Description:

Speaker: Mahounan Yedomiffi (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Title: Does Parental Involvement Improve Student Learning? The Role of Monitoring

Abstract: Sub-Saharan African nations are grappling with low school completion, marked by 44% completion rate in middle school. This study presents the findings of a randomized controlled trial that I conducted in Benin which investigates the effects of providing parents with information about their role in their child’s education through weekly phone calls. Including 2094 8th-grade students in 20 secondary schools, the intervention led to a substantial 6 percent increase in grade comple- tion. This stems from a statistically significant 0.11 standard deviation increase in the year-end GPA, driven by STEM subjects. The benefits of this intervention are especially pronounced for academically weaker students, elevating their likeli- hood of progression by 33 percent. These educational gains can be attributed to heightened parental awareness regarding their child’s academic performance, aug- mented parental involvement both within the school and at home, and a reduction in the burden of household chores placed upon the children. My intervention is highly cost-effective, with a negative net cost. These results offer a promising and cost-effective strategy to elevate educational outcomes for sub-Saharan Africa while saving on costs.