Primary School Enrollment Research Articles

Inadequate foundational decoding skills constrain global literacy goals for pupils in low- and middle-income countries.

Learning to read is the most important outcome of primary education. However, despite substantial improvements in primary school enrolment, most students in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) fail to learn to read by age 10. We report reading assessment data from over half a million pupils from 48 LMICs tested primarily in a language of instruction and show that these pupils are failing to acquire the most basic skills that contribute to reading comprehension. Pupils in LMICs across the first three instructional years are not acquiring the ability to decode printed words fluently and, in most cases, are failing to master the names and sounds associated with letters. Moreover, performance gaps against benchmarks widen with each instructional year. Literacy goals in LMICs will be reached only by ensuring focus on decoding skills in early-grade readers. Effective literacy instruction will require rigorous systematic phonics programmes and assessments suitable for LMIC contexts.

Girls’ Education and Literacy in Marginalized Areas and its Impact on Sustainable Economic Development: The Interlink Between Gender Equality and Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment: Turkana South Sub-County, Kenya

Education is the pillar of any development, (UNESCO, 2010) and is also anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 4: Quality Education). In Kenya, targeted interventions have been by the government in the education sector to bridge gender disparities but they are but they are still observed and evident at all levels (Leal Filho et al., 2019). Furthermore, Turkana County lags behind and was ranked second last in adult literacy (KNBS, 2019). Specifically, the study sought to establish the socio-cultural, economic and infrastructural determinants of enrolment, transition and retention among boys and girls. The study was guided by Sara Longwe's 1995 analytical framework on women's economic empowerment model. It was further guided Friedman’s 1992 dis empowerment theory. The study established that the overall primary school enrolment rate for the study area was 0.9343 (mean enrolment of 213.1 for boys and 199.1 for girls). The study also established that there were large fluctuations in the number of girls enrolled in schools. The difference in enrolment rates between boys and girls were statistically significant. The number of pupils in each primary school was about 200 hundred and less than 200 for secondary schools hence the conclusion that 100 per cent transition is not possible. Girls had lower enrolment rates as compared to the boys. Girls from regions practicing farming/pastoralism registered higher enrolment rates as compared to those from trade/pastoralism regions hence the conclusion that economic factors contribute to educational outcomes in the study area. The findings also indicate that the school feeding programs have been a motivation for attendance benefitting both parents and pupils. The study makes recommendations for future research, policies and programs.

Impact of Government Health Expenditure on Maternal and Child Mortality Rates in a CLMV Country

The health of the citizens is a concern for all levels of government, as well as for CLMV countries, which first prioritized a portion of health expenditure in the health sector to reduce maternal and child mortality rates, particularly in rural areas. In order to analyze the data using fixed effect regression and random effect regression, we used balanced panel data to examine the impact of government health expenditure on maternal and child under-five mortality rates in a CLMV country. As a result of this study, increased government health expenditure had a significant impact on reducing the maternal mortality rate while having no effect on the child mortality rate. Furthermore, there are additional independent variables that affect the maternal and child under-5 mortality rates in a CLMV country, such as GDP per capita, which has a significant impact on reducing the child mortality rate but no impact on reducing the maternal mortality rate. Nevertheless, women's primary school enrollment and use of basic water service rates were statistically significant in CLMV countries.

The causal effect of economic freedom on female employment & education

AbstractWhile there are decades of evidence that economically free economies grow faster and are more productive than less free ones, there is less knowledge about the effect of economic freedom on groups that have traditionally been disadvantaged. I study the causal effects of large and sustained jumps in economic freedom on women's labor force participation and primary school enrollment. I find that these jumps have a positive and statistically significant effect in both cases–economic freedom is good for women's labor force opportunities and female education.

Oil price shocks and human capital channels in Nigeria

Nigeria faces persistent challenges of high unemployment and poverty, worsened by its over-reliance on the oil sector. While many studies have investigated the relationship between oil price volatility and human capital development, few have examined how this relationship impacts both basic and advanced human capital channels in developing economies; this study addresses that gap by using a Structural Vector Auto Regression (SVAR) approach to investigate how oil price shocks influence human capital channels. Co-integration tests reveal significant long-term relationships among the variables. For the basic channel, oil price shocks are negatively associated with secondary school enrollment but positively linked to primary school enrollment. In the advanced channel, oil price has a positive effect on government expenditure on tertiary education but negatively affects tertiary institution enrollment. The impulse response function confirms that oil price fluctuations significantly affect both basic and advanced channels of human capital. The findings show the detrimental impact of oil price shocks on Nigeria's human capital development, which may negatively affect sustainable development. The study emphasises the urgent need for economic diversification to reduce the economy's vulnerability to oil shocks and promote long-term growth and human capital development.

