Strengthening teachers in disadvantaged schools: Evidence from an intervention in Sweden’s poorest city districts

The project participants evaluate the National Agency of Education’s (Skolverket) task of supporting schools in areas of social exclusion. During 2012-2014, ten selected schools will receive extra support, in particular focusing on the supervision of teachers. The support will also involve the development of tutoring of students in their native language and the school’s contacts with parents as well as the development of activities beyond the regular school day, focusing on increased teaching time and help with homework. The aim is to develop methods to support the pupils’ knowledge development and thereby increase their knowledge outcomes. The extra support is targeted to grades 6-9.

We evaluate the impact of the extra support on students’ knowledge outcomes. Among other things, we compare how student performance develops in the selected schools with how student performance develops in other schools with similar conditions, but which do not receive the extra support.