Failing to progress or progressing to fail? Age-for-grade heterogeneity and grade repetition in primary schools in Karonga district, northern Malawi

Masoyaona Munkhondya,Amelia C. Crampin,Menard Chihana,Levie Gondwe,Scotch Kondowe,Judith R. Glynn,Markus Elze,Bindu S. Sunny

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.10.004

Abstract

Timely progression through school is an important measure for school performance, completion and the onset of other life transitions for adolescents. This study examines the risk factors for grade repetition and establishes the extent to which age-for-grade heterogeneity contributes to subsequent grade repetition at early and later stages of school. Using data from a demographic surveillance site in Karonga district, northern Malawi, a cohort of 8174 respondents (ages 5–24 years) in primary school was followed in 2010 and subsequent grade repetition observed in 2011. Grade repetition was more common among those at early (grades 1–3) and later (grades 7–8) stages of school, with little variation by sex. Being under-age or over-age in school has different implications on schooling outcomes, depending on the stage of schooling. After adjusting for other risk factors, boys and girls who were under-age at early stages were at least twice as likely to repeat a grade as those at the official age-for-grade (girls: adjusted OR 2.06 p<0.01; boys: adjusted OR 2.37 p<0.01); while those over-age at early stages were about 30% less likely to repeat (girls: adjusted OR 0.65 p<0.01; boys: adjusted OR 0.72 p<0.01). Being under/over-age at later grades (4–8) was not associated with subsequent repetition but being over-age was associated with dropout. Other risk factors identified that were associated with repetition included both family-level factors (living away from their mother, having young children in the household, lower paternal education) and school-level factors (higher student-teacher ratio, proportion of female teachers and schools without access to water). Reducing direct and indirect costs of schooling for households; and improving school quality and resources at early stages of school may enable timely progression at early stages for greater retention at later stages.

Highlights

Despite global efforts to universalise education, 124 million children worldwide were out of school in 2013 with a growing proportion (50%) of these children living in Sub-Saharan Africa (UIS/UNESCO, 2015, p. 11)
This contrasts with earlier findings from Mozambique which showed that being over-age at school entry is a risk factor for grade repetition (NonoyamaTarumi et al, 2010; Wils, 2004)
Progression through school is important, for school performance and completion, and for ensuring that reasonable educational levels are reached before the onset of other life transitions for adolescents

Summary

Introduction

Despite global efforts to universalise education, 124 million children worldwide were out of school in 2013 with a growing proportion (50%) of these children living in Sub-Saharan Africa (UIS/UNESCO, 2015, p. 11). In Malawi, primary education is for eight years (grades 1–8), with the official age of entry into school being 6 years. This suggests that those who enter on time and progress uninterruptedly through each grade could complete primary school by the age of 14. Due to late entry, frequent disruptions and repetitions, children are getting over-age for their grade and may take up to 23 student years to complete eight years of primary education (World Bank, 2010). Delays in progression result in age heterogeneity within a class, but it is unclear what the extent of age heterogeneity is, and whether being over-age/under-age has an effect on subsequent grade repetition, potentially leading to a vicious circle with students falling further behind the official age-for-grade

Results

Discussion

Conclusion