Parental education and children’s educational outcomes: evidence from the compulsory schooling law in China

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of literature investigating the impact of parental education, particularly maternal education, on children’s educational outcomes. This study aims to explore the causal effect of both parents’ education on children’s educational outcomes by leveraging the implementation of China’s 1986 Compulsory Schooling Law. Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies, our findings reveal that highly educated parents enhance child school enrolment rates and reduce delayed primary school enrolment, with notable variations based on child gender. These results underscore the significance of considering both parents’ educational backgrounds in shaping children’s educational attainment. Additionally, we examine various underlying mechanisms behind these observed effects, including attendance at key-point schools equipped with better teachers and facilities.

Enhancing Professional Development for Science Teachers in Selected Elementary Schools in Suakoko Town, Bong County, Liberia

This paper probes into the multifaceted issues surrounding violence against women and challenges to girls' education in Liberia. Coomaraswamy's 2002 research underscored the role of cultural behaviors in family structures contributing significantly to violence against women. King and Winthrop's 2015 study explored factors such as poverty, gender norms, and cultural expectations, contributing to discussions on fair educational opportunities. Cunningham et al.'s 2023 research delved into gender disparities across economic, educational, healthcare, and political spheres, employing a women's empowerment perspective. Theoretical frameworks rooted in gender and social norm theories were employed to understand the impact of cultural identity on preschool girls' education in Liberia. The study focused on evaluating negative effects on preschool girls in Bong, Lofa, and Nimba counties, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to create a supportive environment. Coomaraswamy's 2002 insistence on rejecting the use of cultural considerations to justify violence against girls resonates globally. The study also highlighted disparities in girls' primary school enrollment rates in the region compared to the global average, emphasizing the urgency of addressing educational inequalities. Overall, this paper contributes valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and communities, advocating for positive change in Liberia's educational landscape and women's empowerment.

Sustainability education and resource curse control in the selected resource-rich economies

The “resource curse” paradoxically impacts countries abundant in natural resources, presenting challenges despite their apparent benefits. In 20 such economies, the focus has shifted to using sustainability measures to address this curse, analyzed through Cross-Sectional Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares. Between 1999 and 2018, sustainable education proved essential in mitigating resource curse vulnerabilities. For instance, a 1% rise in primary school enrollment correlates with a 0.16 decrease in the Resource Curse Vulnerability Index, aiding economic diversification. Similarly, a 1% increase in state education investment leads to a 0.54% reduction in the index, improving human capital and governance. However, higher inflation exacerbates vulnerability, while trade liberalization reduces dependence on resources. Increased electricity consumption and internet access may intensify risks. Effective policies should focus on increasing education investment, supporting Education for Sustainable Development, enhancing media advocacy, promoting renewable energy, and advancing sustainable digital transformation.

Improving children's foundational learning through community-school participation: Experimental evidence from rural India

Due to almost-universal enrolment in primary schools, policy focus has shifted towards improving learning outcomes. One important way of doing this is to enhance accountability, especially in the case of public provision of education. In this context, we examine the effectiveness of two different strategies of increasing accountability – one involving only the community, and the other which builds collaboration between the schools and the community. We implement a randomized controlled trial in 400 villages in India, and find: (i) both interventions led to a significant enhancement in children's foundational literacy and numeracy skills, (ii) we observed limited differences between the impacts of the two interventions, and (iii) the community-school intervention exhibited significantly greater effects when parents reported visiting the school, underscoring the vital role of parent-teacher interactions and their shared responsibility in shaping children's learning outcomes. In terms of mechanism, we find that direct learning inputs play a major role in mediating the observed effects of both interventions. Additionally, parent-teacher engagement and children's studying habits outside of the school are potential important channels through which the observed effects operate in the community-school intervention.

Caries trajectories from childhood to adolescence: Analysis of data from a nationwide school dental service.

The aim of the study was to assess patterns of longitudinal changes in caries status among school-going children in Singapore. Dental records for a single cohort of students who received dental examinations in six standard examination years between 2009 and 2017 were analysed (n = 24 699). Group-based trajectory modelling with a zero-inflated Poisson distribution was carried out to determine dental caries trajectories in the permanent dentition. Associations between sociodemographic factors and trajectory group membership were assessed using multinomial logistic regression. The predicted population distribution across the four caries trajectory groups identified was 65.0% ('none'), 16.8% ('low'), 14.8% ('medium') and 3.4% ('high'). The 'none' trajectory group had a decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score of 0 throughout the 8 years. Higher baseline DMFT counts and nonlinear increases in DMFT scores were noted for the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups. The correlation coefficient between DMFT counts in years 6 and 8 was 0.91, as compared to 0.77 between baseline and year 1. Factors associated with the 'high' caries trajectory include lower socio-economic status, female gender, Chinese race (compared to the Indian race), enrolment in primary schools in the Eastern and Western regions of Singapore, and enrolment in public secondary schools. Under a nationwide school dental service, four trajectory patterns of caries counts in the permanent dentition were identified over 8 years. Among students in the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups, greater caries increment was noted during the transition from primary to secondary school. The correlation between DMFT counts in successive examinations was stronger in older than younger ages.

