PAL Network | Research Study

RESEARCH STUDY

The selected Fellows will be expected to design an independent research study that will produce new insights from existing data from across the PAL Network. The fellowship program will not support primary data collection of any kind. Fellows will be expected to write up the research projects into a working paper of 6,000 – 9,000 words. Working papers of high standards may be designed and published internally. Working papers of exceptional high standards may be further developed into a peer-reviewed journal article after completion of the fellowship program.

Research generated through the PAL Fellowship Program should reflect the needs and interests of the growing network of citizen-led assessment countries. Preference will be given to research studies with a comparative dimension, acknowledging the important distinctions between countries with different contexts, processes, tests and tools.

All proposed research studies must demonstrate a balance between depth and breadth of research. Depth may be achieved through the presentation of a case study that explores a particular issue or theme in one or more of the network countries. Breadth may be achieved through the addition of a comparative dimension – either by looking at multi-country data on the chosen research topic, or through exploring implications or recommendations for the network membership. The final research project must contain some element of comparison across one or more network countries if the proposed research itself is not a comparative study.

RESEARCH THEMES

The PAL Network does not impose a specific set of research questions or topics for the proposed study, and encourages the submission of original research proposals in an area of particular interest to the applicant. Below we describe some research topics that are likely to be a good fit within the overall goals and objectives of the PAL Network. These topics are not meant to be prescriptive or exclusionary, but are intended to provide context and stimulate thinking. Applicants are encouraged to submit innovative proposals under any topic of particular interest.

1. ACCESS TO EDUCATION

Primary School enrolment has increased in many low-income countries over the past 15 years. Despite the significant progress that has been made getting children into school, access and completion rates within and between PAL Network countries varies greatly. Reporting average gains has masked large and persistent inequalities in access and completion which are exacerbated by inequalities such as household wealth, location, gender and disability status. PAL Network is interested in mining existing data for new insights into inequality of access within and between PAL Network member countries.

2. INEQUALITY OF LEARNING OUTCOMES

Despite significant progress made getting more children into school over the past 15 years, evidence from the PAL Network suggests that being in school does not necessarily equate to learning. In addition, learning inequalities start even before children start school, and widen throughout the primary school cycle. These inequalities are driven primarily by disparities in wealth, and are compounded when wealth disparities interact with other forms of disadvantage such as location, gender and disability status. PAL Network is interested in mining current data for new insights into inequality of learning outcomes for the most disadvantaged children across the PAL Network.

3. GLOBAL MONITORING

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its indicator framework requires careful measurement to monitor progress. The education goal (SDG 4) is made up of 10 targets aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all. Citizen-led assessments provide important data that make the invisible problem of poor foundational learning visible. PAL Network is interested in producing new insights from existing data that firstly anchor current PAL Network data to the SDG 4 Indicator Framework and secondly, produce new insights into the necessity of using citizen-generated data on learning to monitor progress towards achieving the SDGs for all children.

4. COMPARISONS WITH INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENTS

The PAL Network’s household-based, citizen-led assessments assess a child’s foundational reading skills and basic math ability. The content of the assessments is generally aligned to Grade 1, 2 and 3 of the national curricular expectations of that country in question. The tests are orally and individually administered. The PAL Network testing tools have several advantages: they are simple, quick, cost-effective, and easy to train citizen volunteers how to administer. All of these features allow the large scale administration of these assessments. Over time, several pertinent questions have been raised about how the results from citizen-led assessments compare with similar learning assessments at national, regional and international level.

5. TRENDS OVER TIME

The PAL Network is interested in studies that look at trends over time. Trends over time may look at the change in reading or mathematics levels over time (possibly accompanied by supplementary documents comparing sample description over time, as well as household characteristics, mothers and fathers schooling, class-wise composition of children in the sample and more); or enrolment trends over time (focusing on trends in the proportion of out of school children, primary school completion and proportion of children attending different types of school (govt, private, others) and more). PAL Network is also interested in the creation of artificial cohort studies or pseudo panel studies.

After completion of the program, fellows will be invited to write a proposal to present their research at an education conference on their choice, within eighteen months of completing the fellowship program. If approved, the PAL Network shall meet the costs of the fellow presenting at the identified conference.