While gender differences in mathematical competencies favoring boys are well researched for school and late Kindergarten age, much less is known about their earlier development. Using data from the NEPS Newborn Cohort study, this paper focuses on 4 year-old children and the effects of the numerical and literacy stimulation during mother-child…

Developing students' reading and numeracy skills remain key goals of contemporary schooling. In Australia, the National Assessment Program -- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests have assessed these skills since 2008. Previous research found a significant gender gap in favour of females for the NAPLAN writing test, yet no study has examined…

Mobile devices in the primary school classroom may improve literacy and numeracy learning, though concerns about risk of bias and uncertainty about modes of effect limit conclusions. This review gathered evidence on how mobile devices (including tablets, mobile phones, and handheld digital games) are used in primary school classrooms to help…

Acquiring mathematical literacy requires students to apply mathematics in various real-world contexts. However, mathematics classes often provide brief, content-focused descriptions of reality-based tasks and tasks that describe the situation as more complex, closer to reality, are still lacking. Students with different sociodemographic…

This study aims to describe: 1) students' perceptions of the efforts that must be made to improve literacy and numeracy competencies and 2) significant differences regarding the efforts that must be made to improve literacy and numeracy competencies when viewed from gender and numeracy differences-school status. The descriptive approach was…

Using IEA's TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2019 data, this brief examines gender differences in parental involvement with their child's education measured through participation in early home learning activities. We find that engaging children in home learning activities before entering primary school is associated…

The role of executive function skills and motivation in supporting children's academic achievement is well-documented, but the vast majority of evidence is from high-income countries. Classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be large, teacher-driven, and lecture-focused, which may provide extra challenges for children to stay engaged in the…

There has been marked progress in access to education, representation of women in leadership, sexual reproductive health, and gender-based violence as a result of gender equality initiatives. However, there is still a strong focus on interventions targeting girls only. Through the adolescents' lens, this study sought to establish if there is a…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures globally, including in Kenya. This educational disruption had potential adverse consequences for adolescent school learners including school dropout, learning loss, opportunity losses, loss of previously acquired skills, and loss of socio-emotional benefits of time spent with peers and…

This study aimed to determine individual- and country-level latent classes in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving competencies of individuals participating in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2015. Specifically, it sought to distinguish these classes in relation to individuals' sex and to identify the state…

The term Koranic school is often used to describe schools that are not part of the formal education system and typically place a strong emphasis on memorising the Koran in Arabic, as well as on knowledge of Islamic religious education and practice. Using data from Niger as a case study, this paper provides data on trends in the share of…

Skill mismatch, the discrepancy between the skill levels held by employees and those demanded by employers, has long been of interest to analysts of the labor market. Such mismatches are worth exploring to better understand the processes of recruitment and career development and the role of education in the labor market. This study aims to analyze…

This study examined the factors that determined the science achievement of fourth-grade students on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 in the USA. The data were retrieved from the TIMSS international database and imported to the R program for manipulation. The EdSurvey package was used to conduct multilevel…

This issue of the Adult Skills in Focus series looks at gender differences in reading (literacy) and mathematics (numeracy) skills, and in particular how these differences evolve as people grow up. The analysis use data on three different assessments, administered to children in fourth grade (around 10 year-olds), to 15-year old adolescents, and…

Response times are one of the important sources that provide information about the performance of individuals during a test process. The main purpose of this study is to show that survival models can be used in educational data. Accordingly, data sets of items measuring literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills of the countries participating…