The impact of a participatory intervention to improve learning outcomes and reduce school-based discrimination and community stigma in primary rural schools of Afghanistan: A cluster control randomized trial

Learning is a complex process that requires the acquisition of a range of academic, social, and emotional skills. Multiple barriers to learning exist in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, predominantly for girls. Little is known about how the sustainable development goal of ensuring free quality education for all girls and boys may translate into “relevant and effective learning outcomes”. This study investigates the impact of a multicomponent intervention on social-emotional and academic outcomes in primary school children. The intervention, which incorporated community-based system dynamics and child-centered activities, was implemented through a large-scale, cluster-randomized controlled trial in 83 schools across three provinces of Afghanistan. A total of 2519 children (grades 3 and 5, M age =10.6, SD=1.7) participated and were interviewed across three rounds. After adjusting for covariates, children in intervention schools had significantly improved life skills (ES=0.17, p < 0.01) and self-efficacy (ES=0.22, p < 0.001) compared to control schools. The intervention also impacted reading literacy at midpoint (ES=0.14, p < 0.01) and post-intervention (ES=0.14, p < 0.01). Girls generally experienced more significant improvements in social-emotional and academic outcomes than boys did in intervention schools compared to controls. Intervention effects increased with dose, with schools delivering more action ideas and project based learning having a greater and lasting effect on life skills (midpoint: ES=0.33, p < 0.001; post-intervention: ES=0.26, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (midpoint: ES=0.42, p < 0.001; post-intervention: ES=0.19, p < 0.01), and reading literacy (midpoint: ES=0.19, p < 0.05). Participants in these schools displayed significantly reduced perceived stigma (midpoint: ES=-0.23, p < 0.01); intervention effects were notably stronger for girls in these schools. These results contribute to ongoing research elaborating ways of empowering local communities to participate in school management processes, as well as training and supporting educators to engage with students to increase their acquisition of social-emotional and academic skills. The international community and national government in Afghanistan and beyond in other developing and crisis contexts could considerably improve education outcomes by actively promoting the engagement of community-level stakeholders in the management of their schools, as well as the active participation of children in the learning process. • Engaging school stakeholders improves children’s learning outcomes in a conflict setting. • Girls’ life skills, self-efficacy, and reading literacy improved more than boys’. • Full dosage had the largest impact on life skills, self-efficacy, and reading literacy, particularly for girls.