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Gabrielle Wills

Researcher

Gabrielle Wills is an education economist and researcher with RESEP,  in the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She graduated in 2016 with her PhD in Economics, with a dissertation focused on school leadership and teacher union effects on learning outcomes. Dr Wills has been involved in various research projects and capacity development initiatives for local and international organisations, including the South African Presidency, the South African Department of Basic Education, the Ministry of Education in Namibia, UNICEF and local philanthropy organisations. She was also involved in the monitoring and evaluation at baseline of the DFID funded EQUIP-Tanzania project. Locally she co-authored the “Binding Constraints in Education” project for the South African Presidency and the European Union. Over the past 2 years, she has been a lead researcher on an ESRC/DFID funded project to identify outlier no-fee schools in South Africa while exploring factors associated with academic resilience in challenging contexts. Dr Wills’ current areas of research interest include education systems reform, school leadership and management, teacher union effects and the links between cognitive and socio-emotional skills. She regularly speaks in civil society forums on the state of education service delivery in South Africa. She is also the founder of a volunteer non-profit organisation called Micah6 which facilitates access to improved educational opportunities for vulnerable youth and young adults in Durban, South Africa.

January 15, 2024 in Education, Education - Working Papers, Gabrielle Wills, News and Opinion, Working Papers

Repetition and dropout in South Africa before, during and after COVID-19

In this research report, Gabrielle Wills and Jess Qvist collate existing and new evidence on grade repetition and school dropout in South Africa before, during…
January 15, 2024 By: Gabrielle Wills and Jess Qvist PDF
December 23, 2023 in 2023, Development 2023, Education - Working Papers, Education 2023, Gabrielle Wills, Health - Working Papers, Health 2023, News and Opinion, Working Papers

COVID-19 and inequality in reading outcomes in South Africa: PIRLS 2016 and 2021

In this Covid-Generation working paper, Bianca Böhmer and Gabrielle Wills contribute new evidence on pandemic effects on reading scores and inequalities in reading in South…
December 23, 2023 By: Bianca Böhmer and Gabrielle Wills PDF
November 15, 2023 in 2023, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2023, Gabrielle Wills, News and Opinion, Working Papers

Early Grade Repetition in South Africa: Implications for Reading

As part of the Covid-Generation project, Gabrielle Wills examines early grade repetition patterns in South Africa and the effects of early grade repetition on the…
November 15, 2023 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
September 24, 2023 in 2023, Authors, Conferences and Workshops, Debra Shepherd, Education 2023, Gabrielle Wills, Martin Gustafsson, News and Opinion, Nic Spaull, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Nwabisa Makaluza, Presentations, Rebecca Selkirk, Servaas van der Berg, Uncategorized

Conference on Quantitative Education Research (QER) 2023

RESEP held its 7th annual conference on Quantitative Education Research (QER) from 5-6 September 2023 at STIAS, Stellenbosch University.
September 24, 2023 By: RESEP PDF
December 19, 2022 in Authors, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2022, Gabrielle Wills, News and Opinion, Servaas van der Berg

Covid-19 disruptions and education in South Africa — two years of evidence

RESEP is engaged in a 3-year project (2022-24) to track learning losses, repetition, dropout and school completion patterns among school cohorts impacted by COVID-19 disruptions…
December 19, 2022 By: Gabrielle Wills & Servaas van der Berg PDF
November 3, 2022 in Education - Reports & Policy, Gabrielle Wills, Servaas van der Berg

COVID-19 disruptions and learning in South Africa: two years of evidence

The evidence discussed in this brief confirms that learning losses in South Africa have been large. Covid-19 has disrupted South African education in significant ways,…
November 3, 2022 By: Gabrielle Wills & Servaas van der Berg PDF
March 2, 2022 in Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2021, Focus Areas, Gabrielle Wills, Working Papers

New foundations: Strengthening ECCE provisioning in South Africa after COVID-19

Events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to undo 20 years of sustained expansion in access to early childhood care and education (ECCE) in South Africa.…
March 2, 2022 By: Gabrielle Wills and Jesal Kika-Mistry PDF
November 23, 2021 in 2021, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2021, Gabrielle Wills, Working Papers

Supply-side and demand-side approaches to financing early childhood care and education in South Africa

A PART OF THE ECD WORKING PAPER SERIES BETWEEN ILIFA LABANTWANA & RESEP. NO. ECD WP 003/2021
November 23, 2021 By: Gabrielle Wills, Jesal Kika PDF
October 18, 2021 in Education - Publications, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

COVID-19 learning losses: Early grade reading in South Africa

Using three different studies on early grade reading from no-fee schools across in South Africa, this paper establishes short-term learning losses in reading for grade…
October 18, 2021 By: Cally Ardington, Gabrielle Wills, and Janeli Kotze PDF
July 18, 2021 in Education - Publications, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Publications, Research Outputs

