Gender differences in early childhood development are under-researched in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where almost 90% of the world's young children live. This study examines the direction, magnitude, and variation of gender similarities and differences in 3- and 4-year-olds' early childhood development in 71 low- and middle-income…

Responsible leadership is crucial for higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries to build an institutional reputation by generating advanced knowledge and strengthening socioeconomic development. Drawing on signaling theory, this study investigates the relationship between responsible leadership and academics' job insecurity, and…

Background/Context: The COVID-19 pandemic led to historically unparalleled global school closures, increasing risks to child development through inadequate access to learning at school and increased poverty and food insecurity (Egger et al., 2021). Robust evidence shows that attending high-quality ECE improves short- and longer-term outcomes for…

Background: Social and emotional learning (SEL) positively impacts children's school achievement and adult productivity. Successful implementation of SEL relies on teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices. Aims: We examined whether the "Teachers' SEL Belief Scale" designed in the United States is adoptable in low-income countries such…

While some studies in Zimbabwe have examined the relevance of education in rural settings, very few have done so using a human development-oriented framework such as the capabilities approach, as this paper does. In linking education and human development, the capabilities approach facilitates an examination of intersecting individual contexts and…

The evaluation of psychosocial interventions in low income countries requires focus on cultural appropriateness, implementation, and the experiences of participants. This nested qualitative study follows a previous controlled trial that reported positive outcomes for students participating in the Living Well life skills intervention. The current…

Exposure to community violence is thought to create risk for the social and emotional development of children, including those children living in low-income, conflict-affected countries. In the absence of other types of community resources, schools may be one of the few community resources that can help buffer children from the negative effects of…

We used a cluster-randomized, wait-list controlled trial to examine impacts of a school-based social-emotional learning intervention on Congolese students and teachers. Seventy-six school clusters in two groups (A and B) were randomized to treatment or control. The groups differed in geographic location, accessibility, exposure to violence, and…

An alarming number of students drop out of junior high school in developing countries. In this study, we examine the impacts of providing a social-emotional learning (SEL) program on the dropout behavior and learning anxiety of students in the first two years of junior high. We do so by analyzing data from a randomized controlled trial involving…

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or Global Goals) and their associated targets set out by the United Nations in 2015 explicitly seek to address some of the largest challenges facing children around the world. Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions have been found to improve adult health and education levels, reduce crime, and…

The confluence of the agreement on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or Global Goals) in 2015, and the increased attention being paid to the role of non-traditional actors in contributing to shared prosperity, provide a unique opportunity to focus attention on attempts to identify promising new solutions to the barriers that impede the full…

How can young women in developing countries best be prepared for success in their lives and livelihoods? Life preparation requires learning different types of knowledge and skills in formal, non-formal, and informal learning contexts. Since the advent of the Education for All initiative in 1990, the international community has recognized that in…

Despite the strong argument for investing in young children and the many types of interventions and delivery mechanisms that have been developed, knowledge on Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs' effectiveness in low-income settings remains thin. Yet a growing number of programs in developing countries contain interventions seeking to…

Enriching caregiving practices foster the course and outcome of child development. This study examined 2 developmentally significant domains of positive caregiving--cognitive and socioemotional--in more than 127,000 families with under-5 year children from 28 developing countries. Mothers varied widely in cognitive and socioemotional caregiving…

Mastering basic numeracy and literacy skills is one of the most fundamental goals of education. However, it is estimated that 250 million primary-school-age children lack basic reading, writing and math skills (UN, 2013). Children living in war and poverty stricken countries are among the least likely to attain those basic goals. The United States…