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Raising Aspirations of Boys and Girls through Role Models: Evidence from a Field Experiment

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  • Jennifer Golan
  • Jing You

Abstract

We analyse gender differences in children’s aspirations and academic beliefs that affect their academic potential. We use administrative data on the test scores of a primary school in rural China and a novel survey instrument in the evaluation of a randomised controlled trial of a role-model intervention. Our intervention increases Chinese test scores by 0.116 standard deviations, which is driven by boys’ 0.33–0.35 standard-deviation performance boost that persists into 1 year after the treatment. Girls only experience a short-term increase in performance within a week after the treatment. The impact of the treatment is especially pronounced for children starting with low aspiration, self-efficacy, or cognitive ability. While there is no average impact on Mathematics test scores, we find that boys holding traditional gender attitudes and having a high self-efficacy, and girls of high self-efficacy and aspirations, perform better in response to the treatment. Aspirations, confidence, and gender attitudes account for parts of our findings.

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  • Jennifer Golan & Jing You, 2021. "Raising Aspirations of Boys and Girls through Role Models: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(6), pages 949-979, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:57:y:2021:i:6:p:949-979
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2020.1826445
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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Mequanint B. Melesse & Amos Nyangira Tirra & Yabibal M. Walle & Michael Hauser, 2023. "Understanding the Determinants of Aspirations in Rural Tanzania: Does Financial Literacy Matter?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(6), pages 1294-1321, December.
    3. Bhuwania, Pragya & Mukherji, Arnab & Swaminathan, Hema, 2024. "Women’s education through empowerment: Evidence from a community-based program," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).

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