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The use and misuse of computers in education : evidence from a randomized experiment in Colombia

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  • Barrera-Osorio, Felipe
  • Linden, Leigh L.

Abstract

This paper presents the evaluation of the program Computers for Education. The program aims to integrate computers, donated by the private sector, into the teaching of language in public schools. The authors conduct a two-year randomized evaluation of the program using a sample of 97 schools and 5,201 children. Overall, the program seems to have had little effect on students'test scores and other outcomes. These results are consistent across grade levels, subjects, and gender. The main reason for these results seems to be the failure to incorporate the computers into the educational process. Although the program increased the number of computers in the treatment schools and provided training to the teachers on how to use the computers in their classrooms, surveys of both teachers and students suggest that teachers did not incorporate the computers into their curriculum.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 4836.

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Date of creation: 01 Feb 2009
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4836

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Related research

Keywords: Tertiary Education; Primary Education; Secondary Education; Teaching and Learning; Education For All;

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References

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  1. Banerjee, Abhijit & Cole, Shawn & Duflo, Esther & Linden, Leigh, 2006. "Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India," CEPR Discussion Papers 5446, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  2. Duflo, Esther & Hanna, Rema & Ryan, Stephen, 2008. "Monitoring Works: Getting Teachers to Come to School," CEPR Discussion Papers 6682, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  3. Kremer, Michael R. & Miguel, Edward & Thornton, Rebecca, 2009. "Incentives to Learn," Scholarly Articles 3716457, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  4. Karthik Muralidharan & Venkatesh Sundararaman, 2011. "Teacher Performance Pay: Experimental Evidence from India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(1), pages 39 - 77.
  5. Angrist, Joshua & Lavy, Victor, 2001. "New Evidence on Classroom Computers and Pupil Learning," IZA Discussion Papers 362, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
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Cited by:
  1. Cristia, Julián P. & Ibarrarán, Pablo & Cueto, Santiago & Santiago, Ana & Severín, Eugenio, 2012. "Technology and Child Development: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program," IZA Discussion Papers 6401, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. Robert W. Fairlie & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Home Computers on Academic Achievement among Schoolchildren," CESifo Working Paper Series 4128, CESifo Group Munich.
  3. Herrera, Santiago & Badr, Karim, 2011. "Why does the productivity of education vary across individuals in Egypt ? firm size, gender, and access to technology as sources of heterogeneity in returns to education," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5740, The World Bank.
  4. Brindusa Anghel & Antonio Cabrales, 2010. "The Determinants of Success in Primary Education in Spain," Working Papers 2010-20, FEDEA.
  5. Julian Cristia & Alejo Czerwonko & Pablo Garofalo, 2010. "Does ICT Increase Years of Education? Evidence from Peru," OVE Working Papers 0110, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE).
  6. Felipe Barrera-Osorio & Dario Maldonado & Catherine Rodríguez, 2012. "Calidad de la educación básica y media en Colombia: diagnóstico y propuestas," DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO 010078, UNIVERSIDAD DEL ROSARIO.
  7. Catherine Rodríguez Orgales & Fabio Sánchez Torres & Juliana Márquez Zúñiga, 2011. "Impacto del Programa “Computadores para Educar” en la deserción estudiantil, el logro escolar y el ingreso a la educación superior," DOCUMENTOS CEDE 008744, UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES-CEDE.

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