IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v112y2025ics0738059324002189.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Expanding primary school completion through culturally responsive and sustaining education: Evidence from a historical project in Sierra Leone

Author

Listed:
  • Pai, Grace

Abstract

This article takes an unconventional approach of empirically evaluating a historical UNESCO-funded educational development project in Sierra Leone. Grounded in principles of culturally responsive and sustaining education (CRSE), the Bunumbu project represented one of the largest investments in the 1970–80s to universalize primary education into rural sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). By combining a historical analysis with a difference-in-differences model, this study uses national census data from thirty years after the project began to evaluate the effects of the Bunumbu project on primary school completion. Results show that there was a 3.8%-point higher increase in primary completion rates in the Bunumbu project area than neighboring comparison chiefdoms. Findings suggest that CRSE can complement recent pedagogical approaches like structured pedagogy programs that have gained popularity in SSA.

Suggested Citation

  • Pai, Grace, 2025. "Expanding primary school completion through culturally responsive and sustaining education: Evidence from a historical project in Sierra Leone," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:112:y:2025:i:c:s0738059324002189
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103191
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059324002189
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103191?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Birte Snilstveit & Emma Gallagher & Daniel Phillips & Martina Vojtkova & John Eyers & Dafni Skaldiou & Jennifer Stevenson & Ami Bhavsar & Philip Davies, 2017. "PROTOCOL: Interventions for improving learning outcomes and access to education in low‐ and middle‐income countries: a systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 1-82.
    2. Klees, Steven J., 2024. "Why SDG4 and the other SDGs are failing and what needs to be done," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    3. Smith, Hilary A & Simoncini, Kym M & McDonald, Rebecca & Haslett, Stephen, 2023. "The impacts of a culturally relevant book flood on early literacy in Papua New Guinea," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Pritchett, Lant & Beatty, Amanda, 2015. "Slow down, you’re going too fast: Matching curricula to student skill levels," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 276-288.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Tristan Reed & James A. Robinson, 2013. "Chiefs: Elite Control of Civil Society and Economic Development in Sierra Leone," NBER Working Papers 18691, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Angrist, Joshua D. & Krueger, Alan B., 1999. "Empirical strategies in labor economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 23, pages 1277-1366, Elsevier.
    7. Bremner, Nicholas & Sakata, Nozomi & Cameron, Leanne, 2022. "The outcomes of learner-centred pedagogy: A systematic review," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Stutchbury, Kristina & Biard, Oliver, 2023. "Practical theorising for the implementation of educational change: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Hoadley, Ursula, 2024. "How do structured pedagogy programmes affect reading instruction in African early grade classrooms?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    10. Atuhurra, Julius & Kaffenberger, Michelle, 2022. "Measuring education system coherence: Alignment of curriculum standards, examinations, and teacher instruction in Tanzania and Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Yongmei Zhou, 2009. "Decentralization, Democracy, and Development : Recent Experience from Sierra Leone," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2672, April.
    12. Louise Grogan, 2009. "Universal Primary Education and School Entry in Uganda," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(2), pages 183-211, March.
    13. Angrist, Noam & de Barros, Andreas & Bhula, Radhika & Chakera, Shiraz & Cummiskey, Chris & DeStefano, Joseph & Floretta, John & Kaffenberger, Michelle & Piper, Benjamin & Stern, Jonathan, 2021. "Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and long-term learning recovery," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    14. Oketch, Moses, 2024. "SDG 4 targets: Neglected questions on conditions and circumstances for education reforms in Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Clayton,Amanda & Noveck,Jennifer Lynn & Levi,Margaret, 2015. "When elites meet : decentralization, power-sharing, and public goods provision in post-conflict Sierra Leone," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7335, The World Bank.
    2. Edwards Jr, D. Brent & Asadullah, M. Niaz & Webb, Amber, 2024. "Critical perspectives at the mid-point of Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education for all—progress, persistent gaps, problematic paradigms, and the path to 2030," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Peter Egger & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2004. "Foreign Direct Investment and European Integration in the 1990s," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 99-110, January.
    4. Maria De Paola & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2010. "Peer group effects on the academic performance of Italian students," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(17), pages 2203-2215.
    5. John Abowd & Martha Stinson, 2011. "Estimating Measurement Error in SIPP Annual Job Earnings: A Comparison of Census Bureau Survey and SSA Administrative Data," Working Papers 11-20, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Dettmann, E. & Becker, C. & Schmeißer, C., 2011. "Distance functions for matching in small samples," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 1942-1960, May.
    7. Jeffrey Smith, 2000. "A Critical Survey of Empirical Methods for Evaluating Active Labor Market Policies," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 136(III), pages 247-268, September.
    8. Fabian T C Schmidt & Clemens M Lechner & Daniel Danner, 2020. "New wine in an old bottle? A facet-level perspective on the added value of Grit over BFI–2 Conscientiousness," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-25, February.
    9. François Gardes, 2021. "Endogenous Prices in a Riemannian Geometry Framework," Post-Print halshs-03325414, HAL.
    10. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2012. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 3077-3110, October.
    11. Martin Schlotter & Guido Schwerdt & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "Econometric methods for causal evaluation of education policies and practices: a non-technical guide," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 109-137.
    12. Samer Al-Samarrai & Unika Shrestha & Amer Hasan & Nozomi Nakajima & Santoso Santoso & Wisnu Harto Adi Wijoyo, 2017. "Introducing a Performance-Based School Grant in Jakarta," World Bank Publications - Reports 28583, The World Bank Group.
    13. Joan Costa-Font & Nilesh Raut & Courtney H. Van Houtven, 2024. "Medicaid Expansion and the Mental Health of Spousal Caregivers," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1047-1084, September.
    14. Michael Lechner & Ruth Miquel & Conny Wunsch, 2011. "Long‐Run Effects Of Public Sector Sponsored Training In West Germany," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 742-784, August.
    15. Michael Gerfin & Michael Lechner, 2002. "A Microeconometric Evaluation of the Active Labour Market Policy in Switzerland," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 854-893, October.
    16. Ay, Jean-Sauveur & Le Gallo, Julie, 2021. "The Signaling Values of Nested Wine Names," Working Papers 321851, American Association of Wine Economists.
    17. Sakaue, Katsuki, 2018. "Informal fee charge and school choice under a free primary education policy: Panel data evidence from rural Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 112-127.
    18. Dean Yang, 2008. "International Migration, Remittances and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants' Exchange Rate Shocks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(528), pages 591-630, April.
    19. Burt S. Barnow & Jeffrey Smith, 2015. "Employment and Training Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2, pages 127-234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Böhlmark, Anders & Lindahl, Mikael, 2007. "The Impact of School Choice on Pupil Achievement, Segregation and Costs: Swedish Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 2786, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:112:y:2025:i:c:s0738059324002189. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.