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Free education and social inequality in Ugandan primary schools: A step backward or a step in the right direction?
Abstract
The intent of this study is to understand both direct and indirect resource effects in the context of a mass education system in Uganda. We find that under certain conditions, policies that promote physical resource availability can lead to substantial equity gains. A school's social composition appears to improve educational quality but it is also related to wider gaps between rich and poor students. We also show that heavier teaching workloads have the most damaging effect on low-income students who have fewer private resources to devote to academic pursuits. The policy implication is that equalising access to formal primary education does not guarantee equitable outcomes.
... Despite these commitments, only 68 per cent of school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa attend school (Abuya et al., 2014;Phillips, 2013). Furthermore, the declining quality of education despite current investments remains a serious concern (Languille, 2014;Wilson-Strydoma & Okkolin, 2016;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). Private actors are now increasingly put forward as the solution to this crisis, based on a rationale of competitive markets producing a higher quality offering (Bellei & Orellana, 2014). ...
... Similarly in Uganda, Linda Oduor-Noah -9781839106033 Downloaded from Elgar Online at 05/27/2021 01:04:11PM via free access preparation for the transition to UPE began in earnest in 1993 with subsidised (but not free) education for children to attend either public or private schools. This opened opportunities to less well-off students and sharply increased the gross enrolment rate to 58 per cent in the first year and 75 per cent in subsequent years (Altinyelken, 2010;Lincove, 2012;Nishimura et al., 2008;Oketch & Rolleston, 2007;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). All official fees were then abolished in 2003, which further increased enrolments (Lincove, 2012;Moshman, 2015). ...
... Following the implementation of FPE, various studies in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda noted that, while access had expanded, learning outcomes were dropping in parallel, despite significant investments in expansion (DPG, 2009;Grogan, 2006;ICAI, 2012;ITAD, 2013;Njihia et al., 2014;Upper Quartile & IPAR -Rwanda, 2014;Uwezo, 2015;Zuilkowski et al., 2018). Various reasons for this have been put forward: Across the region, FPE was often introduced on a political platform, with swift implementation and little corresponding institutional strengthening or planned capacity expansion (Abuya et al., 2015;Oketch & Rolleston, 2007;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). For example, in Kenya, the introduction of FPE was announced just one month before the start of the new school term, with limited or no teacher orientation or infrastructure in place (Abuya et al., 2015 , 2008;Oketch & Rolleston, 2007). ...
... The various barriers to educational access are discussed in the studies. Several of the studies note that education remains unaffordable for many families, even when education is theoretically free, as there are supplementary costs (such as the purchase of school uniforms), indirect costs (such as the cost of transport to and from school), and opportunity costs (such as the inability of young people enrolled in education to take up certain employment opportunities) (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011;Hartwig, 2013;Agrawal, 2014). Even when education is affordable, family-and community-members sceptical or even hostile towards education may discourage, or even prevent, young people participating in education. ...
... Even if young people are enrolled in schools and colleges they often receive a sub-standard educationanother problem widely discussed in the studies. This problem is often associated with rapidly increasing enrolments in already over-stretched education systems, leading (for instance) to increased class-sizes which in turn present significant pedagogical challenges (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011;Sua, 2012;Hartwig, 2013). Thus, progress towards the first objective of inclusive educationuniversal access to educationcan ironically hinder progress towards the second objectiveeducation provision of good quality. ...
... Thus, progress towards the first objective of inclusive educationuniversal access to educationcan ironically hinder progress towards the second objectiveeducation provision of good quality. However, the difficulties experienced by education systems in this respect are not just the result of 'studentfactors' but rather the interaction between 'student-factors' and 'resource-factors' such as: poorly-maintained, poorly-designed educational environments; insufficient teaching and learning resources often of poor quality; and an inadequately-trained, poorly-remunerated, demoralized, and sometimes grossly unprofessional education workforce (Hammett and Staehili, 2011;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011;Davidson and Hobbs, 2013). In some cases, the poor performance of teachers is associated with another 'resource-factor'the inability and/or unwillingness of senior management to provide instructional leadership of good quality (Meade, 2012;Hallinger and Lee, 2013). ...