Benchmarking oral reading fluency in the early grades in Nguni languages

To prevent children from falling behind in the developmental sequence of reading, a shared vision of what reading success looks like is required. This paper…
July 18, 2021 By: Cally Ardington, Gabrielle Wills, Elizabeth Pretorius, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, and Alicia Menendeze PDF
December 1, 2020 in 2020, Authors, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2020, Gabrielle Wills, Servaas van der Berg, Working Papers

Household resource flows and food poverty during South Africa’s lockdown: Short-term policy implications for three channels of social protection

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP22/2020 Publication date: December 2020
December 1, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Servaas van der Berg, Leila Patel, and Bokang Mpeta PDF
November 5, 2020 in Education - Reports & Policy, Gabrielle Wills, Nangamso Mtsatse, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Policy Briefs, Reports, Servaas van der Berg

SUMMARY REPORT: Benchmarking early grade reading skills in Nguni languages

This is a summary report that presents the key findings and approach used in identifying early grade reading benchmarks and thresholds in three Nguni languages:…
November 5, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Nangamso Mtsatse, Nicola Deghaye, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Servaas van der Berg, Cally Ardington, Elizabeth Pretorius, Alicia Menendez PDF
November 5, 2020 in Education - Reports & Policy, Gabrielle Wills, Nangamso Mtsatse, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Policy Briefs, Reports, Servaas van der Berg

TECHNICAL REPORT: Benchmarking early grade reading skills in Nguni languages

This report presents the key findings and approach used in identifying early grade reading benchmarks and thresholds in three Nguni languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa and siSwati. 
November 5, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Nangamso Mtsatse, Nicola Deghaye, Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, Servaas van der Berg, Cally Ardington, Elizabeth Pretorius, Alicia Menendez PDF
October 5, 2020 in Development, Development - Report & Policy, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs, Reports, Servaas van der Berg

Household resource flows and food poverty during South Africa’s lockdown: Short-term policy implications for three channels of social protection.

A report stemming from NIDS-CRAM wave 1, a project consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African…
October 5, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Servaas van der Berg, Leila Patel, Bokang Mpeta PDF
August 12, 2020 in Education - Reports & Policy, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs, Reports, Research Outputs

A Sector Hanging in the Balance: ECD and Lockdown in South Africa

New evidence suggests that over four months after the closure of early childhood development (ECD) programmes on 18 March 2020, the ECD sector is likely…
August 12, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Janeli Kotze, Jesal Kika-Mistry PDF
May 26, 2020 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2020, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs, Servaas van der Berg

Measuring School Leadership and Management and Linkages with Literacy: Evidence from Rural and Township Primary Schools in South Africa

Wills, G. and van der Berg, S., 2020. Measuring school leadership and management and linkages with literacy: Evidence from rural and township primary schools in…
November 25, 2019 in Chapters in Book, Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2019, Gabrielle Wills, Publications, Research Outputs

School leadership and management: Identifying linkages with learning and structural inequalities

Wills, G., 2019. School leadership and management: Identifying linkages with learning and structural inequalities. In South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality (pp. 301-320). Springer, Cham.
November 25, 2019 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
November 15, 2019 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2019, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Addressing the ‘leadership conundrum through a mixed methods study of school leadership for literacy

Taylor, N., Wills, G. and Hoadley, U., 2019. Addressing the ‘leadership conundrum ’through a mixed methods study of school leadership for literacy. Research in Comparative and…
November 15, 2019 By: Gabrielle Wills, Nick Taylor, Ursula Hoadly PDF
November 15, 2019 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2019, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Teachers’ unions and industrial action in South African primary schools: Exploring their impacts on learning

Abstract: This paper investigates a disruption hypothesis that student learning is lost as a direct consequence of teacher strike action in South Africa. At face…
November 15, 2019 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
October 9, 2019 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2019, Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Academic resilience in challenging contexts: Evidence from township and rural primary schools in South Africa

Wills, G. and Hofmeyr, H., 2019. Academic resilience in challenging contexts: Evidence from township and rural primary schools in South Africa. International Journal of Educational Research, 98,…
October 9, 2019 By: Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr PDF
December 4, 2018 in 2018, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Research Outputs, Servaas van der Berg, Working Papers

Measuring leadership and management and their linkages with literacy in rural and township primary schools in South Africa

This paper describes a rigorous process to develop and trial new metrics for measuring and codifying school leadership and management practices and processes that are…
December 2, 2018 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Addressing the ‘leadership conundrum’ through a mixed methods study of school leadership for literacy

This paper explores methodological insights from a mixed methods study that aims to understand how school leaders promote literacy development in their schools.
December 2, 2018 By: Nick Taylor, Gabrielle Wills, and Ursula Hoadley PDF
November 23, 2018 in 2018, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr, Working Papers

Academic Resilience in Challenging Contexts: Evidence From Township and Rural Primary Schools in South Africa

Poverty is considered a risk factor that jeopardizes children’s academic performance. However, even in high-poverty contexts there are students who manage to achieve consistently good…
November 23, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr PDF
November 8, 2018 in Chapters in Book, Debra Shepherd, Education, Education - Publications, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Publications, Research Outputs

