Professor Cally Ardington
Cally Ardington is a Professor in the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town. She completed her PhD in Economics at UCT in 2009. Her research interests lie in development and labour economics with a focus on education and health. She has extensive experience in the design, management and micro-econometric analysis of social surveys and quantitative (experimental and quasi-experimental design) impact evaluations. Her recent work has centred on emergent and early literacy and numeracy, social-emotional skills and executive functioning amongst kindergarten and primary school children. She is currently the Principal Investigator on a series of evaluations of a programme in teaching reading and mathematics in African languages in South Africa, and a pre-service learner-centred teaching programme in Ghana. Cally has taught numerous courses on the design and analysis of household surveys and evaluations for graduate students, faculty, practitioners and policymakers. She has published in the fields of education, labour market analysis, social assistance and human capital, and holds a B3 rating from the National Research Foundation in South Africa. She is an affiliate of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).