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Role models in movies: the impact of Queen of Katwe on students’ educational attainment

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Abstract

This paper presents experimental evidence on the impact of a role model on secondary school student exam performance in Uganda. Students preparing to take their national exams were in dividually randomised to see either a movie featuring a potential role model, Queen of Katwe, or to see a placebo movie. I find that treatment with the role-model movie leads to lower secondary school students being less likely to fail their maths exam a week later: 84% of those who watched Queen of Katwe passed the exam, whereas only 73% of those who didn’t passed. This effect is strongest for female and lower ability students. For upper secondary school students, treatment with Queen of Katwe 1 month before their exams results in an increase in their total exam score of 0.13 standard deviations. This study highlights the power of a movie role model as an alternative way to improve secondary school students’ educational attainment, particularly of the worst performing students.

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  • Emma Riley, 2017. "Role models in movies: the impact of Queen of Katwe on students’ educational attainment," CSAE Working Paper Series 2017-13, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2017-13
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    Cited by:

    1. Elijah Kipkech Kipchumba & Catherine Porter & Danila Serra & Munshi Sulaiman, 2021. "Infuencing youths' aspirations and gender attitudes through role models: Evidence from Somali schools," Working Papers 20210224-002, Texas A&M University, Department of Economics.
    2. Chung, Bobby W., 2020. "Peers’ parents and educational attainment: The exposure effect," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Sandrine Mesplé-Somps & Björn Nilsson, 2020. "Role models and migration intentions," Working Papers DT/2020/13, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    4. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Johannes Wohlfart, 2023. "Designing Information Provision Experiments," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 3-40, March.
    5. Anandi Mani & Emma Riley, 2019. "Social networks, role models, peer effects, and aspirations," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-120, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Marcela Ibañez Diaz & Menusch Khadjavi & Christina Martini, 2021. "Community Aspirations and Cooperation: Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Role Models," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 309650, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    7. Agurto, M. & Bazan, M. & Hari, S. & Sarangi, S., 2021. "Women in Engineering: The Role of Role Models," GLO Discussion Paper Series 975, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Cecchi, Francesco & Garcia, Adriana & Lensink, Robert & Wydick, Bruce, 2022. "Aspirational hope, dairy farming practices, and milk production: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    9. Ghada Barsoum & Bruno Crépon & Drew Gardiner & Bastien Michel & William Parienté, 2022. "Evaluating the Impact of Entrepreneurship Edutainment in Egypt: An Experimental Approach," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 82-109, January.
    10. G.T. Abate & Tanguy Bernard & Simrin Makhija & David J. Spielman, 2019. "Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers hal-02879823, HAL.
    11. So Yoon Ahn & Youjin Hahn & Semee Yoon, 2021. "Can New Learning Opportunities Reshape Gender Attitudes for Girls?: Field Evidence from Tanzania," Working Papers 2021-046, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    12. Aregawi G. Gebremariam & Elisabetta Lodigiani & Giacomo Pasini, 2017. "The impact of Ethiopian Productive Safety-net Program on children's educational aspirations," Working Papers 2017:26, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".

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