The impact of education programmes on learning and school participation in low- and middle-income countries

Improved access to education has failed to translate into improved learning in many low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). Nearly 250 million children in L&MICs cannot read, write or do basic maths. A range of different education interventions have been implemented to resolve what is being seen as a learning crisis. To find out what evidence exists about improving learning, 3ie carried out a systematic review that synthesised qualitative and quantitative evidence from 238 impact evaluations of 216 education programmes in 52 L&MICs. This summary report is based on the comprehensive systematic review, which has been published separately on the 3ie website. This summary report is well-suited for use by policymakers and programme managers. It focuses on the impacts of a range of interventions on a host of outcomes, including children’s school enrolment, attendance and learning. The summary report presents key lessons for policy, programming and research stemming from the full systematic review.