Abstract

This study provides evidence on school-based practices associated with student learning in various developing country contexts. For the Palestinian Territories, one of the countries considered here, the team used the TIMSS 2011 data set and Palestinian exams to categorize school performance. A total of 122 public, private and UNWRA schools were surveyed using four different instruments: (i) Stallings classroom observations, (ii) school director survey, (iii) teacher survey and (iv) school facility survey. The positive deviance model was used to identify local solutions using already available inputs and processes, and is divided into three categories: classroom practices and teacher attitudes, management practices, and instructional context. Key results will be presented and a question and answer session will follow.

Noah Yarrow, a California native, joined the World Bank in May 2010 as a part of the Latin American and Caribbean education team. While there he worked on education initiatives in Haiti, Guyana and Colombia in addition to regional analytic activities. He currently focuses on student learning outcomes and teacher practices in Djibouti, the Palestinian Territories, and other countries in the Middle East and North African region.