How can reading and writing be promoted in Anglophone West Africa? Evidence from new perspective: a word of mouth from experts in basic education

ABSTRACT The unintended consequence of primary school enrolment is to reduce illiteracy among pupils; however, increased school enrolment in sub-Sahara Africa yields fewer results of equipping pupils with reading and writing skills as many primary school pupils can hardly read and write. The study explores barriers influencing pupils’ poor reading and writing skills and strategies to promote reading and writing using qualitative inquiry. Thus, a semi-structured interview was administered to collect data from experts in primary education from the two most populated countries in West Africa (Ghana and Nigeria) that share similar educational policies, priorities, and challenges. The study's finding indicates that the illiteracy of parents, inadequate school facilities, and lack of community support for reading and writing activities were the fundamental barriers. The study suggests that schools adopt reading promotion tools used in Eastern Asia and Pacific countries as a national strategy. Parental involvement and community support for reading promotion activities should be encouraged, and primary schools should be resourced with reading materials, cheaper internet for schools, and digital learning facilities should be provided, which will make reading and writing less stressful and fun for pupils.

African youth and unemployment: does human capital investment still matter?

ABSTRACT Graduate unemployment has become a common phenomenon in Africa. Many youth with advanced education levels are not able to find decent jobs. This article examines the effect of human capital investment on youth unemployment using panel data from 44 sub-Saharan countries over the period 1991-2020. The Cross-Sectional augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) modeling approach is carried out to overcome the issue of endogeneity and cross-sectional dependency. Results show that in the long run, an increase in primary and tertiary school enrolments reduces the youth unemployment rate. In contrast, secondary school enrolment is positively associated with youth unemployment, independently of gender considerations. The short-run dynamics reveal that primary and tertiary school enrolments are positively associated with youth unemployment. In addition, the results confirmed Phillip's curve hypothesis between inflation and unemployment and Okun's law between economic growth and unemployment.

Socio-Economic Factors Impacting Education Attainment in Primary Schools in Katagum LGA, Bauchi State Nigeria

In recognizing education as a fundamental right, Nigeria has striven to eliminate barriers that impede access, ensuring that learners from diverse backgrounds can thrive and contribute meaningfully to society. This endeavor is grounded in the belief that education is not just a privilege but a powerful catalyst for personal growth, social progress, and global harmony. However, despite this, Nigeria has the highest number of children not enrolled in school even globally. This study explores socio economic factors affecting enrollment in primary schools in Katagum Local Government Area in Nigeria. The Human Capital Theory by economists Gary Becker and Theodore Schultz guided this study. A qualitative study, framed within an interpretivism paradigm, drawn on a phenomenology design was used. 29 participants were purposively sampled from the study’s population who are stakeholders of primary education including parents, teachers, head teachers and Education Secretary while the data were generated using interviews and focus group discussions and thematically analysed. Trustworthiness was ensured and ethical principles were adhered to. Findings revealed that the stakeholders perceived socio-economic factors affecting enrollment in primary schools as poverty, child labour, distance norms and location of the school, influx of Internally Displaced Persons, belief system and unemployment. It was envisioned that, strategies like abolishing of school fees, shifting socio-cultural norms, introduction of skills acquisition, school’s improvement projects and offering financial incentives to poor families would improve and sustain enrollment in primary schools.

Fiscal Decentralization and Educational Outcomes: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

A large number of countries are transferring financial, administrative, and political powers to the local governments. In Pakistan, devolution reforms were launched through the Local Government Ordinance in 2001. This research investigates whether the higher autonomy of district governments could improve education outcomes in their respective districts or not. The Generalized Methods of Moments is employed for a panel of 34 districts of Punjab province, Pakistan, during 2003-2015. The results reveal that fiscal decentralization improves education outcomes in Punjab province of Pakistan. The enrolment in primary school is a measure of education outcome and improved in the districts of Punjab. In addition, the decentralization process during Pervez Musharraf's regime could not change the structure of the economy as a whole. Therefore, decentralization of the education sector in all provinces is suggested to reinforce the benefits of fiscal decentralization.

