【FILA】Research Seminar by Dr. Muroga in Harvard University

On October 4th, the Faculty of International Liberal Arts and the Center for Malaysian Studies co-hosted a research seminar by Dr. Atsuko Murgora, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research. She presented her paper, titled “Can a Tiered, School-Based Attendance Intervention Reduce Chronic Absenteeism in Preschools? Evidence from Chile.”

In Chile, chronic absenteeism is pervasive among preschoolers attending publicly funded programs due to several reasons, including low student motivation and parental misbelief about the values of preschool education. A program called Un Buen Comienzo (UBC) was implemented in public preschools in Chile, which aimed to increase children’s attendance through interventions such as enhancing student motivation by displaying attendance boards in schools and fostering parent involvement. Using the difference-in-differences analysis, she examined the effectivness of this program and showed that the intervention reduced the number of absences and chronic absenteeism. Following her presentation, the attendees engaged in a lively Q&A session.