... Uganda, the focus of this study, has for some decades had education that has been enviable in the region (Kasirye, 2009). It continues to attract a significant proportion of the national budget relative to other sectors (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). In 2005, education took the biggest allocation (17.1%) from the national budget, and this was increased to 22% in 2007. ...
... Nonetheless, the significant increase in enrolment has not been in tandem with the rate of growth in ancillary factors such as the size of the teaching force, the physical infrastructure, and the fiscal requirements of such enrolment (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). This compounded the existing challenges to the education system, such as poor pupil-teacher ratios, pupilclassroom ratios, dropout rates and sanitary amenities in schools (see Ward et al., 2006;Ministry of Education and Sports, 2011;Penny et al., 2008). 1 At the Jomtien conference (1990), government leaders from 150 countries agreed to make education universal to all children. 2 At the Dakar world education forum (2000), government and non-government organisational leaders met to review their commitment to educating every citizen in every society. ...
... It does so by extending the theory and practice of educational effectiveness research (EER) in such communities where studies have always been limited to examining the potential impact of easily quantifiable educational inputs (using production functions) on educational outcomes. Moreover, little of that research has tried to look at educational effectiveness through the lenses of equity and quality (Kyriakides and Creemers, 2011;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). By looking at educational effectiveness through these two lenses, this study does not only contribute to the development of the conceptual framework of EER but provides suggestions on how policy, school and classroom practice could be improved to promote both quality and equity dimensions in education. ...
Earlier studies of educational effectiveness in resource-constrained countries tended to focus on fiscal and material resources. However, the impact thereof can be limited where effective processes at the school and classroom levels are not present. Using hierarchical linear modelling, this study draws on SACMEQ data to generate an effective education model for resource-constrained countries, using Uganda as a case study. Rasch modelling was used to construct the educational process indicators, and the dynamic model of educational effectiveness provided the basis for the conceptual framework used. On adjusting for confounding variables, the factors that significantly predicted both mathematics and reading outcomes included opportunity to learn (OTL), school management competences, school–community relationships, and school-based HIV/AIDS support. The effect of teacher academic and professional capital (TAPC) was mediated by OTL. The study argues for refocused attention on the school and teaching processes as key to enhancing educational effectiveness in resource-constrained countries.
... Generally, universalizing education has been characterized by dampening quality due to bourgeoning school-age going cohorts on one hand and increased costs on the part of governments on the other hand, which in turn explain overcrowding of classes, reduced numbers of trained teachers and overburdened school infrastructure (Ssewamala, Wang, Karimli & Nabunya, 2011;Lewin & Akyeampong, 2009;Somerset, 2011;Akyeampong, 2009;Somerset, 2011;Chimombo, 2009 ;Deininger, 2003;Oketch & Somerset, 2010) that have led to increasing inequalities (Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011) which are exacerbated at the secondary level (Akyeampong, 2009;Henaff & Lange, 2011;Lewin, 2011b;Rolleston, 2009;Oketch & Rolleston, 2007). ...
... The effect of household wealth on education can be tackled from two perspectives: (i) the ability (or inability) to foot direct costs like fees and indirect costs like feeding of children, scholastic materials, uniforms, transport to school, building fund, among others but also (ii) opportunity costs i.e. the labor of children missed if they are to enroll in school, which largely affects poorer, rural based and peasant households but more disproportionately the girls as was the case in Kenya (Kabubo-mariara & Mwabu, 2007), Uganda (UNICEF, 2005), Burkina Faso (Kobiané, 2006), Nigeria (Lincove, 2009) and Ghana (Akyeampong, 2009 In Uganda, costs on books, other supplies and uniforms (UBOS, 2010a), other fees charged by some schools to cover salaries of teachers since the government often delayed to pay (Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011) as well as lack of interest in school (Ssewamala et al., 2011(Deininger, 2003Kalule, 2000) were still some reasons for non-enrolment and poor retention of some children. Studies elsewhere have in addition made mention of building fund, sports and water bills, costs on clothing, accommodation, feeding and PTA fees, still being charged by some schools as posing a challenge to education of mostly the very poor household population as was reported in Ghana (Akyeampong, 2009), Kenya (Kabubomariara & Mwabu, 2007Somerset, 2011), Malawi (Chimombo, 2009;Kadzamira & Rose, 2003), rural Madagascar (Deleigne & Kail, 2010) and Burkina Faso (Pilon, 2010). ...
