The Direction of the Hawthorne Effect: Evidence from Sexual and Reproductive Health Education in Vietnam

Abstract

This paper presents novel evidence on the impact of classroom observation on students’ learning in sensitive health education topics. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 1,376 students and 112 teachers in Vietnam, where an in-classroom observer evaluated randomly selected teachers’ sex education sessions. The results indicate that the presence of an observer has significant effects on students’ learning, particularly with abstinence-until-marriage messages. Students’ knowledge of abstinence improves significantly, and they are more likely to perceive it as an effective preventive method they plan to adopt. However, we do not find the observer effect on other prevention methods, namely fidelity and contraceptives. We show that classroom monitoring affects students’ learning both directly by increasing students’ attention and indirectly by inducing teachers to emphasize socially acceptable messages when sex education is delivered under scrutiny. These findings highlight how in-person observation can unintentionally affect the direction of health programs containing sensitive information.

Keywords: Hawthorne effect, Program fidelity, Sex education, Classroom observation