This is one of three blog posts exploring EdTech Hub’s recent SEND work, focused on how technology can help ensure learners with neurodevelopmental conditions have equitable access to education. Across the series, we draw on our primary research in Ghana and Malawi, alongside our cross-cutting work in implementation science and low-cost nudges.
Over the past four years, EdTech Hub has led two major implementation research initiatives to evaluate how digital tools can support vulnerable learners in primary school: a large-scale study on nudge messaging to improve post-pandemic attendance in Northern Ghana (2022–2023), and an implementation research project testing digital screening and remote coaching for neurodivergent learners in Greater Accra (2025–2026).
At first glance, sending text reminders to rural caregivers and deploying digital screening tools for urban teachers seem like distinct interventions. Yet, examining them side-by-side yields vital insights for global EdTech policy. Together, they demonstrate that technology cannot act as a standalone solution, but must address structural realities, deliver actionable pedagogical content, and integrate into community support networks.
1. Nudge Messaging: The Limits of Information Alone
Following COVID-19 school closures, basic attendance in Ghana dropped, leaving marginalized students vulnerable to permanent drop-out . Global evidence (including the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel “Smart Buys” report) has promoted low-cost messaging as a highly cost-effective intervention to boost school participation by informing families about educational returns.
To test this approach, EdTech Hub partnered with Craft Education, and School for Life on an 18-month quasi-experimental study across 7 districts in Northern Ghana, reaching 4,756 caregivers and 546 teachers. Using Difference-in-Difference (DiD) analysis, the study evaluated three text messaging treatments:
- Generic Baseline Reminders: Periodic SMS highlighting parental duties and the value of schooling.
- Tailored Nudges: Simplified evening messages focusing on specific educational benefits .
- Community-Focused Nudges: Messages encouraging caregivers to mobilize community peers to support attendance.
What the Data Revealed
Delivering additional rounds of tailored messaging produced no statistically significant increase in attendance compared to baseline messaging. Unexpectedly, community-focused messages didn’t have a positive impact on attendance. Qualitative interviews revealed that caregivers viewed community members as lacking financial resources to assist, leading recipients to dismiss the advice.
Conversely, caregivers who received baseline SMS but no endline reminders showed the highest attendance gains. This indicated that frequent, repetitive text reminders caused information fatigue.
Informational vs. Structural Barriers
Why did nudges fail to increase attendance? Qualitative findings revealed a clear boundary between informational and structural barriers:
1. Poverty and Child Labor: Extreme household poverty compelled children to engage in farming, artisanal gold mining, or domestic work to support family livelihoods or buy school supplies. Informational nudges could not substitute for lost household income. A reduction in the extent of students’ engagement in employment and domestic activities was by far the most commonly cited reason across all treatment groups explaining participants’ self-reported increases in students attendance (16 caregivers, 8 teachers). For example, one caregiver articulated that:
Because of the message’s reminders, I have asked [my daughter] not to stop classes and help me in my farming and other activities again. This has increased her attendance because of that action.”
2. Language and Literacy: Many caregivers could not read English SMS directly, relying on school-aged children to translate them.
3. Targeted Calendar Information: Where messaging succeeded was in providing concrete school calendar dates, preventing children from using false holiday claims to skip school.
While nudges successfully improved caregiver motivation and belief in education, motivational gains alone could not overcome severe economic and logistical obstacles.
2. Inclusive Education: Building a Human-Centered Ecosystem
Building on these contextual learnings, EdTech Hub and Craft Education partnered with the Ghana Education Service Special Education Division (SpED) in 2025 to test a technology-supported model for neurodivergent learners—specifically children suspected of being on the autism spectrum. Operating across 13 public schools in Greater Accra (Ayalolo, Madina, and Dansoman clusters), the project evaluated a four-stage pathway connecting early identification to classroom intervention.
The Four Connected Components
Digital Screening
Teachers facilitated non-diagnostic screening using the Mission Pediatrics Autism Screening Tool (MPAST) on mobile devices. Of 389 randomly selected learners (KG1–Primary 3), 321 completed screening (82.5% coverage), identifying 38 learners (11.8%) at medium or high risk requiring follow-up. Teachers rated the digital tool favorably, with a mean usefulness score of 6.16 out of 7.
Teacher & SENCO Capacity Building
A four-day training programme prepared 42 educators in Behaviour Therapy, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Individualised Education Plan (IEP) development, yielding post-training confidence ratings above 95% .
Collaborative IEP Development
Screening findings were translated into 12 draft IEPs, which underwent joint virtual validation with special education specialists.
Blended Remote Supervision
Teachers logged session updates on the HUNU digital platform. Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) delivered remote coaching via HUNU, WhatsApp, phone calls, and Google Meet. In active clusters, 19 out of 26 scheduled sessions (73.1%) were completed.
Institutional Buy-In and Constraints
By embedding the model within government structures and positioning SENCOs as central supervisors, the project fostered strong local ownership. However, poor internet connectivity, data costs, high teacher workloads, and alignment with examination calendars remained key operational constraints .
3. Three Key Lessons for EdTech Policy and Practice
Comparing these two studies highlights three core principles for designing effective EdTech interventions in low-resource settings:
Lesson 1: Actionable Content Beats Message Volume
Generic reminders sent to caregivers yielded negligible impacts because they offered no practical tools to resolve structural challenges. In contrast, coaching messages delivered via the HUNU platform succeeded because they provided actionable, pedagogical guidance directly to teachers at the point of action in the classroom.
Lesson 2: Technology Must Strengthen Human Ecosystems
Neither digital screening tools nor remote supervision platforms can replace human experts . Technology functioned as digital infrastructure connecting teachers, SENCOs, parents, and specialists. Without trained SENCOs and supportive headteachers, digital tools remained underutilized.
Lesson 3: Systemic Readiness Drives Sustainability
Interventions must align with institutional routines and local infrastructure . For nudge messaging, this requires exploring voice notes in local dialects to bypass literacy barriers. For inclusive EdTech, it requires low-bandwidth, offline-first mobile applications, structured school-readiness checklists, and multi-term implementation cycles aligned with the academic calendar.
Moving Forward: From Evidence to Action
The evidence from these two research collaborations in Ghana provides a clear roadmap for policymakers and practitioners. Digital technology is a powerful enabler of educational equity, but only when paired with systemic investment in human capacity, local language accessibility, and structural support for marginalized families. As EdTech Hub continues to collaborate through implementation research partnerships like these in Ghana, these insights will help shape national policies on developmental screening, teacher supervision, and inclusive education.