... An increase in distance to school has been found to negatively affect access to primary school in rural Ghana (Fentiman et al., 1999), Kenya (Kabubo-mariara & Mwabu, 2007), Uganda (UBOS, 2010a ;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011), Burkina Faso (Kobiané, 2006) and rural Madagascar (Deleigne & Kail, 2010). In all these studies, distance was not only a factor for different enrolment patterns of children but also for late enrolment because children found it hard to access distantly located schools in some regions. ...
While access to basic education is at the heart of development, the fact that sustained and meaningful education is critical for emancipation of the individual and entire society is no longer a matter of debate. Indeed, the myriad of advantages associated with sustained and quality mass education presuppose that it should be enjoyed by all as espoused in Education for All Goal 2 and Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3. Since Uganda was one of the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to introduce universal primary and secondary education in 1997 and 2007 respectively, this study endeavored to understand the extent to which the said democratization of education has eclipsed inequalities in accessing secondary schooling. This study largely used Uganda National Household Survey data for 2005/6 and 2009/10 that had information on schooling profiles of the household population and other characteristics that have been found to explain schooling outcome differentials. Through appropriate multivariate models, it was possible to map the evolution of inequalities in accessing secondary schooling for all children aged 13-24, making a transition for the ones that completed primary and accessing boarding facilities. Universalizing education at both levels has failed both to enhance completion of primary and dampen inequalities in accessing secondary schooling. Indeed, completion of primary and transition to secondary remain a prerogative of largely children from better socio-economic backgrounds, urban areas and the central region. Children in households below the 25th top percentile of household income, those in the rural, East, West and North, and those under household heads with less than secondary education, remain largely excluded from secondary schooling. Besides, whereas boarding schools (some of which are government schools) are known to offer better quality education that would enable social mobility for disadvantaged children, they are largely inaccessible to the poor as a matter of policy and this exacerbates inequalities in accessing quality secondary schooling. While inequalities in accessing secondary education for all eligible children have largely persisted, making a transition by children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds seems to be more difficult in the recent past than before implying that most children previously entangled in a vicious cycle of disadvantage, are most likely to remain so.
... She also concluded that inadequate school infrastructure and other costs on parents were other strong factors that explained school dropouts in Uganda. Zuze and Leibbrandt (2011) investigated social inequality regarding , especially performance in school in the wake of Universal primary education. They particularly concluded that academic performance was better for children in private schools, urban areas and more affluent households as opposed to the majority in the rural, government schools and poorer households. ...
... Higher income has been associated with; attendance of preschool (Wayack-Pambè, 2012), enrolling at the right age and regularity of attendance (Boyle et al., 2002). It also explains provision of necessary scholastics, a factor affecting retention (Galimaka, 2008), enrolling in a private school, that has a better learning environment (Woodhead et al., 2013;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011) and reducing the opportunity cost of learning for children that is a challenge (Higgins, 2009;Hossain and Zeitlyn, 2010). All these explain better retention for children from more affluent households. ...
This paper examined the predictors for school dropouts in Uganda following the introduction of universal primary education close to 30 years ago. We used 10 % of the 2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census dataset (albeit relatively old) to examine the predictors of school dropouts in; i) Rural Uganda ii) Kampala (the capital) and iii) other urban areas. We specifically applied the logistic regression model to predict the probability that a child aged 6–16 dropped out of school (versus not) in 2014. While the socioeconomic status of households, household size, composition and age of the child were the strongest predictors for dropouts, the latter were found to vary by place of residence, due to variations in; geography, population composition, nature of economic activity, supply of education and levels of commitment of local government authorities in school supervision. Action points to redress dropouts in Uganda cannot be implemented ubiquitously but ought to take into consideration peculiar circumstances pertaining in; i) Rural areas ii) Kampala and iii) other urban areas. Policy should especially engender fiscal reforms to increase local revenue and redress the various predictors for dropouts in the differing rural and urban spaces.