Explaining the Western Cape performance paradox: An econometric analysis

Wills, G., Shepherd, D., and Kotze, J. (2018). Explaining the Western Cape performance paradox: An econometric analysis, in The Politics and Governance of Basic Education: A…
November 8, 2018 By: Debra Shepherd, Gabrielle Wills, Janeli Kotzé PDF
September 4, 2018 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs

Exploring how school leaders promote literacy improvements

The performance of South African learners in reading comprehension is extremely poor. The Progress in International Literacy and Reading Study (2016) highlighted that by the…
September 4, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
September 4, 2018 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs

Structural inequalities in school leadership and management across South African schools

In the National Development Plan strengthening the quality of school leadership and management was identified as a priority to support improvements in South African basic…
September 4, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
September 4, 2018 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs

The possibility of improvements despite a lack of existing high-quality no-fee primary schools

The low quality of South African schooling has been widely confirmed through international tests of mathematics and literacy. The 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy…
September 4, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
September 4, 2018 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2018, Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr, Policy Briefs

Academic resilience in challenging school contexts in South Africa

Poverty is considered a risk factor that jeopardizes children’s academic performance. Yet even in high poverty contexts there are students who manage to achieve consistently…
September 4, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr PDF
July 16, 2018 in 2017, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2017, Gabrielle Wills, Research Outputs, Working Papers

What do you mean by ‘good’? The search for exceptional primary schools in South Africa’s no-fee school system

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP16/2017 Publication date: December 2017 Abstract: This paper describes a rigorous data collection process to find and verify the quality…
July 16, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
July 4, 2018 in 2016, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2016, Gabrielle Wills, Research Outputs, Working Papers

Principal leadership changes in South Africa: Investigating their consequences for school performance

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP01/2016 Abstract: A rising number of school leadership changes have been occurring in South African schools as a large proportion…
July 4, 2018 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
July 4, 2018 in 2016, Debra Shepherd, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2016, Gabrielle Wills, Research Outputs, Working Papers

Interrogating a Paradox of Performance in the WCED: A Provincial and Regional Comparison of Student Learning

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP14/2016 Abstract: The Western Cape, one of South Africa’s better performing provinces in terms of educational outcomes, has a relatively…
July 4, 2018 By: Debra Shepherd, Gabrielle Wills, Janeli Kotzé PDF
October 16, 2017 in Development, Education, Gabrielle Wills, Martin Gustafsson, Nic Spaull, Reports, Servaas van der Berg

Identifying Binding Constraints in Education

Synthesis Report for the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD) This research report provides an overview of a large research project undertaken by a…
October 16, 2017 in 2014, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2014, Gabrielle Wills, Labour, Labour 2014, Research Outputs, Working Papers

The Effects of Teacher Strike Activity on Student Learning in South African Primary Schools

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP01/2014 Publication date: 2014 Abstract: This paper investigates whether teacher strikes affect student achievement at the primary school level in…
October 16, 2017 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
October 16, 2017 in 2015, Education, Education - Working Papers, Education 2015, Gabrielle Wills, Labour, Labour 2015, Research Outputs, Working Papers

A profile of the labour market for school principals in South Africa: Evidence to inform policy

Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP12.2015 Publication date: 2015 Abstract: In the past decade there has been a notable shift in South African education policy…
October 16, 2017 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
October 16, 2017 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2017, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs, Research Outputs

Limited support for the foundation phase: A misallocation of district resources

Stellenbosch Policy Brief No. 07/2016 Abstract: To realise improvements in the South African education system and overcome substantial inequalities in learning that exist, prioritisation must…
October 16, 2017 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
October 16, 2017 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2017, Gabrielle Wills, Policy Briefs, Research Outputs

Improving the calibre of school leadership in South Africa

Stellenbosch Policy Brief No. 01/2015 Abstract: School principals matter for children’s learning – both anecdotal and international quantitative evidence support this. But policy makers often…
October 16, 2017 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
November 15, 2016 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2016, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications

Principal leadership changes and their consequences for school performance in South Africa

Abstract: School leadership changes are gaining momentum in South Africa as larger proportions of incumbent principals near retirement age. While this presents opportunities to replace…
November 15, 2016 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
October 16, 2016 in Gabrielle Wills, Research Outputs, Servaas van der Berg, Theses, Theses 2016

An economic perspective on school leadership and teachers’ unions in South Africa

  PhD Thesis  Candidate: Gabrielle Wills Supervisor: Professor Servaas van der Berg Institution: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Department of Economics   Abstract: This dissertation…
May 2, 2016 in Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2016, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Principal leadership changes in South Africa: Investigating their consequences for school performance

  Abstract School leadership changes are gaining momentum in South Africa as larger proportions of incumbent principals near retirement age. While this presents opportunities to…
May 2, 2016 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF
May 10, 2015 in Education, Education - Publications, Education 2015, Gabrielle Wills, Journal Articles, Publications, Research Outputs

Informing principal policy reforms in South Africa through data-based evidence

Abstract In the past decade there has been a notable shift in South African education policy that raises the value of school leadership as a…
May 10, 2015 By: Gabrielle Wills PDF