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Measuring and explaining management in schools: new approaches using public data

Author

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  • Clare Leaver
  • Renata Lemos
  • Daniela Scur

Abstract

Why do some students learn more in some schools than others? One consideration receiving growing attention is school management. To study this, researchers need to be able to measure school management accurately and cheaply at scale, and also explain any observed relationship between school management and student learning. This paper introduces a new approach to measurement using existing public data, and applies it to build a management index covering 15,000 schools across 65 countries, and another index covering nearly all public schools in Brazil. Both indices show a strong, positive relationship between school management and student learning. The paper then develops a simple model that formalizes the intuition that strong management practices might be driving learning gains via incentive and selection effects among teachers, students and parents. The paper shows that the predictions of this model hold in public data for Latin America, and draws out implications for policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Clare Leaver & Renata Lemos & Daniela Scur, 2019. "Measuring and explaining management in schools: new approaches using public data," CEP Discussion Papers dp1656, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
  • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1656
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Clare Leaver & Owen Ozier & Pieter Serneels & Andrew Zeitlin, 2021. "Recruitment, Effort, and Retention Effects of Performance Contracts for Civil Servants: Experimental Evidence from Rwandan Primary Schools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(7), pages 2213-2246, July.
    2. Anand, Gautam & Atluri, Aishwarya & Crawfurd, Lee & Pugatch, Todd & Sheth, Ketki, 2023. "Improving school management in low and middle income countries: A systematic review," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    3. Di Liberto, Adriana & Giua, Ludovica & Schivardi, Fabiano & Sideri, Marco & Sulis, Giovanni, 2023. "Managerial Practices and Student Performance: Evidence from Changes in School Principals," IZA Discussion Papers 16203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Leaver, Clare & Lemos, Renata & Scur, Daniela, 2019. "Measuring and explaining management in schools: new approaches using public data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103431, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Daniela Scur & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen & Renata Lemos & Nicholas Bloom, 2021. "The World Management Survey at 18: lessons and the way forward," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(2), pages 231-258.
    6. Aisha J Ali & Javier Fuenzalida & Margarita Gómez & Martin J Williams, 2021. "Four lenses on people management in the public sector: an evidence review and synthesis," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(2), pages 335-366.
    7. Yue-Yi Hwa & Clare Leaver, 2021. "Management in education systems," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(2), pages 367-391.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    management; teacher selection; teacher incentives; cross-country;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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