What We Learn about Girls’ Education from Interventions that Do Not Focus on Girls

  • R Research Project/Report/Study

I Inactive

Key Information

This study of educational projects across more than 50 low- or middle-income countries examines the impact on girls’ education of both girl-targeted and general interventions.

Despite dramatic global gains in access to education, 130 million girls of school age remain out of school. Among those who do enter, too many do not gain the essential skills to succeed after they complete their schooling. Previous efforts to synthesize evidence on how to improve educational outcomes for girls have tended to focus on interventions that are principally targeted to girls, such as girls’ latrines or girls’ scholarships. But if general, non-targeted interventions—those that benefit both girls and boys—significantly improve girls’ education, then focusing only on girl-targeted interventions may miss some of the best investments for improving educational opportunities for girls in absolute terms. This review brings together evidence from 270 educational interventions from 177 studies in 54 low- and middle-income countries and identifies their impacts on girls, regardless of whether the interventions specifically target girls. The review finds that to improve access and learning, general interventions deliver gains for girls that are comparable to girl-targeted interventions. At the same time, many more general interventions have been tested, providing a broader menu of options for policy makers. General interventions have similar impacts for girls as for boys. Many of the most effective interventions to improve access for girls are household-based (such as cash transfer programs), and many of the most effective interventions to improve learning for girls involve improving the pedagogy of teachers. Girl-targeted interventions may make the most sense when addressing constraints that are unique to girls.


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Global

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

None - 2019

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

Global / regional

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Post-secondary
  • Primary completion
  • Primary enrollment
  • Primary to secondary transition
  • Secondary completion

Quality

  • School quality

Skills

  • Literacy

Cross-cutting areas

  • Gender equality

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls (both in school and out of school), Youth

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Boys (both in school and out of school)

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Reducing economic barriers

  • Conditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households
  • Reducing/eliminating school fees

Teaching

  • In-service teacher training – pedagogy general

Tutoring/strengthening academic skills

  • Literacy - in the classroom

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
  • Increased literacy
  • Increased school completion (general)
  • Increased school enrolment (general)
  • Increased years of schooling

Cross-cutting goals

  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms