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Measuring and Explaining Management in Schools : New Approaches Using Public Data

Author

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  • Leaver,Clare
  • Lemos,Renata Freitas
  • Dillenburg Scur,Daniela

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

  • Leaver,Clare & Lemos,Renata Freitas & Dillenburg Scur,Daniela, 2019. "Measuring and Explaining Management in Schools : New Approaches Using Public Data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9053, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9053
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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. Asim,Salman & Gera,Ravinder Madron Casley & Harris,Donna Oretha & Dercon,Stefan, 2024. "Does Effective School Leadership Improve Student Progression and Test Scores ? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10846, The World Bank.
    3. 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 and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 231-258.
    4. Mundy, Karen, 2023. "SDG4 and state capacity: The missing link," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. 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.
    6. Susanti, Dewi & Anand, Gautam & Arifin, Firda Arianti, 2025. "Leveraging school principals to address learning loss in Indonesia through group and individual targeting," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    7. Yue-Yi Hwa & Clare Leaver, 2021. "Management in education systems," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 367-391.
    8. 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.
    9. de Hoyos, Rafael & Djaker, Sharnic & Ganimian, Alejandro J. & Holland, Peter A., 2024. "The impact of combining performance-management tools and training with diagnostic feedback in public schools: Experimental evidence from Argentina," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. 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).
    11. 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 and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 335-366.
    12. Bedasso, Biniam & Mendez Acosta, Amina, 2025. "The teachers who leave: Teacher attrition in Burkina Faso," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).

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    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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