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May 25, 2024 in Education, Health, News and Opinion, Research Outputs

Assessment matters: What can we understand about the National Senior Certificate results during COVID-19 from university entrance exams?

In this research note, Emma Whitelaw and Nicola Branson from the University of Cape Town (UCT), examine the association between National Senior Certificate (NSC) performance…
May 25, 2024 By: Emma Whitelaw and Nicola Branson PDF
April 13, 2024 in Authors, Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education - Working Papers, Martin Gustafsson, News and Opinion, Uncategorized

A brief look behind the flat 2015 to 2019 TIMSS Grade 5 trend for South Africa

In the quest to understand and address educational challenges, particularly in the realm of mathematics performance, the exploration of underlying microdata becomes paramount. Martin Gustafsson's…
April 13, 2024 By: Martin Gustafsson PDF
Research on Socioeconomic Policy (RESEP) is a group of scholars and students interested in issues of poverty, income distribution, social mobility, economic development and social policy. Based at the Department of Economics at the University of Stellenbosch. The team is lead by Servaas van der Berg, whose position as the Chair in the Economics of Social Policy since 2008, has lead to the further consolidation of research within these areas.

The Teacher Demographic Dividend (TDD) project addresses South Africa’s need for teachers as half of the current teachers will retire by 2035. Over three years (2022-2024), the project aims to model teacher demand and supply, assess the impact of retirements on education, and identify opportunities for improvement, producing numerous research outputs. It involves 27 researchers from various universities, research organizations, consultancies, and the Department of Basic Education.

Recent Papers

The latest working papers, publications, reports and policy briefs by RESEP researchers.

Resep quantitative analysis course in the economics of education

| Conferences and Workshops, News and Opinion | No Comments
RESEP has recently hosted a week-long introductory course on Quantitative Data Analysis in the Economics of Education. This course aimed to equip researchers in the…
July 12, 2024 By: PDF
April 13, 2024 in Authors, Education, Education - Reports & Policy, Education - Working Papers, Martin Gustafsson, News and Opinion, Uncategorized

A brief look behind the flat 2015 to 2019 TIMSS Grade 5 trend for South Africa

In the quest to understand and address educational challenges, particularly in the realm of mathematics performance, the exploration of underlying microdata becomes paramount. Martin Gustafsson's…
April 13, 2024 By: Martin Gustafsson PDF
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
December 22, 2023 in 2023, Authors, Education - Reports & Policy, Education 2023, News and Opinion, Reports

What rich new education data can tell us

This report leverages data mainly derived from the South African School Administration Management System (SA-SAMS), including a unique longitudinal version of the Data Driven Districts (DDD)…
December 22, 2023 By: Servaas van der Berg, Chris van Wyk, Martin Gustafsson, Herman Meyer, Abigail Chari, Chloé van Biljon, Adaiah Lilenstein, Rebecca Selkirk & Jessica McCallum PDF

Ongoing Projects

The Teacher Demographic Dividend (TDD) project

| 2023, Ongoing Projects | No Comments
The Teacher Demographic Dividend (TDD) project looks at the challenge of replacing older teachers, but it also offers the opportunity to renew the teaching workforce.…
July 26, 2023 By: RESEP Team PDF

Roots and wings: Improved quality in subsidised housing

| Ongoing Projects | No Comments
This project is a collaboration between Stellenbosch University, Theewaterskloof municipality and Western Cape Department of Human Settlements. The aim is to use upward and downward…
August 11, 2021 By: Marisa von Fintel, Natalie van Reenen (US), Brenda Mothibe (Theewaterskloof), Lenine Felix (Rooidakke), Francis Felix (Rooidakke) PDF

Reading and socio-emotional skills in challenging school contexts: Evidence from South African primary schools

| Ongoing Projects | No Comments
This project is linked to the Early Learning Programme (ELP) and uses data from the Readership and Literacy project but is also supplemented by others…
October 22, 2020 By: Gabrielle Wills, Heleen Hofmeyr, Rebecca Selkirk, Servaas van der Berg, E. Pretorius (UNISA), C. Ardington (UCT), N. Mohohlwane (DBE), Nwabisa Makaluza (RESEP/ Funda Wanda), N. Mtsatse (Funda Wanda) PDF

Team

RESEP (Research on Socio-Economic Policy)
RESEP is a group of researchers in the Department of Economics at the University of Stellenbosch.

Funding

RESEP has received funding for its research from various organisations and governments. In recent years, funding for research has been provided by, amongst others, The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment; The UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); UNICEF offices in South Africa, Namibia and Eswatini; Zenex Foundation, Tshikululu Social Investments, PSPPD (Presidency/European Union) and The National Research Foundation (NRF).