... And at pass and fail levels, there was no change. The improvement in academic performance at distinction and credit levels could be because of teachers' commitment to work, setting of pupil's academic improvement targets to be met by teachers and learners, tight supervision by head teachers and other stakeholders, maintaining small classroom sizes and improved teaching-learning environment by private schools in Kigumba town council (Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). This finding disagrees with reports given by Thompson and Thompson (2018) and Oginni and Oginni (2019), who showed that the trend of learners' academic performance has been on the decrease in science-based subjects in most of the developing countries of the world. ...
... Generally, academic performance in mathematics and integrated science in government primary schools in Kigumba town council in the period 2010-2019 did not improve except at the credit level, while in privately sponsored primary schools, academic performance improved at distinction and credit levels. The stagnation in academic performance at distinction and pass levels in government schools could be due to Universal Primary Education related issues like high pupilteacher ratio, absenteeism of teachers and learners, too much workload on the teachers (Nuwaha et al., 2021;Warsame, 2023), congestion in classrooms and inadequate facilities (Yonas et al., 2023), low level of parental involvement in the education affairs of their children, negligence by the supervisory bodies, general lack of teachinglearning materials among others while in privately sponsored primary schools academic performance improvement at distinction and credit level could be due to tight competition from other privately aided primary schools, highly motivated staff (Sakwa et al., 2023), need to attract more learners in order to get more fees collections, availability of the necessary teaching-learning materials and commitment by the teachers (Wamala, 2013;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). This finding agrees with Shabbir et al. (2014) who reported that pupils in private schools perform better academically than those in public schools. ...
Poor academic performance in science subjects continues to be a major setback in schools of developing countries, despite several interventions to curb the vice. This study investigated the trend in academic performance in mathematics and integrated science in Kigumba town council in Kiryandongo district in Uganda. It used a retrospective cohort analysis design of 8 government-aided and privately funded primary schools while employing documentary analysis to obtain primary leaving examinations (PLE) results. PLE data obtained using documentary analysis was subjected to trend analysis to determine trends in pupils’ performance in the last decade. The findings indicate that performance in mathematics and integrated science in private schools was better than that in government schools over the last decade. In conclusion, teachers in Ugandan government primary schools need to be more committed to teaching mathematics and integrated science so as to improve the academic performance of pupils. In turn, the government and other stakeholders need to provide the necessary prerequisites to enable the teachers to do their work effectively
... Studies have shown, however, that educational outcomes at primary and O'Level are lower for students of low SES, students who attend schools in rural areas, and students who attend schools that run the government free education programmes UPE and USE. (See NAPE 2011(a); NAPE 2011 (b); Zuze, T. L. & Leibbrandt, M, 2011). As such, it is likely that these low SES students also perform poorly in the national examinations at the end of each educational cycle, thus hampering their transition. ...
... Unfortunately, national and international assessments show that those who fail to compete are often those enrolled in the public schools where the UPE and USE programmes are run (NAPE 2011 (a); NAPE 2011 (b); Byamugisha & Ssenabulya, 2005), and yet these tend to be students of lower SES. The success of private schools over public schools has been attributed to the fact that they are better resourced, enrol students of higher SES, and also have a lower proportion of over-age children (who tend to perform more poorly than their younger peers) (Zuze, & Leibbrandt, 2011;Hungi 2011). With the conditions at the lower levels of education as they are, many able and deserving children end up dropping off before university. ...
In the African context, just transitions to a more sustainable world cannot occur while the poorest and most marginalised are left behind. African governments such as Uganda's have taken the steps to better the lot of these sections of society by widening access to basic education through programmes like Universal Primary Education; however, access to higher levels of education is still low, and as earlier studies have shown, Universities in particular have played a part by maintaining selection procedures that favour students from higher socioeconomic status (SES). In the last few years, some measures have been taken to address this issue, such as introducing a quota system for admission to public universities, but there are concerns that not enough has been done. This paper reports on a study carried out at four universities investigating how just access to higher education in Uganda is, given existing admission procedures. It was found that the main admission criterion, A'Level examination results, was not a significant predictor of success at university, and that it was therefore not a justifiable entry mechanism, especially given its established tendency to disadvantage students of lower SES.
