multiple Rounds of Random Assignment

Pedro Carneiro
,
University College London
Yyannú Cruz-Aguayo
,
Inter-American Development Bank
Norbert Schady
,
Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract

It is generally believed that various characteristics that are hard to measure, including empathy, respect, sensitivity, and the regard for student perspectives are important measures of teacher quality, especially for teachers of young children. We study whether children taught by teachers who provide higher levels of socio-emotional support have better learning outcomes. For this purpose, we use data from a unique experiment in Ecuador in which a cohort of approximately 10,000 children were randomly assigned to teachers within schools in kindergarten, randomly reassigned to different teachers in 1st grade, and randomly reassigned to different teachers in 2nd grade. At the end of each grade, all children were tested with age-appropriate tests of math, language, and a variety of processes known as executive function (attention, working memory, response inhibition, cognitive flexibility). We use two measures of the socio-emotional climate in the classroom. In one measure, teachers were filmed for a full day teaching, and the video footage was coded to measure the quality of teacher-student interactions, including the socio-emotional support provided by teachers (as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, CLASS, Pianta et al. 2008). The other measure is based on child responses to a battery of 27 questions that ask children, inter alia, whether they are happy in the classroom, feel challenged, and think that their teachers are supportive and respectful (Tripod, Ferguson 2012). We find that teachers’ socio-emotional CLASS scores predict children’s test scores in math, language, and executive function in kindergarten, with smaller effects in 1st grade, and no effects in 2nd grade. The effects of teacher socio-emotional support on math and language are roughly twice the magnitude of those for executive function. There is substantial fade-out of the effects of CLASS socio-emotional support scores: the once-lagged teacher effects are half the magnitude of the contemporaneous effects.

Hard Cash and Soft Skills: Experimental Evidence on Combining Scholarships and Mentoring in Argentina

Alejandro J. Ganimian
,
New York University
Felipe Barrera-Osorio
,
Harvard University
María Loreto Biehl
,
Inter-American Development Bank
María Cortelezzi
,
Torcuato Di Tella University (PEIE-UTDT)

Abstract

Many developing countries provide cash transfers to low-income families to encourage children to attend school. These initiatives have increased student participation in school, but they have rarely improved student achievement. One potential reason may be that program beneficiaries may lack the requisite “soft” skills to succeed in school. We conducted a three-year randomized evaluation of a program that provides secondary school students with scholarships and non-academic mentoring in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The program positively impacted students’ academic behaviors (e.g., starting to study early before an exam or catching up on schoolwork missed due to absences). Yet, we do not find evidence that it improved their academic mindsets (e.g., self-beliefs about performance and self-efficacy), perseverance (e.g., grit), or learning strategies (e.g., metacognition). It improved some metrics of school performance (e.g., student absenteeism, grade failure, and the number of failed subjects) on its first year, but these gains were not sustained in the second year. Finally, we do not find that the program positively impacted students’ achievement in math and reading or their personality traits.

Making Entrepreneurs: The Returns to Training Youth in Entrepreneurial Skills From an At-scale Field Experiment

Paul Gertler
,
University of California-Berkeley

Abstract

Economists have long believed that entrepreneurship is key element of economic growth and development. While a substantial literature has focused on who becomes an entrepreneur and improves the productivity of enterprises, little work has focused on creating entrepreneurs. This paper reports the results of an at-scale randomized intervention that trained very recent high graduates in soft and hard entrepreneurial skills in Uganda. High graduates were randomly assigned to participate in a 3-week mini MBA the summer following graduation. There were two versions of the min-MBA: a hard skills version that emphasized traditional subjects such as finance, accounting, marketing, etcetera, and a soft skills version that empathized communication, persuasion, negotiation and leadership, etc. Participants were recruited from 200 randomly selected high schools and randomly assigned to one of 40 training locations around the country. Slightly more than 3-years after the training, participants in both treatment groups exhibited substantially higher knowledge of business hard skills and substantially better non-cognitive skills (Big 5), stress and self-esteem. Participants in the soft-skills course additionally were better at persuasion and negotiation lab in-field experiments. Both treatment groups were more likely to start enterprises and better business practices, but only the soft skills groups’ enterprises demonstrated higher profitability. In addition, the skills obtained in the training appear to be well rewarded as the wage rates of both treatments groups were substantially higher than those of the control group. Finally, the intervention was highly beneficial relative to costs.

Impact of High Quality Training on Productivity: Evidence From an Intervention in Retail

Sergio Urzua
,
University of Maryland
Maria F. Prada
,
Inter-American Development Bank
Graciana Rucci
,
Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract

This paper quantifies the effect of a training intervention on measures of labor market productivity in the context of one of the largest retail firms in Latin America. The training was designed to boost two specific skills –leadership and communication–, which were identified as critical during the design of the intervention. Our identification strategy relies on the experimental design as well as individual-level longitudinal information gathered from the firm. Our estimates suggest large effects of the training program on sales and transactions per worker. This result is confirmed in our cost-benefit analysis. Our findings point towards the feasibility of increasing productivity with a high quality, well-designed and optimally-delivered training program targeted to increase socio-emotional skills pre-identified as crucial in the productive process of the firm.
JEL Classifications
  • J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor
  • I2 - Education and Research Institutions