The project investigated the role of student-level factors (like socio-emotional skills and experiences of social inclusion) and school-based factors (including school leadership and management (SLM) or accountability processes) in developing academic resilience across three developing countries: South Africa, Nepal and India. Academic resilience refers to performance above expectations.

We analysed data from two Raising Learning Outcomes (RLO) grants:

• Organizational Perspectives on Accountability and Learning (OPAL): school management models and the social impact of schooling in Mumbai and Kathmandu
• Succeeding against the odds: understanding resilience and exceptionalism in high-functioning township and rural primary schools in South Africa (SAO)

Project outcomes

The findings from this project were shared with policy audiences through a series of policy briefs. These are detailed and explained across three episodes of The Tales of Three Cities Podcast:

• Episode 1: Academic resilience in South Africa
• Episode 2: Academic resilience in India and Nepal
• Episode 3: A deeper focus on Nepal

Team members

The project was a collaboration between researchers from the University of Bath, and economics and education researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Bristol, the University of Queensland, the University of Nottingham, and Northwestern University.

• Professor Andrés Sandoval Hernandez, University of Bath (Principal Investigator)
• Kalyan K Kameshwara, University of Bath / University of Nottingham
• Natalia Lopez-Hornickel, University of Bath / University of Roehampton
• Adam Coates, University of Bath
• Dr Gabrielle Wills, Stellenbosch University
• Professor Servaas van der Berg, Stellenbosch University
• Heleen Hofmeyer, Stellenbosch University
• Robin Shields, University of Bristol / University of Queensland

Partner research

The findings of this project built upon two RLO grants.

The Organisational Perspectives on Accountability and Learning project (ES/P005489/1)

This was led by the University of Bath, in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tribhuvan University of Nepal, and Roskilde University. The project was led by Robin Shields, alongside Andres Sandoval-Hernandez; P.K. Shajahan; Stephen Carney; Swati Banerjee; Ganesh Singh; and Hugh Lauder.

The Succeeding Against the Odds project (ES/N01023X/1)

This was led by the Stellenbosch University in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, the University of Bath, Funde Wande, UNISA, the University of Chicago, Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment, and the Department of Basic Education. The project was led by Servaas van der Berg, alongside Nicholas Taylor, Nicholas Andrew Spaull, Ursula Kate Hoadley, Jaamia Galant.