... Existing studies indicate that classroom conditions can be important for learning outcomes. These issues are highly pertinent to Uganda (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011) and motivate the present study. The main objective is to examine the relative importance of different mechanisms through which classroom composition affects learning outcomes. ...
... For instance, Nishimura et al. (2008) note that primary school enrolment increased by 141% between 1997 and 2004, while the number of teachers and schools increased by just 41%. Large class sizes, inadequate infrastructure and poorly educated teachers are frequently attributed to the policy of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and are considered by many to be critical drivers of poor learning outcomes, including low primary completion rates (see Okuni, 2003;Altinyelken, 2010b;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). ...
There is widespread agreement that schooling quality should be a priority in the post-2015 education agenda, but less agreement on how quality can be enhanced in a cost effective manner. In Uganda, classroom overcrowding is often considered a critical cause of poor learning outcomes. This paper investigates how various aspects of classroom composition, including class size and the achievement distribution of classmates, affect individual learning. Using test score data for over 250,000 children, such compositional factors are found to be relevant. However, their influence on learning is not so large as to justify major standalone policy interventions. Rather, pedagogical changes that support children with literacy difficulties merit particular consideration.
... Moving beyond this quantitative perspective, a qualitative analysis of education in the light of development also shows a reverse image. Due to an increase of pupils many schools in Sub-Saharan Africa have to cope with large class sizes and a lack of trained teachers and learning materials, affecting the quality of education in formal schools (Lewin, 2009;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). Moreover, Minnis (2006) stresses the misfit between the education system in Sub-Saharan Africa and the reality of the informal economy in these countries. ...
... Factors causing early school leaving mentioned by the government are: lack of interest, pregnancy, marriage, lack of school fees, work, family responsibilities, disobedience and suspension (MoES, 2008). Lack of school fees might be considered remarkable since primary education in Uganda is officially free, other expenses however, like school uniforms, exercise books and pens make it hard for people in rural areas to meet school expenses for their children (Ngabirano, 2010;Openjuru, 2010;Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). Kanyandago (2010) warns that the focus on school fees distracts from the real problem of early school leaving; the barely relevant curriculum of formal education. ...
This article reflects on the potential of non-formal vocational education in Uganda to improve the quality of life of those excluded from formal education. Based on an exploration of humanizing development theorists Sen, Freire and Nyerere, together with two case studies, practical empowerment is described as a desirable outcome of education for development. Practical empowerment includes acquiring marketable skills as well as capabilities to critically give direction to one's life. Although education leading to this outcome is desirable for all, non-formal vocational education can reach those currently excluded from formal education, thus enhancing their empowerment by equipping them with useful skills and knowledge.
... Samtliga skolor ligger i stadsmiljö och flera av skolorna erbjuder möjligheter för eleverna att bo på skolan mot betalning. Statliga skolor är sedan 1997 gratis för alla men kostnad för måltider tillkommer (UNICEF For every child, 2020-08-11; Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). Förutsättningarna i de skolor som universitetet samarbetar med ser olika ut både då det gäller materiella tillgångar, klassernas storlek (25-80 elever/klass) och lärartätheten vilket påverkar undervisningsmetoderna och kvaliteten (se t.ex. ...
