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  1. Home
  2. ASSA Annual Meeting
  3. 2023
  4. Program
  5. Impacts of Curriculum, College, and Vocational Training on Educational Outcomes
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Impacts of Curriculum, College, and Vocational Training on Educational Outcomes

Paper Session

Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (CST)

Hilton Riverside, Grand Salon D Sec 19 & 22
View Webcast
Hosted By: American Economic Association & Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession
  • Chair: Francisca Antman, University of Colorado Boulder

“I Have Grown Confidence in Me”: Shifting Adolescent Mindsets on Schooling

Jennifer Seager
,
George Washington University
Sarah Baird
,
George Washington University
T.M. Asaduzzaman
,
World Bank
Shwetlena Sabarwal
,
World Bank
Amita Vyas
,
George Washington University

Abstract

While secondary school enrollment rates have increased in recent years, net enrollment rates remain below 70% in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Gender-based constraints, such as paid work and early marriage, contribute to high dropout rates during this period of schooling. In Bangladesh, where a reverse gender-gap in enrollment has emerged in recent years at both the primary and early secondary levels, gender inequities remain in the intrahousehold allocation of educational resources, with boys receiving greater investment in the quality of schooling. At the secondary level, dropout rates among girls outpace boys at 42% compared to 33%. Furthermore, recent school closures due to the covid-19 pandemic threaten to undo progress in enrollment and widen disparities in investment, especially for girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Adolescents in Bangladesh are among the most negatively affected globally, with complete school closures that lasted 63 weeks. We are testing evidence-based approaches among adolescents in Bangladesh to promote re-enrollment, increase secondary school completion, and promote gender equitable behavior. We evaluate a school-based cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (cRCT) with 109 schools that delivered two virtually-implemented interventions during covid-19-related school closures: (1) gender-neutral Growth Mindset (GM) programming around malleable intelligence and (2) Girl Rising (GR) programming that focuses on gender norms around girls’ education that is layered on top of the GM programming. We layer GR on GM in order to test whether programming that speaks particularly to the constrains faced by adolescent girls has additional positive impacts on adolescent outcomes. We estimate intention to treat (ITT) impacts of both treatments on school enrollment, grade 10 completion, student motivation and learning, gender attitudes, engagement in paid work, and experience of early marriage.

Major Complexity Index and College Skill Production

Xiaoxiao Li
,
Villanova University
Sebastian Linde
,
Medical College of Wisconsin
Hajime Shimao
,
McGill University

Abstract

We propose an easily computable measure called the Major Complexity Index (MCI) that captures the latent skills taught in different majors. By applying the Method of Reflections to the major-to-occupation network, we construct a scalar measure of the relative complexity of majors. Our measure provides strong explanatory power of major average earnings and employment. Further evidence suggests that the MCI is strongly associated with advanced skills such as quantitative problem-solving, and the use of computing technology. We also provide a two-stage algorithm to partial out selection on observables which opens up possibilities of applying the complexity measure in various contexts.

Vocational Education Training and Entrepreneurship

Alina Malkova
,
Florida Institute of Technology

Abstract

How does vocational education affect entrepreneurship? The paper investigates the role of vocational education in the decision to become an entrepreneur over the life cycle. Vocational education allows students to get experience from industry professionals and a deep understanding of how a business works. Previous literature shows that completing vocational education significantly enhances the chances of running a business (Arum and Muller (2004)). Little is known about how cognitive and non-cognitive skills and vocational education shape transitions into self-employment. We examine the role of vocational education and individual skills in the decision to become an entrepreneur using the Transitions from Education to Employment (TREE) survey data. TREE data is a longitudinal study of students who had completed their lower secondary schooling and participated in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (the PISA survey) in 2000. We develop a dynamic Roy model in which a decision to become an entrepreneur depends on a type of education, non-pecuniary benefits of entrepreneurship, career-specific entry costs, a prior work experience, cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and other labor market opportunities (salaried employment and non-employment). By estimating a model of the labor market and education decisions, we find that one year of vocational education track increases the chances of becoming an entrepreneur on average by 7.1%, and the role of VET is the highest among other types of education (tertiary, upper-secondary or high school). The impact of vocational education on individuals' labor market decisions is heterogeneous based on the agent's skills (low and high types of abilities), and the effect is higher for high-ability individuals. Higher results in math and science tests are associated with a higher likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur. Still, at the same time, higher results on the reading test are not increasing the likelihood of becoming self-employed.

Effects of Group Work on Attitudes, Trust, and Performance

Fulya Ersoy
,
Loyola Marymount University
Graham Beattie
,
Loyola Marymount University

Abstract

Given the critical role that groups play in many educational settings, it is crucial to understand how students form their attitudes towards group work. Using an in-class field experiment, we study how being in a team affects attitudes towards group work, trust, and performance. We randomly assign students to complete quizzes alone or in a group, and find that (i) taking quizzes in teams leads to more positive attitudes towards group work and higher levels of trust (ii) students perform better on quizzes if they work in groups (iii) working in groups does not significantly help or hinder performance on subsequent individual exams. The positive impact of group quizzes on performance is particularly pronounced for below median students who are matched with above median students. Our results suggest that there are benefits to placing students in randomly assigned teams.

Discussant(s)
Bryce Millet Steinberg
,
Brown University
Laura Ahlstrom
,
Oklahoma State University
Celeste K. Carruthers
,
University of Tennessee
Tisha Emerson
,
Baylor University
JEL Classifications
  • I2 - Education and Research Institutions