The impact of online technical education on schooling outcomes: Evidence from Brazil

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper studies the impact of online technical education offered to complement regular academic instruction in high school on student schooling outcomes. Using a regression discontinuity design with an oversubscribed large-scale online technical course in Brazil, we find that students who score above the cutoff on the online technical education admission exam are less likely to drop out of high school, while their performance on standardized tests in math and Portuguese is similar to that of students just below the admission exam cutoff.

What Mesoamerica Can Teach Us About Health Equity, Impact, and Decolonizing Global Health

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Mesoamerica is an isthmus, land sandwiched between the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, a world away from where the Gates Foundation focuses most its attention. It is a socio-cultural region with a rich history that runs through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and Chiapas, MX. Much of the terrain here is rugged, mountainous, and lush – difficult to navigate outside of the urban centers. By some measures, Mesoamerica is doing well. But national averages mask some of the highest inequality in the world, including in health.

Skills for Life: Fostering Critical Thinking

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Critical thinking has become key to the skill set that people should develop not only to have better prospects in the labor market, but also a better personal and civic life. This brief shows how policymakers and teachers can help students develop their critical thinking skills. First, this brief defines critical thinking skills. Then, the brief shows how the concept can be translated into teacher-friendly rubrics to support them to design or redesign better lessons but also to assess their students.

Skills for Life: Fostering Critical Thinking

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Critical thinking has become key to the skill set that people should develop not only to have better prospects in the labor market, but also a better personal and civic life. This brief shows how policymakers and teachers can help students develop their critical thinking skills. First, this brief defines critical thinking skills. Then, the brief shows how the concept can be translated into teacher-friendly rubrics to support them to design or redesign better lessons but also to assess their students.

Green Buildings for The Health Care Sector: Cost-effective Measures for Sustainable Design

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Infrastructure projects, those in the health sector particularly, account for a great opportunity to make an efficient usage of energy and water resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study was conducted to identify the most cost-effective measures that make it possible to save energy and water consumption in health care sector infrastructure projects. To do so, the International Finance Corporation's EDGE (Excellence in design for greater efficiencies) tool was used.

Behind the Camera: Creativity and Investment for Latin America and the Caribbean: Learnings from Conversations with Key Players in the Audiovisual Sector

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This study assesses the present state of the audiovisual sector in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of increased demand resulting from the growth of streaming and national industries in the region. The document includes an assessment of audiovisual milestones while centering on current public policy debates and 21st-Century skills.

From data to action: what do we need to make effective early childhood development decisions?

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Within the normal course of a project, data is collected, information is analyzed, and results are interpreted to better understand reality. But there is one more element in the equation that both researchers and field implementers seek as the ultimate goal: moving from data to decision-making.