Att öka internationaliseringen inom högre utbildning och speciellt lärarutbildningen har länge varit en viktig fråga. Det handlar vanligen om att studenter ska få möjlighet att skaffa kunskaper om lärande ur ett interkulturellt perspektiv så att de kan verka i ett globaliserat och mångkulturellt samhälle. Det finns forskning som visar vilka effekter internationella utbyten under några månader eller år kan få men det finns få studier av lärarstudenter som genomför kortare internationella utbyten. I denna studie har skriftliga reflektioner i samband med lärarstudenters två veckor långa utlandspraktik i Uganda samlats in för att beskriva de erfarenheter som studenter fått samt hur dessa kan möjliggöra utveckling av interkulturella perspektiv. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys framträder tre teman av erfarenheter som utlandspraktiken har gett upphov till: kulturella, didaktiska och personliga. Den kulturella dissonans som uppstår när studenterna under två veckor får möjlighet att möta en kultur som skiljer sig från den de är vana vid utmanar deras förståelse genom så väl positiva som negativa upplevelser. Även en kortare utlandspraktik med goda möjligheter till reflektion kan bidra till erfarenheter viktiga för att utveckla kunskaper så att de kan verka i ett globaliserat och mångkulturellt samhälle.
... The head teacher noted that it was under-enrolled, like most of its neighbouring UPE schools situated close to the main road. This is due to the 'mushrooming' of private schools considered to be performing better (see World Bank, 2013;Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). The private schools charge low tuition fees, offer some free scholastic materials and provide exclusive English instruction, contrary to government policy. ...
Although teacher agency is increasingly recognised by educationists in the Global South, it is not always well understood or accommodated in policy, as experienced with Universal Primary Education (UPE) reforms in Uganda. This empirical study analyses its role on the UPE reforms, the factors that shape it and its implications for curriculum making. The study adopted a qualitative case study of two UPE schools, utilising an ecological approach to understanding teacher agency. It found that UPE teachers in the selected schools were strongly achieving agency in their daily practice through different forms of ‘resistance’, ‘mitigation’ and ‘cooperation’. Their agency is being shaped by ecological factors comprising of their temporal dimensions mediated by the affordances and constraints of their cultures, structures and materials, with significant implications. The study concludes that stakeholders need to better explicate teacher agency in policy and scholarship.
... At primary, an earlier study in Uganda had identified other costs like PTA fees more so in urban schools, development fund, examination fees for mock exams and holiday work, school supplies (textbooks, exercise books, pens and pencils, school bags, geometry sets etc.), transport to school, money for feeding at school and private tutoring (Uganda Bureau of Statistics and ORC Macro, 2001) as financial barriers to the universalized primary education. Besides, some schools still charged other fees to cover salaries of teachers as government often paid late (Zuze and Leibbrandt, 2011). ...
This paper explores predictors of accessing secondary education for children in Uganda given the universal secondary education policy of 2007. This is done for; rural Uganda, Kampala and other urban areas given increasing urbanization of rural areas that assumes urban homogeneity in heterogeneous situations. We apply the logit model onto Uganda census data to predict access given individual, household and community variables. We discover that only 22% of children aged 13–18 were enrolled at secondary and that demand and supply related predictors are moderated by the socio-economic status of households to influence schooling outcomes all along the education ladder.
... In addition, community participation comes in the form of Parent-Teachers Associations (PTAs) that have been extremely active in mobilizing resources for various services in schools, such as infrastructural development through construction of additional classrooms and teachers' houses. We note that in other contexts, this dependence on community-mobilized resources has been found to contribute to disparities in education quality (Zuze & Leibbrandt, 2011). AfriMAP (Beyani 2013) also found that PTAs are frequently involved in the resolution of problems between parents and teachers and act as a channel for addressing grievances relating to educational quality, such as teacher behaviour and the provision of learning materials (p96). ...
... (Crouch and DeStefano, 2017;Evans and Yuan, 2019). Even in terms of reducing inequalities, Zuze and Leibbrandt (2011) find that under the right conditions, policies that promote physical resource availability could amount to equity gains but also that, in general, equalizing access to education does not guarantee more equitable outcomes. Even within this category of interventions, appropriately designed policies can still be plausible avenues. ...