The Negative Effects of Cultural Identity on Preschool Girls in Bong, Lofa, and Nimba Counties of Liberia

This paper probes into the multifaceted issues surrounding violence against women and challenges to girls' education in Liberia. Coomaraswamy's 2002 research underscored the role of cultural behaviors in family structures contributing significantly to violence against women. King and Winthrop's 2015 study explored factors such as poverty, gender norms, and cultural expectations, contributing to discussions on fair educational opportunities. Cunningham et al.'s 2023 research delved into gender disparities across economic, educational, healthcare, and political spheres, employing a women's empowerment perspective. Theoretical frameworks rooted in gender and social norm theories were employed to understand the impact of cultural identity on preschool girls' education in Liberia. The study focused on evaluating negative effects on preschool girls in Bong, Lofa, and Nimba counties, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to create a supportive environment. Coomaraswamy's 2002 insistence on rejecting the use of cultural considerations to justify violence against girls resonates globally. The study also highlighted disparities in girls' primary school enrollment rates in the region compared to the global average, emphasizing the urgency of addressing educational inequalities. Overall, this paper contributes valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and communities, advocating for positive change in Liberia's educational landscape and women's empowerment.

Legislature size and welfare: Evidence from Brazil

AbstractHow does legislature size impact public service provision? Despite the importance of institutional design for democratic governance, the effect of legislative features on citizen welfare remains little understood. In this article, we use a formal model to show that increasing legislature size improves public goods delivery. We argue that changes in bargaining costs depend on whether additional legislators share the executive's party affiliation: More opposition members reduce the equilibrium public goods provision, while more government‐aligned members increase it. We test this theory by exploiting sharp discontinuities in city‐council size in Brazil. We show that an additional city councilor has a 91% chance of belonging to the mayoral coalition, and this significantly improves primary school enrollment and infant mortality rates. To explore possible mechanisms, we surveyed 174 former city councilors and analyzed 346,553 bills proposed between 2005 and 2008. This article has implications for the design of representative institutions.

MALARIA, POVERTY AND CHILD HEALTH IN NIGERIA: ANY NEXUS?

Infant mortality rates remain high in many African countries, despite global lowering trends. These high rates are alarming, therefore, this study attempt to examine the effect of malaria and poverty on infant mortality a proxy for child health in Nigeria using a data for the period 1990-2021. Auto-regressive distributed lag model (ARDL) was used as the estimation technique. The study's findings showed that both in the short and long run, poverty rate has a negative non-significant effect on infant mortality while malaria has a positive and significant effect on infant mortality. Government expenditure on health both in the short run and long run is positive and nonsignificant on child health. The current values of primary school enrolment (PSE) and number of physician (NOP) have a negative (-0.014 and -0.0002) non-significant effect on infant mortality in the short, and also negative (-0.501 and -1.654) but significant in the long run. The study recommends that policies that will improve child health and promote poverty reduction should be put in place and well implemented in Nigeria. Also, the government should take measures that will eradicate malaria in Nigeria.

Socio Cultural Perceptions of Agriculture and Primary School Enrolment in Rural Areas, Vo Prefecture, Togo

Socio Cultural Perceptions of Agriculture and Primary School Enrolment in Rural Areas, Vo Prefecture, Togo

Maternal Labour Supply and School Enrolment Laws: Empirical Evidence from Brazilian Primary School Reforms

Abstract The relationship between childcare provision and mothers’ labour supply decisions is highly debated due to the potential reverse causality and resultant empirical challenges. We contribute meaningfully to this debate by discussing the effects from a reform on Brazil’s primary education system on maternal labour supply. This reform, which advanced the compulsory children’s enrolment in primary education schools from the age of 7–6, is interpreted as the provision of free childcare. Due to the imperfect compliance of the reform implementation, children’s month of birth is used as an instrumental variable to control for the endogeneity present in any actual school enrolment. We show that the reform presented a positive effect on the labour supply of (1) the Brazilian single mothers and (2) the least educated mothers, increasing their participation in labour market by 12.9 % and furthermore a probability of becoming full time workers by 10.9 %.

The National Nutrition Improvement Program and the equity of educational opportunities: evidence from rural China

ABSTRACT The Children’s Nutrition and Health Poverty Alleviation Project is a vital initiative of the Chinese government to boost education, narrow urban-rural educational gaps, and ensure equal educational opportunities. Based on the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data, this paper empirically evaluates the impact of the National Nutrition Improvement Program on the equity of rural educational opportunities using Differences-in-Differences (DID) method of the cross-sectional data. Findings indicate that Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP), by providing free nutritious lunches for children, reduced the opportunity cost of children going to school, and significantly promoted the improvement of children’s education level. The implementation of the one-semester policy increased children’s educational years by an average of 0.14, which is attributed to the fact that the NIP has contributed to children’s access to higher levels of education, because we found that the NIP had no significant impact on children’s primary and junior high school enrolment, but significantly increased senior high school and university enrolment by 5.8 and 4.2% points. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a stronger impact on children with less-educated, poorer fathers and a greater effect on boys than girls. Additionally, central pilot counties experience a more significant policy effect than local pilot counties.