Research School Network: Nudge: Lessons from Around the World

On Wednesday, the OECD released an interesting new global report on ​‘behavioural insights‘ or ​‘nudges‘. As Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, who defined the concept, describe it:

“A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.”

You can read the report online HERE.

The new OECD report collates 100 studies from across the globe, spanning education, health & safety, the environment, and many more. Of course, the couple of education studies are particularly interesting – see page 98 onwards. The first study is from Durban, South Africa, on getting children to attend after school clubs, as well as observing if it increased attainment, and what coaches were most effective in the programme. The second edu-study is from the UK and is on improving adult literacy.

Interestingly, both studies include text messaging as a mode of communication to increase participation. In keeping with recent Education Endowment Foundation evidence, it would appear that text messaging is a very important and successful tool for increasing participation in education, which has obvious positive benefits. It is these small, cheap insights that can be used with a positive cumulative effect in schools.

On page 16, there is also a very useful set of steps for practitioners of nudge that I think can apply to school leaders in particular – see here:

With a bit of time to read the 100 studies, I am sure that many of the trials reveal insights about behaviour that prove interesting and useful for teachers, so it may be worth your time. Alternatively, take a look at the UK Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) website HERE. I have written about the very useful EAST framework, which is a quick and insightful model from the BIT team to help guide our approaches in school to see behaviour changes: GO EAST.

Alex Quigley, Director of Research School