Improving Education Outcomes in the Global South

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Enrolling in school does not guarantee that children acquire the knowledge and skills education is meant to provide. In many countries, large numbers of students still fail to complete primary school, and some children never enroll at all. This course examines why expanding access to schooling has not always translated into meaningful learning, and what can be done about it. We review a range of education policies and interventions implemented in low- and middle-income countries, exploring both their underlying logic and the evidence on their effectiveness. Students will engage with real-world policy debates, assessing what works, what does not, and why. Through case studies and empirical research, the course emphasizes how context shapes the success of reforms and highlights the challenges of designing effective education policy. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with an analytical framework to evaluate alternative education strategies and to critically assess the quality of the evidence used to support them.