“Successful Interventions at Scale: The Importance of Managers” – Sabrin Beg, Anne Fitzpatrick, Adrienne Lucas.
Engaging civil service management is crucial to implement policy reforms at scale. This research partners with Ghana Education Services and existing government training and support structures to enhance public service delivery in government primary schools. Through a 210 school randomized controlled trial we compare training teachers in differentiated instruction (teaching at the learning level of the student), training managers in managerial best practices and training teachers, and a control group. Both treatment arms increased standard measures of management and student test scores 0.11SD, 30 percent of a year of learning. The management intervention increased aspects of management targeted by the intervention.