Beyond Financial Resources: The Role of Parents’ Education in Predicting Children’s Educational Persistence in Mexico

Despite significant educational expansion, Mexico’s educational attainment rates are relatively low. Though primary school enrollment is at nearly 100%, less than half of young adults ages 18-29 have finished upper secondary school (USE). This article examines how family-level factors, particularly parental education and household wealth, are associated with the likelihood of children dropping out of USE early in Mexico – a shift away from the well-established focus on primary education. Using region fixed effects logistic regressions, I examine the role of both mother’s and father’s education in predicting children’s educational persistence – and how this varies for boys and girls. Data is derived from a nationally representative sample of USE-aged youth in Mexico (n = 8,235). Results indicate that increases in parental education decrease the likelihood of children dropping out in upper secondary school, even when controlling for financial resources and other family- and household-level characteristics. Notably, these results vary across boys and girls.     

Analyse Des Inégalités De Rendement Liées Au Sexe De l'élève Dans l'Enseignement Primaire Ivoirien

A survey of achievement in primary education in the Ivory Coast shows that the results of girls are inferior to those of boys in all subjects and at all levels of schooling. Concerning the learning of French (the language of instruction in the Ivory Coast), the situation differs from that observed in a number of industrialised countries, where the performance of girls is generally superior to that of boys in subjects linked to language learning. On the other hand, it conforms to the situation observed in other developing countries, where boys most frequently show superior results. This pattern of results suggests that the differences in achievement between the sexes are of a cultural origin. Analysis of factors associated with these differences in the Ivory Coast seems to confirm this hypothesis:

-First, society in the Ivory Coast attaches less importance to the educational achievements of girls than of boys. Girls go to school less often than boys or leave school more readily than boys. They less often express the desire to continue their studies beyond the primary school.

-Secondly, girls leave the circle of female members of the family (mother, aunts) less and have fewer opportunities to speak French outside school than boys. The latter speak more French ‘with their father’ (who himself is more likely to have been at school than the mother) or with ‘their friends in the street’.

-Finally, the education which girls receive, itself imposes a certain reserve (not to speak too much, not to make oneself stand out) which generates a passive attitude in class: girls begin to speak less, make fewer voluntary contributions, ask fewer questions and are more often reckoned to be ‘timid’ by their teachers. In classrooms in the Ivory Coast, where education is highly ‘oral’, this expresses itself in a probably significant reduction of girls’ ‘actual time of involvement in learning’ (time-on-task).

     

Educational attainments and household characteristics in Tanzania

This paper uses multivariate regression techniques to analyse household survey data collected in rural Tanzania in 1992 in a joint research project by TADREG (Tanzania Development Research Group) and the University of Dar es Salaam. It focuses on how household and individual characteristics affect whether or not a child goes to primary school, completes primary and attends secondary. The regression analysis clearly shows substantial intra-household differences between the way in which household characteristics affect outcomes for boys and girls, and how mothers' and fathers' influence over resource decisions differentially affect outcomes. For example, when looking at the decision as to whether to enrol in primary school, fathers' education has a greater influence on boys whereas mothers' primary education has a greater influence on girls. Furthermore, married mothers' education can increase the probability of girls enrolling in secondary school by 9.7 per cent for primary education and a further 17.6 per cent for secondary, while having no significant effect on the enrolment of boys. These results imply that mothers have a relatively stronger preference for their daughters' education and that their education affords them either increased household decision-making power or increased economic status.     

Statut familial et inégalités face à la scolarisation à Madagascar

The impact of family status in Madagascar on inequalities in schooling – In this article, in the context of generalised access to primary education and parity between girls and boys, we analyse data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2009 in Madagascar to examine inequalities in schooling related to children’s status in the family. The results confirm the protective benefit for children of living with their biological parents. Fostered children are disadvantaged, especially and increasingly so depending on whether they live with an uncle or aunt, with a distant relative or a non-relative. Conversely, children who reside in the home of a brother or sister are not disadvantaged, a result which reflects the role of elder children in family education strategies. Grandparents play a moderately positive role in schooling. The death of the father is an important factor in dropping out. Finally, children whose parent or parents are not household heads are disadvantaged in terms of schooling compared to children of household heads.     

