Whether SMS-based nudge interventions can increase parent engagement and improve child learning outcomes across diverse contexts such as rural West Africa is unknown. We conducted a school-randomized trial to test the impacts of an audio or text-message intervention (two messages per week for one school year) to parents and teachers of second and…

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's…

The present study investigates the causative factors of child labour in selected districts of South Punjab, Pakistan. As a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Pakistan has a responsibility to stamp out child labour from its regions. Our sample was selected from seven working environments (workshops, hotels, tea stalls,…

Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were serious questions about whether children were actually learning. With widespread school closures and other disruptions to the education system brought about by the pandemic, the learning crisis has escalated to new heights. As the pandemic enters its third year, 23 countries -- home to…

Cambodia has experienced rapid economic growth in the last two decades, improving living standards and diminishing poverty. Unfortunately, it has failed to do so evenly. Growth within the country has widened the gap between rich and poor and exacerbated the rural/urban divide. This inequality is mirrored in the school system. Inequality within the…

The rapid expansion of primary education in Ethiopia has enabled most children to attend primary education--or at least to start schooling. This expansion, however, is largely "symbolic" rather than "substantive" where "substantive" refers to access that generates meaningful learning. The article explores spatial…

This paper asks whether education is a viable route to better livelihoods and social inclusion for children living in poor urban areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It uses qualitative interviews with 36 students aged 11-16, living in slum and middle-class areas, and also draws on data from a larger, mixed-methods study to provide context. Many children…

In this article, the authors analyze the effect of poverty, social exclusion, and child labor on out-of-school rates for female children. This empirical study is based on a dynamic panel model for a sample of 216 countries over the period 1970 to 2010. Results based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) of Arellano and Bond (1991) and the…

This article extends previous work on family structure and children's education by conceptualizing migration as a distinct form of family disruption that reduces parental input but brings substantial economic benefits through remittances. It examines the multiple and countervailing effects of migration on schooling in the context of substantial…

The period since 1991 has seen a general improvement both in terms of household welfare and schooling participation in Ghana. This monograph explores the patterns among descriptive indicators and uses regression analysis to examine possible causal relationships with special reference to the role of education in determining welfare and its…

Analysis of household survey data in Kenya revealed that children's enrollment in school was affected by parents' expectations for future financial help from children and (for girls) by parents' perceptions of labor market discrimination against women, but not by patriarchal norms or child labor. The results challenge traditional explanations of…

This report describes a nationwide study of female children and the family in rural India. The objectives of the study were to generate data on the situation of female children; to identify the major problems related to their status; to start a series of programs to help remedy those shortcomings; and to assist communities, and women in…

Data from North Carolina and South Carolina in 1910 indicate that racially segregated labor markets and racially unequal school systems affected school enrollment of African-American and white children. Research focusing on the textile industry suggests that school enrollment expansion was constrained by limited availability of educational…