Education Advancement

Secondary school completion rates remain low in many low- and middle-income countries, including Côte d'Ivoire. Limited progression through lower secondary education may affect future educational and employment opportunities. In rural areas, pass rates on the Grade 10 national examination are modest, and some students leave school before completing lower secondary education. This study will evaluate whether tutoring improves academic outcomes and school continuation in the Taabo region of Côte d'Ivoire. Approximately 1,000 adolescents will participate in two related substudies. The first substudy will include 500 Grade 10 students identified by schools as being at risk of not passing the national examination. The second substudy will include 500 adolescents who previously attended Grades 7-9 but are not currently enrolled in school. Within each substudy, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: peer tutoring, teacher tutoring, or no additional tutoring (control group). Students assigned to tutoring may receive up to 15 sessions over approximately 6 to 8 months. Tutoring sessions will focus on reviewing core curriculum content, preparing for examinations, and strengthening academic skills. The primary outcomes are (1) passing the Grade 10 national examination and (2) enrollment in lower secondary school in the following academic year. Secondary outcomes include grade progression, study time, academic confidence, cost-effectiveness of the tutoring models, academic and well-being outcomes among peer tutors, and other longer-term outcomes (educational attainment, early family formation, mental health).

In partnership with a local community college in in Omaha, Nebraska, the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania will conduct a randomized controlled trial to determine the impacts of a negative income tax for MCC students, with particular attention to educational and career advancement outcomes. The sample will include students in a degree-seeking program, as well as those in non-degree programs, such as those working towards professional certificates.

Appropriate management of cardiac arrest (immediately and technically well performed) is a priority that must be taught to all citizens and future healthcare personnel, including future physicians. In this medical school, 2nd year medical students receive a 8 hour training session on basic life support (BLS) and management of cardiac arrest is taught into 5 successive parts, with learning and cumulative repetition of the steps: detection of unconsciousness, call for help, absence of breathing, cardiac massage and defibrillation. During the many sessions previously carried out by our team, it often appeared that students, when evaluating breathing forget the 1st part related to airway and breathing, i.e. relieving airway obstruction. Yet it has been shown that opening the airway and early removal of a foreign body are associated with improved neurological survival. Importantly, mouth-to-mouth is not included in the learning session and compression-only is advocated. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate if the use of an observation tool, with items centered on airway obstruction, can improve learning of this step, as shown in some previous trials. This will be a trial performed in medical students in which training days will be randomized to include or not the use of an observation tool modified to emphasize the procedural parts that are aimed at relieving airway obstruction. At the end of each day, students will be video-recorded while playing a short BLS scenario and airway obstruction-relieving skills will be compared.