学前儿童、家长与学前教师角色的历史与现状

从心理学的角度看来,我国学前教育面临的许多困难源自于对学前儿童、家长与学前教师的角色认识不清。本文通过梳理我国学前儿童、家长与学前教师社会角色的历史和现状,为理解目前学前教育遇到的困难提供帮助。研究发现在中国传统社会中,父母,且主要是母亲承担教育和养护的责任,儿童服从父母的管教并尽孝（主要是对母亲）;现代中国教育和养护的责任由父母、祖父母、学前教师共同承担,各主体的角色相较传统社会更具矛盾性。     

Differential relationships between language skills and working memory in Turkish–Dutch and native-Dutch first-graders from low-income families

In the Netherlands, Turkish–Dutch children constitute a substantial group of children who learn to speak Dutch at the age of four after they learned to speak Turkish. These children are generally academically less successful. Academic success appears to be affected by both language proficiency and working memory skill. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between language skills and working memory in Turkish–Dutch and native-Dutch children from low-income families. The findings revealed reduced Dutch language and Dutch working-memory skills for Turkish–Dutch children compared to native-Dutch children. Working memory in native-Dutch children was unrelated to their language skills, whereas in Turkish–Dutch children strong correlations were found both between Turkish language skills and Turkish working-memory performance and between Dutch language skills and Dutch working-memory performance. Reduced language proficiencies and reduced working-memory skills appear to manifest itself in strong relationships between working memory and language skills in Turkish–Dutch children. The findings seem to indicate that limited verbal working-memory and language deficiencies in bilingual children may have reciprocal effects that strongly warrants adequate language education.     

Language education needs for multilingualism in Fiji primary schools

This paper looks at current practice in teaching multilingual Indo-Fijian children in eight Fiji primary schools. Indo-Fijians speak Fiji Hindi (FH) as their mother tongue, learn Shudh Hindi (SH) or Urdu, and English for formal and literacy purposes and use English and Fijian for interethnic communication. The current education policy states that children be taught in their mother tongue for the first 3 years of primary school before English becomes the medium of instruction. This practice was not apparent in the schools. In all 24 observed classrooms, English was the dominant language of instruction. There is an important need in Fiji for teacher training to address the issues around multilingual education so that teachers can confidently contribute to an educational system which maximises the use of Fiji's linguistic resources for the educational advancement of all sectors of the country's population.     

Gendered communities of practice and the construction of masculinities in Turkish physical education

This paper analyses the construction of masculinities in Turkish physical education through Carrie Paechter's conceptualisation of gendered communities of practice. According to Paechter, educational communities of practice operate as sites of gendered activity. Membership within these communities contributes to the construction of a gendered identity. We suggest that this model is useful for conceptualising how Turkish young men come to engage with physical education classes which can be considered as masculine communities of practice. In one Turkish secondary class, we found that football was the most valued practice, determining boundaries of participation and differentiating levels of participation in the learning community. Young men who were immersed and excelled in football took up ‘full’ learning trajectories and became accepted as ‘fully masculine’ while those who were uninterested or non‐competitive in football took up marginalised learning trajectories. We suggest that these diverse learning trajectories came to reflect differentiated versions of masculinity.     

Gains from female education in rural Bangladesh: A multidimensional approach

Despite progress toward gender equality in education in Bangladesh, its female labor force participation (FLFP) rate has been stagnant relative to that of men, especially in marginal rural areas. To identify the overall benefit of schooling investment in women in rural Bangladesh, we examine the impact of female educational attainment on not only FLFP but also gains from marriage and household welfare. Applying a fuzzy regression discontinuity design where plausibly exogenous variation in school enrollment is created by the nationwide stipend program for women, we find moderate impacts of female education on FLFP, while female with higher education are more likely to marry more educated husbands who generate higher household income, particularly from non-farm activities. The results also show the significantly positive impacts of women’s education on sanitation control and children’s health. These findings indicate that female schooling enhances women’s role and well-being through marriage and household activities rather than their labor market activities.     

The implications of changing educational and family circumstances for children's grade progression in rural Pakistan: 1997–2004

We assess factors affecting primary and middle school dropout in rural Punjab and NorthWest Frontier Province over 6 years (1997–2004). These data are unique in a developing-country setting in longitudinally tracking changes in both school and household environments. While grade retention has improved, girls’ dropout rates remain fairly high. Results suggest the importance of both household and school factors. For girls, arrival in the family of an unwanted birth in the last 6 years and enrollment in a government (not private) primary school significantly increase the likelihood of dropout, whereas availability of post-primary schooling, having a mother who attended school, and living in a better-off household reduce the probability of dropout. For boys, school quality, measured by the percent of residential teachers in the primary school, and living in a more developed community significantly reduce the probability of dropping out; loss of household remittances significantly increases the likelihood of dropout.     

