Learning to Work Towards Goals: A Sequential Evaluation of the Effect of a Goal-Setting Course on Academic and Soft Skills

Anaya Dam, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Michael Kremer, Joost de Laat and Karlijn Morsink

No 34562, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This study sequentially evaluates a soft-skills course implemented in Ugandan and Kenyan primary schools that replaced academic review time with lessons on goal-setting and related skills as students prepared for high-stakes primary school-leaving exams. An exploratory evaluation in Uganda provided evidence of positive impacts on girls’ test scores. A confirmatory evaluation in Kenya found that the course led to improvements in self-reported soft skills, especially among girls, although no gains in test scores. The study illustrates the utility of sequential evaluation, with exploratory analysis to identify promising hypotheses, followed by out-of-sample testing, as a tool to uncover heterogeneous effects.

JEL-codes: C18 C93 D91 I20 I21 I24 I25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
Note: DEV ED
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