Zones of educational exclusion of out-of-school youth

Abstract

This study provides new evidence on bottlenecks of progression across six zones of exclusion from primary to secondary education for out-of-school youth of five poorer countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Senegal) using the recent out-of-school assessment from PISA-D. We also investigate whether these barriers have gendered dimensions and which policies can boost progression. We find that barriers have differential impacts across exclusion zones, with low parental education and involvement in education and local language being leading determinants, and some of these barriers having a larger impact on girls. We also find that policies linking financial support to attendance, raising teaching quality and tackling discrimination push up youth cohorts to top zones of exclusion, thereby allowing them to gain more education.