Religiosity,the headscarf,and education in Turkey: an analysis of 1988 data and current implications

Previous research highlights the continuing relevance of family culture in explaining educational inequalities in Turkey, especially patriarchal beliefs and practices that discourage investment in the education of girls. We extend that research by introducing two much‐debated, but empirically untested, aspects of family culture – parental religiosity and headscarf preferences. An analysis of a nationally representative sample of 15–19 year olds in 1988 shows that while religiosity had no significant effect on educational attainment, children who lived in families whose fathers expected them to wear a headscarf in public had lower educational attainment, especially girls. The large negative headscarf effect suggests that the government ban on headscarves in schools may be an obstacle to eliminating gender inequality in education. The results are discussed in light of recent trends in Turkish society.     

Little intellectuals. Girls' academic secondary education under Francoism: projects,realities and paradoxes

The present article examines the situation of girls in Spanish academic secondary education during the first Francoism. It outlines the measures introduced by the Franco Regime that maintained the traditional access for girls to the same academic curriculum followed by boys, although in separate schools. Later, it examines the various projects put forward specifically for female secondary schooling that sought to remove girls from the academic pathway and the reasons for their failure. Finally, the article studies the paradox posed by the fact that, despite official statements against academic education for women, the number of girls in academic secondary education and universities did not stop growing during the first Francoism. For the explanation of this paradox, it seeks to address the unwanted effects of Francoist education policy, especially the effects of social elitism and single-sex education on the presence of girls.     

Structural Adjustment and Gender Access to Education in Nigeria

ABSTRACT The article reports on relative gender access to secondary (grammar) school education from 1977 to 1990 in Imo State, Nigeria. To this end, time series data on secondary (grammar) school enrolment in Imo State from 1977/78 to 1989/90 were analysed. The findings are: (i) the existence of a gender imbalance in access to grammar school education in which the participation rate for girls was less than 40% up to 1980/81. This is discussed with reference to the prevalence of a gender-biased tradition which restricts girls' access to education; (ii) the dramatic overturning of the gender enrolment imbalance, in favour of girls, from 1981/82 when girls' participation rate in secondary education reached a peak of 56%. This is attributed to the nationwide implementation of a 6-year programme of free and compulsory Universal Primary Education (UPE) in Nigeria from 1976. The free and compulsory UPE scheme (which removed the traditional constraints on female education)had the immediateeffect of causing a phenomenal growth in primary school enrolment that was paralleled in the secondary sector in 1981/82; and (iii) the decline in access to grammar school education, more marked for girls than for boys, since 1986 when free market reform structural adjustment policies (SAP) prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were introduced in Nigeria. The SAP was accompanied by enormous financial and economic hardship which militate against access to education for the majority of poor Nigerians and for girls in particular. These findings are consistent with reported findings elsewhere in 'adjusting' countries. It is concluded that the financial rigours of the structural adjustments that havebeen imposed on such countries militate against the United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation commitments to the elimination of all policies that hinder gender access to education in Africa and the global vision of education for all by the year 2000.     

Gender differences in primary and secondary education: Are girls really outperforming boys?

A moral panic has broken out in several countries after recent studies showed that girls were outperforming boys in education. Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, the present study examines the position of boys and girls in Dutch primary education and in the first phase of secondary education over the past ten to fifteen years. On the basis of several national and international large-scale databases, the authors examined whether one can indeed speak of a gender gap, at the expense of boys. Three domains were investigated, namely cognitive competencies, non-cognitive competencies, and school career features. The results as expressed in effect sizes show that there are hardly any differences with regard to language and mathematics proficiency. However, the position of boys in terms of educational level and attitudes and behaviour is much more unfavourable than that of girls. Girls, on the other hand, score more unfavourably with regard to sector and subject choice. While the present situation in general does not differ very much from that of a decade ago, it is difficult to predict in what way the balances might shift in the years to come.     

