Evidence-Based Education: Policy-Making and Reform in Africa

May 14-15, 2012

Find the agenda here [5] and presentations below

Alisa Hotel [6], Accra, Ghana (map [7])

Find an electronic version of the conference book summarizing panel topics here [8]

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in collaboration with the Ghana Educational Service (GES) and support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) present the Evidence-Based Education:Policy-Making and Reform in Africa Conference bringing African education practitioners, government policymakers, and researchers together to listen to and discuss current evidence on what works in education.

This 2-day conference featured a large-scale evaluation of the Ghana Government’s Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI), aimed at improving literacy and numeracy levels in basic schools and implemented by Ghana Education Services, the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the National Youth Employment, and evaluated by IPA. The conference also covered topics including student attendance, supportive learning through technology, and teacher accountability and incentives, with presentations from leading international researchers and educational practitioners.

* * *

J-PAL Executive Education Training: May 16-19, 2012: The conference was followed by a four day J-PAL Executive Training Course on how to evaluate the impact of programs, focused on education.

* * *

Conference Agenda with Presentations:

MAY 14 14 MAI	MONDAY LUNDI
	WELCOME: Keynote speech by Mahama Ayariga, Ghana Deputy Minister of Education, Cheryl Anderson, USAID/Ghana Mission Director, and introduction by Jessica Kiessel, Ghana Country Director, Innovations for Poverty Action ACCUEIL: Discours par Mahama Ayariga, Ministre Député d'Education au Ghana et introduction par Jessica Kiessel, Innovations for Poverty Action
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [9]	PANEL 1: What Have We Learned About Improving School Participation? SESSION 1: Qu'Avons-Nous Appris Sur les Moyens pour Augmenter la Présence à l’Ecole ?
	Chair/Modérateur : Karimu Mohammed, Curriculum Development and Replication Coordinator, School for Life, Ghana Review of Evidence/Résumé des résultats d’évaluation: Isaac Mbiti, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Southern Methodist University/ J-PAL, US Panelists/Participants: Leah Rotich, Director of Basic Education, Ministry of Education, Kenya Stewart Kabaka, Program Manager for Monitoring and Evaluation, Department of Family Health, Ministry of Health, Kenya Reda Hamedoun,Infrastructure Specialist, East Asia and Pacific RegionWorld Bank, US Former member of the Royal Cabinet of the King of Morocco
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [10]	PANEL 2: Teacher Characteristics, School Governance, Accountability And Incentives SESSION 2: Caractéristiques des Enseignants, Gestion des Ecoles, Responsabilité et Incitations
	Chair/Modérateur : Charles Aheto-Tsegah, Deputy Director-General, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Exposing the Issue/Exposé du problème: Mukhtar Abdi Ogle, Principal Examinations Secretary/National Coordinator, National Assessment Center, Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya Review of Evidence/Résumé des résultats d’évaluation: Moussa P. Blimpo, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University, US Panelists/Participants: Yaw Nyarko, Professor, Department of Economics, New York University, US Mukhtar Abdi Ogle, Principal Examinations Secretary/National Coordinator, National Assessment Center, Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya
*Find Panel Presentations Here [11]and Here [12]*	PANEL 3: What Have We Learned About Enabling Learning? SESSION 3: Qu'Avons-Nous Appris Sur les Moyens d’Amélioration de l’Apprentissage?
	Chair/Modérateur : Dr. George Oduro, Director, Institute of Education Planning and Administration, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Exposing the Issue/Exposé du problème: Rakesh Rajani, Head of Twaweza, Tanzania Review of Evidence/Résumé des résultats d’évaluation: Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)/ J-PAL, US Panelists/Participants: Abdou Diao, Director of Basic Education, Ministry of Education, Senegal Usha Rane, Regional Head, Pratham, India Rakesh Rajani, Head of Twaweza, Tanzania
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [13]	PRESENTATION: The Ghana Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) PRESENTATION : l’Initiative Enseignant-Assistant Communautaire au Ghana (TCAI) Stephen Adu,Acting Deputy Director-General and Director for Basic Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Maame Nketsiah, TCAI National Coordinator, Ghana Honorable Abuga Pele, Executive Director, National Youth Employment Program, Ghana Rosemond Keteku, Municipal Education Director, Adentan Municipal Assembly, Ghana
MAY 15 15 MAI	TUESDAY MARDI
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [14]	PANEL 4: Supportive Learning Through Technology SESSION 4: La Technologie Au Service de L’Enseignement
	Chair/Modérateur : Fawzia Salifu Sidii, Information and Communications Technology Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Ghana Exposing the Issue/Exposé du problème: Julian Cristia, Senior Research Economist, Inter-American Development Bank, US Review of Evidence/Résumé des résultats d’évaluation: Paul Glewwe, Professor, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota/J-PAL, US Panelists/Participants: Shwetlena Sabarwal, Economist, World Bank, US Namwaka Mwaikinda, Policy Analyst, Commission for Science and Technology, Tanzania Julian Cristia, Economist, Inter-American Development Bank, US
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [15]	PANEL 5: Secondary Education and Girls: Directions for Future Research SESSION 5: L’Education Secondaire et les Filles : Pistes pour la Recherche Future
	Chair/Modérateur : Iqbal Dhaliwal,Director of Policy, J-PAL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Review of Evidence and Research Gaps/Résumé des Résultats d’Evaluation et les Lacunes des Recherches Kehinde Ajayi, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Boston University, US Rebecca Thornton, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Michigan/ J-PAL, US Panelists/Participants: Esi Sutherland-Addy, Associate Professor, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana Pamoussa F. Compaoré, Director of Studies and Planning,Ministry of Secondary Education, Higher Education and Research, Burkina Faso
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [16]	PANEL 6: Early Childhood Education: Directions for Future Research SESSION 6 : L’Education de la Petite Enfance : Orientations pour la Recherche Future
	Chair/Modérateur : Rachel Hinton, Human Development Advisor, United Kingdom Department for International Development, Ghana Review of Evidence and Research Gaps/Résumé des Résultats d’Evaluation et les Lacunes des Recherches : Orazio Attanasio, Professor, Department of Economics, University College London, UK Panelists/Participants: Margaret Okai, National Coordinator-Early Childhood Development Unit, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Aziz Kaichouh, General Manager, Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Preschool Education, Morocco
*Find Panel Presentations Here* [17]	Contribution of Systematic Reviews to Understanding School Effectiveness La Contribution des Révisions Systématiques Pour Mieux Comprendre Les Systèmes Educatifs Philip Davies, Head of London Office, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), UK
	PANEL 7: From Evidence To Action: Next Step For Scaling Up Evidence SESSION 7: De la Preuve à l'Action : Prochaine Etape Pour Augmenter l’Etendue des Résultats
	Chair/Modérateur : Annie Duflo, Executive Director, Innovations for Poverty Action, US Panelists/Participants: Iqbal Dhaliwal,Director of Policy, J-PAL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Wendy Abt, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3) Bureau, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), US Stephen Adu,Acting Deputy Director-General and Director for Basic Education, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Usha Rane, Regional Head, Pratham, India Efua Chrissie Amissah-Arthur, Social Development Specialist, African Development Bank, Ghana

This event is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of IPA and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.