UEW Scholar Secures International Grant to Advance Child Learning Research
Dr. Benedicta Leonora Akrono of the Department of Economics Education, University of Education, Winneba has secured an international grant under the prestigious Jacobs Foundation Young Scholars Programme.
The award forms part of the Foundation’s 2025 conference initiatives, where emerging researchers from newly established LEVANTE sites were selected to develop collaborative research proposals focused on learning variability in children. Dr. Benedicta Akrono’s selection places her among a competitive global cohort of early-career scholars advancing cutting-edge research in child development.
Her participation is anchored within the Young LEARN Scholars network, an international platform designed to strengthen research methodology, grant writing and scholarly collaboration. As part of this initiative, her work will be undertaken in partnership with Stanford University, further reinforcing UEW’s growing global research footprint.
Dr. Benedicta Akrono’s project, titled “Towards a Science of Learning Variability,” examines a critical but often overlooked dimension of education in Ghana: the impact of parental investment during summer vacations on children’s learning outcomes. Focusing on pupils in Primary 3 to 5 within the Central Region, the study seeks to understand how both financial and non-financial parental support influences cognitive development and contributes to learning disparities.
The research is particularly timely, given mounting evidence of learning loss during school breaks and the wide differences in how children are affected. The project aims to inform targeted interventions for parents, educators and policymakers by identifying the drivers of these disparities.
Scheduled to run from July 2026 to November 2027, the project will include extensive data collection and dissemination through conferences, engaging policymakers, academia and key stakeholders. Its findings are expected to shape practical strategies to improve educational outcomes and reduce inequality in learning.
Beyond its academic contribution, the grant positions UEW at the forefront of global conversations on child development, reinforcing its commitment to impactful research and international collaboration.