Graduates,Mothers and Graduate Mothers: Family investment in higher education in Twentieth-Century England

The paper examines patterns of higher education, with special reference to gender issues and the role of the family, in the early--middle years of the twentieth century. The evidence is drawn from a large-scale questionnaire survey of graduates, male and female, of the late 1930s. The results presented are primarily qualitative rather than quantitative. Three main questions are raised. First, why did children, and especially girls, want to go to university around this time, when it was not routine behaviour? Second, what role did their parents, and especially their mothers, play in sending them to and supporting them through university? Third, can the 'returns' from such higher education be evaluated? It is shown, inter alia , that girls did not improve their earnings nearly so greatly as boys in a direct economic manner from higher education, but gained in other ways. The latter included fostering inter-generational mobility among their own children and grandchildren.     

The impact of economic recession on UPE in Nigeria

The article reports on the impact of economic recession on the demand for primary education in Nigeria where the free Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme was launched nationwide in 1976. Towards this purpose time series data on primary school age (6–11 years) population and primary school enrolment in Imo State of Nigeria were analysed for the period 1976 to 1990. The findings are: (i) the economic recession which hit Nigeria severely in the 1980s caused a corresponding decline in primary school enrolment in the country; and (ii) the decline was more pronounced for the girls. The situation could be explained by the fiscal austerity measures introduced to stabilize the ailing economy which raised the private costs of schooling thereby curtailing the demand for primary education by the poor especially for the girls. To mitigate the situation which retards the progress towards UPE and Education For All (EFA) especially for the girls, it is concluded that there is the need for internationally assisted relief programmes that substantially reduce the private cost of primary schooling in a poor adjusting country like Nigeria.     

公共体育课程创新性教学方法探析--以健美操为例

公共体育课是高校开展体育工作的主要内容,是学生培养运动兴趣、提高身体素质的主要方式。学生在接受身体训练的同时,心智及人格品质都可得到锻炼。长期以来,健美操始终是大学生热衷的体育项目,特别是女生群体。学生一致认为,与其他运动项目相比,健美操可以满足自己对美的追求和欣赏。创新型引入合作学习、情境体验、比赛、旁征博引、多媒体辅助等教学方法,提高课堂感染力和学生参与度,激发学生的创新意识和创新能力。     

Influence of mothers' education on children's maths achievement in Kenya

Research shows that fathers' level of education predicts achievement of both boys and girls, with significantly greater effect for boys. Similarly, mothers' level of education predicts the achievement of girls but not boys. This study tests the mother–child education achievement hypothesis, by examining the effect of mothers' education on the maths test score of children, using data from 71 schools across 6 districts in Kenya. The findings of a multilevel random intercept model, based on a sample of 1907 learners reveal surprisingly negative effect of mothers' education on pupil's achievement, with an interaction effect of mother's and father's education being positive.     

Back to school in Afghanistan: Determinants of school enrollment

One of the first achievements of post-conflict Afghanistan was to bring almost 4 million children back to school. Issues remain daunting, however, with low primary enrollment especially for girls and in rural areas and very weak learning achievements. We review some key features of the education system in Afghanistan. By matching household and school data, we assess the impact of various factors on enrollment. Overall, the analysis indicates that further increasing supply alone is unlikely to lead to higher enrollment. The analysis confirms the importance of demand factors such as the education of parents, the family language, and other community and ethnic factors.     

Exploring bilingualism in a monolingual school system: insights from Turkish and native students from Belgian schools

A growing body of empirical studies indicates the educational benefits of bilingualism. Despite this tendency, bilingual minority students are being pressured by school authorities to shed their mother tongues. We conducted qualitative interviews with Turkish‐bilingual and native‐monolingual students in Flemish (Belgium) secondary schools to investigate how students evaluate their languages, how Dutch monolingualism is imposed, and how students respond to the dominance of monolingualism. Our results indicate that the mother tongues of bilingual students are mainly perceived as a barrier to educational and occupational success, while the benefits of bilingualism are unknown. Thus, both Turkish‐bilingual and native‐monolingual students approved of speaking one language. We also found that monolingualism was strongly imposed on students by explicit encouragement, formal punishment when bilinguals speak their mother tongue, and exclusion of foreign languages from the cultural repertoire of the school. These results are discussed as they relate to policy‐makers, scholars of bilingualism and institutional racism.