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Education policy of developing nations is often viewed as a choice between equal access for all students and quality of schools. This work proposes that such a dichotomy may be artificial. The research shows that improving the quality of education could lead to efficiency gains, sometimes large enough to offset the costs of such innovations. Using data collected over seven years in rural northeast Brazil, this quantitative assessment of educational performance and school promotion in primary schools uniquely addresses important policy concerns facing developing countries.

Education policy of developing nations is often viewed as a choice between equal access for all students and quality of schools. This work proposes that such a dichotomy may be artificial. The research shows that improving the quality of education could lead to efficiency gains, sometimes large enough to offset the costs of such innovations. Using data collected over seven years in rural northeast Brazil, this quantitative assessment of educational performance and school promotion in primary schools uniquely addresses important policy concerns facing developing countries.

Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1836.

Applied Social Research focuses on the real world context of applied research. It discusses the often overlooked, yet essential process of planning: poor planning inevitably produces inadequate research. The text helps researchers decide how to approach their applied research problems and to think through the major issues in the design and analysis of their project. 'Applied Social Research' also discussed the idea that in applied social research the use of a single method type is unlikely to provide answers to the often complex set of research questions being addressed and highlights the benefits of using two or more research methods in the one study. The author argues that such mixed method designs are becoming widely used in applied social research, particularly where the methods combine qualitative and quantitative data, thereby enabling a richer set of data to provide various perspectives on the research topic, removing limitations imposed by using single methods. Examples of such designs are provided throughout, useful mixed method designs are outlined and their advantages discussed.