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Digital Learning, Real Classrooms: Insights from Implementation Research in Ghana. Working Paper

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Title: Digital Learning, Real Classrooms: Insights from Implementation Research in Ghana. Working Paper
Language: English
Authors: Marco Valenza, Sophia Kan, Thomas Dreesen, Christopher Nkrumah, Kofi Sarpong Adu-Manu, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti (Italy)
Source: UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight. 2025.
Availability: UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight. Via degli Alfani, 58, 50121, Florence, Italy. Tel: 39055-20330; Fax: 39055-2033220. email: florence@unicef.org; Web site: https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 26
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Early Childhood Education
Grade 1
Primary Education
Grade 2
Grade 3
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Program Implementation, Educational Research, Program Effectiveness, Elementary Education, Value Judgment, Teacher Attitudes, Blended Learning, Fidelity, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3
Geographic Terms: Ghana
Abstract: The use of education technology (EdTech) has been widely recognised as a potential catalyst for improving learning outcomes, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to quality education remains challenging. However, care must be taken in the implementation, as the selected tools, resources and application have a large bearing on the effectiveness of the EdTech. UNESCO's 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, for example, finds that adoption of EdTech varies across countries, based on socioeconomic conditions, teacher readiness and national income levels. Many interventions, even those that are evidence based and well designed, often encounter significant challenges in successful deployment in real-world settings. Similarly, an intervention may be deemed ineffective in cases where the problem actually only stems from the implementation rather than the intervention itself. It is therefore important in analysis to distinguish between the design of the intervention and its implementation. Implementation research examines how educational programmes operate in practice, identifies facilitators and barriers to success, and determines how to adapt tools for diverse and resource-constrained contexts. Unlike impact evaluations, which focus primarily on measuring performance outcomes, implementation research investigates the processes of implementation -- providing insights into how programmes function, for whom and under what conditions. To help in describing the purpose of this paper, it is useful to note what this kind of research is not: implementation research is not an efficacy trial to select appropriate interventions; it is not an ex-post study of the implementation; and it is not monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the implementation. In this paper, the authors outline how implementation research was incorporated into the piloting of the Learning Passport (LP) -- a digital platform that has been deployed in classrooms in 47 countries across the globe -- in Ghana in 2023. The LP pilot included implementation research to assess the platform's effectiveness within the infrastructural and pedagogical context of primary schools in Accra. It allowed for rapid course correction during implementation and highlighted insights informing strategies for in-school digital learning, both in Ghana and in similar LMIC contexts. [This paper was published in partnership with UNICEF Ghana.]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED676282
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Digital Learning, Real Classrooms: Insights from Implementation Research in Ghana. Working Paper
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  Data: UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight. Via degli Alfani, 58, 50121, Florence, Italy. Tel: 39055-20330; Fax: 39055-2033220. email: florence@unicef.org; Web site: https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Technology%22">Educational Technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology+Uses+in+Education%22">Technology Uses in Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Implementation%22">Program Implementation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Research%22">Educational Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Effectiveness%22">Program Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Value+Judgment%22">Value Judgment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Blended+Learning%22">Blended Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fidelity%22">Fidelity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+1%22">Grade 1</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+2%22">Grade 2</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+3%22">Grade 3</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ghana%22">Ghana</searchLink>
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  Data: The use of education technology (EdTech) has been widely recognised as a potential catalyst for improving learning outcomes, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to quality education remains challenging. However, care must be taken in the implementation, as the selected tools, resources and application have a large bearing on the effectiveness of the EdTech. UNESCO's 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, for example, finds that adoption of EdTech varies across countries, based on socioeconomic conditions, teacher readiness and national income levels. Many interventions, even those that are evidence based and well designed, often encounter significant challenges in successful deployment in real-world settings. Similarly, an intervention may be deemed ineffective in cases where the problem actually only stems from the implementation rather than the intervention itself. It is therefore important in analysis to distinguish between the design of the intervention and its implementation. Implementation research examines how educational programmes operate in practice, identifies facilitators and barriers to success, and determines how to adapt tools for diverse and resource-constrained contexts. Unlike impact evaluations, which focus primarily on measuring performance outcomes, implementation research investigates the processes of implementation -- providing insights into how programmes function, for whom and under what conditions. To help in describing the purpose of this paper, it is useful to note what this kind of research is not: implementation research is not an efficacy trial to select appropriate interventions; it is not an ex-post study of the implementation; and it is not monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the implementation. In this paper, the authors outline how implementation research was incorporated into the piloting of the Learning Passport (LP) -- a digital platform that has been deployed in classrooms in 47 countries across the globe -- in Ghana in 2023. The LP pilot included implementation research to assess the platform's effectiveness within the infrastructural and pedagogical context of primary schools in Accra. It allowed for rapid course correction during implementation and highlighted insights informing strategies for in-school digital learning, both in Ghana and in similar LMIC contexts. [This paper was published in partnership with UNICEF Ghana.]
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    Languages:
      – Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Technology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Technology Uses in Education
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      – SubjectFull: Program Implementation
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      – SubjectFull: Program Effectiveness
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary Education
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      – SubjectFull: Value Judgment
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Blended Learning
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      – SubjectFull: Fidelity
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      – SubjectFull: Grade 1
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      – SubjectFull: Grade 2
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      – SubjectFull: Grade 3
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      – SubjectFull: Ghana
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      – TitleFull: Digital Learning, Real Classrooms: Insights from Implementation Research in Ghana. Working Paper
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