Research Associate – Math & Reading Games Pilot

Research Associate – Math & Reading Games Pilot

Country: India

Project: Math and Reading Games Pilot

Start Date (earliest): May 2025

Base Location: Pune, Maharashtra

Length of Commitment: 1 year

Education: Bachelor’s/Master’s 

Organization: J-PAL South Asia at IFMR 

Language requirement: English, Marathi and Hindi

PIs: Esther Duflo, Elizabeth Spelke, Harini Kannan

Job Description:

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research center at the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL is propelled by a team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work, supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence.

J-PAL South Asia, the regional office which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up. We have a growing number of partnerships in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. For more information on J-PAL SA, please see http://www.povertyactionlab.org/south-asia.

Project Description

India’s National Education Policy and NIPUN Bharat (India’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission) clearly spells out how states develop FLN pedagogy and what skills students are expected to achieve by the time they complete 2nd grade. However, many poor children in India though in enrolled in schools are severely underachieving with only a third of 3rd grade students performing arithmetic beyond 2nd grade level while less than one-third can read a grade 2 level text (ASER Centre 2024).

In this pilot we leverage insights from research in cognitive science and “science of reading” to develop games aimed at strengthening key foundational literacy and numeracy skills. These engaging and fun games aimed at students enrolled in grades 1 and 2 also build on pilots and evidence from RCTs.

 J-PAL SA is currently working with the Government of to scale-up the Math Games across grade 1 classrooms in Maharashtra. Leveraging this partnership, we plan to establish Reading and Math games pilots across 5 to 6 schools in Pune.

 This is an excellent opportunity for Research Associates to obtain a strong understanding of how children learn to read and perform mathematics, the economic and policy issues relating to early childhood education and what it takes to develop programs that can be rigorously evaluated using RCTs. 

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Research Associate will work closely with the Senior RA, PIs and the field team to undertake the following tasks.

• Assist in designing the Math and Reading games.
• Set-up pilot of games across 5-6 schools in grades 1 and 2.
• Identify, recruit and train selected field staff on administering the games in schools.
• Conduct math and reading assessments with support from the field staff.
• Conduct process monitoring activities with support from the field staff.
• Liaise with government officials from SCERT, school teachers to ensure smooth functioning of the pilots.
• Identify vendors to print materials, liaise with vendors to deliver final products, manage logistics to distribute materials.
• Assist in preparation of documents and presentations for government meetings
• Develop teacher manuals and teacher training materials to incorporate state specific language and content.
• Responsible for general project documentation.
• Maintain compliance with all J-PAL protocols and policies.

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor's/Master's degree in education (specialisation in Mathematics or Language education preferred), linguistics, applied psychology, cognitive science, or related fields.
• Experience 0-2 years, experience working as a language or Math teacher highly preferred
• Experience doing field data collection is a plus.
• Familiarity with RCTs.
• Excellent management/organizational skills and able to solve unexpected problems.
• Flexible, self-motivating, independent and manages multiple tasks efficiently.
• Ability to deal with unstructured and changing environments.
• Attention to detail.
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English, Marathi and some proficiency in Hindi

Note on Work Authorizations:

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.