Impact of Literacy Interventions on Reading Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis.

Reading skills are foundational for daily lives, academic achievement, and careers. In this study, we systematically reviewed literacy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, and estimated their effects on children's reading skills using a meta-analytic approach. A total of 67 studies (N = 213,464) from 32 countries found in various databases (e.g., PsycINFO, ERIC) and sources (e.g., United States Agency for International Development) met our inclusion criteria. The results revealed an overall effect of .30 across various literacy outcomes. Effects varied for different outcomes, such that largest effects were found in emergent literacy skills (e.g., .40) and the smallest effects in reading comprehension (.25) and oral language skills (.20). Effects also varied as a function of other features such as teacher training support.

Development of the SAFE Checklist Tool for Assessing Site-Level Threats to Child Protection: Use of Delphi Methods and Application to Two Sites in India.

BACKGROUND: The child protection community is increasingly focused on developing tools to assess threats to child protection and the basic security needs and rights of children and families living in adverse circumstances. Although tremendous advances have been made to improve measurement of individual child health status or household functioning for use in low-resource settings, little attention has been paid to a more diverse array of settings in which many children in adversity spend time and how context contributes to threats to child protection. The SAFE model posits that insecurity in any of the following fundamental domains threatens security in the others: Safety/freedom from harm; Access to basic physiological needs and healthcare; Family and connection to others; Education and economic security. Site-level tools are needed in order to monitor the conditions that can dramatically undermine or support healthy child growth, development and emotional and behavioral health. From refugee camps and orphanages to schools and housing complexes, site-level threats exist that are not well captured by commonly used measures of child health and well-being or assessments of single households (e.g., SDQ, HOME). METHODS: The present study presents a methodology and the development of a scale for assessing site-level child protection threats in various settings of adversity. A modified Delphi panel process was enhanced with two stages of expert review in core content areas as well as review by experts in instrument development, and field pilot testing. RESULTS: Field testing in two diverse sites in India-a construction site and a railway station-revealed that the resulting SAFE instrument was sensitive to the differences between the sites from the standpoint of core child protection issues.

Early childhood malaria prevention and children's patterns of school leaving in the Gambia.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood malaria is often fatal, but its impact on the development and education of survivors has not received much attention. Malaria impacts cognitive development in a number of ways that may impact later educational participation. AIMS: In this study, we examine the long-term educational effects of preventing early childhood malaria. Does intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) during early childhood reduce the risk of dropout? If so, does this effect vary by school type - government school versus madrassa? SAMPLE: We use data from a 2001 follow-up of a 1985-1987 malaria prevention randomized controlled trial in the Gambia. The sample consists of 562 youth born between 1981 and 1986. METHODS: We use discrete-time survival analysis to identify the impact of the intervention on dropout risk over time. RESULTS: We find that IPT has a positive impact on dropout for government school students, but not for madrassa attendees. The difference was striking: in government schools, the odds of dropout in the treatment group were one third of those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that preventing early childhood malaria may reduce dropout at a relatively low cost. In this intervention, the drugs cost less than one dollar per year per child. While IPT is no longer practised in many countries due to concerns over drug resistance, these results support the conclusion that any type of effective malaria control programme protecting young children, such as consistent and correct use of bed nets, could improve educational attainment in areas where malaria is prevalent.