The Impact of Participatory Inclusive Education Interventions on Psychosocial and Academic Outcomes of Children in Pakistan

Background. Improving Education Quality and Equality is a five-year project aimed at improving the quality of teaching and the inclusion of all students in rural schools of Pakistan. Pakistan has the world’s second highest number of out of school children, and boys outnumber girls at every level of education (UNICEF, 2021). To improve education quality and equity for all children (Sustainable Development Goal 4), especially the most vulnerable, our interventions used Community Based System Dynamics Group Model Building workshops with teachers, parents, and children to identify factors that influence inclusive education, and work with communities to implemented actions ideas proposed during those workshops. We also trained teachers in child centered pedagogy. The study presents the impact of this intervention on psychosocial and academic outcomes of children.

Methods. Multistage random sampling method was used to select 65 intervention and 71 control schools in Punjab and Sindh, Pakistan. 2544 children and their families and teachers participated in this cluster randomized control trial. No significant difference was found at baseline between the children in intervention and control groups in any of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, psychosocial skills, or academic performances. Psychosocial skills were measured using the Multidimensional Scale Life Skills in Late Childhood, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Academic performance was measured using locally defined Mathematics, Languages and General Knowledge tests. We also collected data on stigma and discrimination. The baseline data was collected in 2018, same respondents was interviewed again at midline in 2020/21, and at endline in 2022. Based on three waves of data, we used multilevel modeling (MLM) to analyze the rate of change in psychosocial and academic outcomes between intervention and control schools. Dosage effects of implementing action ideas and child centered activities were among the intervention schools.

Results. Among the 2544 students at baseline, 1368 of them stayed in the study until endline. We recruited 1245 new students at midline to make up for attrition. Among those students, 732 stayed until endline. MLM results showed that students in the intervention schools have on average 1-point higher score in life skills, 0.2 score higher in resilience compared to children in the control schools at endline. Among intervention schools, implementing one more action idea led to -0.09 decrease in stigma, 0.06 points decrease in perceived discrimination, and 0.01 increase in math scores. When stratified by genders, we also found that interventions and actions ideas had more positive effects for girls.

Implications. Our findings show that participation intervention in education has a significant impact on life skills and academic outcomes despite disruption from school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows that fidelity to the theory of change through effective implementation is the key. The more a community is engaged in quality education, the better children’s psychological and academic outcomes. In addition, participation in community affairs should not just be limited to group discussion, but communities’ engagement in the implementation process is key to improve education quality and equality.