This support document accompanies the research report, "Understanding the Value of Pre-Apprenticeships," which examines the effect of pre-apprenticeship programs on apprenticeship completions and the value that both students and employers place on pre-apprenticeship programs in helping students to obtain successful apprenticeship…

Little is known about what influences high-achieving, low-income students' persistence in higher education, despite extensive work on their enrolment decision. This paper investigates the role of credit constraints. Using exhaustive administrative data for France, I estimate the impact of automatically granting generous additional aid to enrolled…

This research investigated how registered training organisations (RTOs) could better support the needs of students throughout their learner journey for them to succeed in their training. The research identified six key characteristics of effective student support, when and how support needs are identified and provided to students through their…

This case study research, informed by an Indigenous Research Paradigm, sought to ascertain the impact of a university's decentralised health faculty Aboriginal engagement program. It involved analysis of health faculty and other faculties' 2016-2020 student commencement, enrolment, completion, and retention data. The health faculty was more likely…

Higher and doctoral education in Kazakhstan underwent a systemic reform since independence in 1990. Reforms have been determined by dynamic socio-economic developments in Kazakhstan, the country's entry into the global market, and the need to increase the competitiveness of its human capital. Kazakhstan joined the Bologna Process and switched to a…

Increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in higher education can play a critical role in transforming lives and is the trajectory to closing the gap and reducing disadvantage. Despite recent progress, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remain significantly under-represented in higher education. Poor retention and…

Purpose: The study aims to provide insight on the potential effectiveness of demand-side financing for catalyzing improved educational outcomes in Malawi; and, given the extent of cost-related constraints to school contexts in other low-income countries, the results have relevance for education policy decisions more broadly.…

The efficiency of educational institutions is critical in the justification of resource allocation and use. However, some developing countries like Kenya face efficiency challenges regarding resource utilisation and the flow of students through the school system at various levels of education and programs. Past research in Kenya has focused more…

Governments around the world use grant and loan programs to ease the financial constraints that contribute to socioeconomic gaps in college completion. A growing body of research assesses the impact of grants; less is known about how loan programs affect persistence and degree completion. We use detailed administrative data from Chile to provide…

The Open Distance Learning (ODL) commenced in Nigeria in the year 2003 by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and many universities in the country have also adopted it. The study focused purposely on four ODL centers in Kwara state. Five research questions and three research hypotheses were formulated. The student samples were selected…

This study estimates the extent to which apprenticeship affects the academic trajectories of vocational high-school students. Previous research has shown that apprenticeship-based high schools (or dual vocational education) increase employment outcomes compared to school-based-only vocational education. Employing a propensity score matching…

This paper uses an RCT to estimate the impact of PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary school students from poor backgrounds. We find that, on average, the program has no impact either on graduation rates or on Math and Spanish test scores. We identify two possible…

This dissertation focuses on microeconomic topics in the fields of public, labor and education. Particularly, this dissertation evaluates state policies in higher education and develops a global measure for job quality. Chapter 1 studies how state merit aid programs affect undergraduate degrees earned in Science, Technology, Engineering and…

Despite the growing popularity of free college proposals, countries with higher college subsidies tend to have higher enrollment rates but not higher graduation rates. To capture this evidence and evaluate potential free college policies, we rely on a dynamic model of college enrollment, performance, and graduation estimated using rich…

This paper studies the impact of PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary school students from poor backgrounds. The identification strategy is the random allocation into the program, which took place in 2009. The strategy allows measurement of the effects of PROBEMS on test…