Tags: TV-based instructions, COVID-19, Student engagement, Learning inequality, Randomized-control trial, phone calls/SMS, RCT
The study aimed to assess the efficiency of broadcast pre-recorded classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The government closed educational institutions, affecting 18 million primary and 9 million secondary school pupils. The shutdown posed a threat to the country and pupils' mental health. The government broadcasted "My School at Home" episodes for secondary students, aiming to maximize distance learning efficiency and keep students motivated and attending classes regularly.
There are numerous ways for TV-based learning to be beneficial (Mares & Pan, 2013), yet the outcome is unpredictable. Lack of information about these programs, low desire or interest in the program, and low levels of engagement may all contribute to the initiative's ineffectiveness. One significant inefficient example is the lower completion rate of open online courses, which are widely available to students (Banerjee & Duflo, 2014). This study can help to address the knowledge gap for low- and middle-income nations on the provided issue (efficiency rate of TV-based learning).
As a supplemental outreach effort, "phone calls" were recommended to promote student and parent engagement in remote TV learning. In Bangladesh, 93% of people have cell phones, 73% have power, and more than 44% have televisions, making digital intervention possible. Text messages and phone calls were predominantly used to assist disadvantaged students in postsecondary education.
With a sample size 1,600, the randomization sample unit primarily targeted secondary school pupils. We randomly selected these students from the Dhaka and Mymensingh division government's list. We formed four groups of students: two treatment groups, two control groups, and a pure control group.
Two strategies were undertaken jointly by the Bangladesh Ministry of Education (MoE) and the World Bank to maximize the efficiency of television:
ARCED evaluated the impact of two treatment groups, with treatment group 1 focusing solely on salience and urging parents to have their children watch courses; on the contrary, the second group received both salience and engagement through quizzes and incentives.
Treatment group 1 received weekly phone and text messages as a reminder of the television lectures. The second group received text messages, phone calls, and weekly exams on the themes broadcast that week. A free phone top-up voucher was offered as an incentive to pupils who answered all the questions correctly for the particular provided quiz.
Because of the pandemic, all information was gathered by SMS or phone calls. This method was primarily done to ensure the participants' and enumerators' safety. With the exception of the "pure control" group, which would participate in the endline telephone survey, parents and students were expected to engage in both the baseline and endline telephone surveys. Questions about the educational status of household members, the impact of COVID-19 on education (for those under the age of 18) and income (for those who had income), the asset index, and personal traits were all covered in the baseline and endline questionnaires for parents and students. For treatment group 2, they will receive weekly SMS-based quizzes to assess student's performance.
This is a randomized controlled trial in which students who received salience and engagement treatments were compared to control groups. Three outcomes were anticipated from the study. One is an increase in time spent on TV classes and studying. Second, students' information memory improves, and finally, their motivation to study and satisfaction with TV programming increases. An additional result is an improvement in the dropout rate.