Fifty-nine first-graders from an ethnically diverse (70% Native American, 18% Hispanic, and 12% European American) rural elementary school participated in this study. First-grade students' growth in oral reading fluency (ORF) was predicted by their kindergarten letter-naming and letter-sound fluency using growth curve analysis. Both skills significantly predicted first-grade reading growth. Hierarchical multiple regression using initial first-grade ORF and kindergarten letter-sound and letter-naming fluency showed that kindergarten letter-naming fluency uniquely contributed to the prediction of first-grade reading growth. On average, students who made limited growth in first-grade ORF produced only eight letter names per minute in kindergarten. In addition, we found that Native American and Hispanic students did not reliably differ in their reading growth from the other students. Discussion highlights the use of letter-naming fluency as an early screen for ethnically diverse students in ORF.
This study examines factors that help to account for the large inequalities in the reading and numeracy skills of children aged 6–14 in Uganda. The analysis is based on a sub-sample of the Uwezo assessment and survey data of 2018. Attention is drawn to the effects of child absenteeism, ‘memory difficulty’, different kinds of household technology, preschool experience, private school attendance and regional poverty. It is argued that interventions needed to achieve more equitable outcomes would imply a stronger commitment to state responsibility for education, both at the pre-primary and the primary level. Further research on school practices that enhance the learning of basic skills is also recommended.
The concept of educational opportunity is ubiquitous yet ambiguous; it is frequently discussed within the education world, yet there is no commonly shared understanding of what it means or how to measure it. To address this void, we conducted an integrative review of the literature on school inputs and student outcomes from 2010 to 2019. A total of 39 articles were included in this review, and analysed using a mixed methods approach. A descriptive analysis showed the studies used a range of research designs, including case study (n = 7), comparative (n = 6), correlational and longitudinal (n = 5), exploratory (n = 4), cross‐sectional (n = 3), and phenomenological (n = 2). Furthermore, studies were conducted within a variety of primary through secondary school contexts (e.g., public, charter and vocational). A deductive analysis revealed that more than half of the studies looked at cognitive outcomes (n = 25), followed by psychological (n = 22), behavioural (n = 17), and then other (n = 6). Finally, grounded theory was used to analyse specific school factors (inputs) that influence the aforementioned outcomes positively. We identified four input categories through which educational opportunity generally manifests: Inclusive Culture and Environment, Responsive Teaching and Appropriate Training, Resources and Opportunity to Learn, and Curriculum and Instruction. Based on the results, we developed a conceptual framework of educational opportunity that connects school inputs to positive student outcomes. The framework can be used by researchers and educators to inform discussions and assessments of educational opportunity.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study
Schools worldwide aim to provide equitable opportunities that result in positive student outcomes. However, there is widespread disagreement between both educators and educational researchers as to what educational opportunity means and looks like in practice.
Why the new findings matter
This study seeks to bring clarity to the topic through an integrative review that synthesises the research on school inputs that lead to positive student outcomes.
Implications for educators, educational researchers and policy makers
This review resulted in the development of a conceptual framework of educational opportunity. The framework is not prescriptive, but can be adapted based on the needs, goals and values of the school and students. This framework has implications for teachers, school leaders, policy makers and educational researchers who can use it as a tool to assess educational opportunity and inform educational practices. Most importantly, the framework can be used to help improve equity in educational opportunities.
This paper uses measurements of learning inequality to explore whether learning interventions that are aimed at improving means also reduce inequality, and if so, under what conditions. There is abundant evidence that learning levels are generally low in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), but there is less knowledge about how learning achievement is distributed within these contexts, and especially about how these distributions change as mean levels increase. We use child-level data on foundational literacy outcomes to quantitatively explore whether and how learning inequality using metrics borrowed from the economics and inequality literature can help us understand the impact of learning interventions. The paper deepens recent work in several ways. First, it extends the analysis to six LMIC, displaying which measures are computable and coherent across contexts and baseline levels. This extension can add valuable information to program evaluation, without being redundant with other metrics. Second, we show the large extent to which the disaggregation of inequality of foundational skills between- and within-schools and grades varies by context and language. Third, we present initial empirical evidence that, at least in the contexts of analysis of foundational interventions, improving average performance can reduce inequality as well, across all levels of socioeconomic status (SES). The data show that at baseline, the groups with the highest internal inequality tend to be the groups with lowest SES and lowest reading scores, as inequality among the poor themselves is higher than among their wealthier counterparts. Regardless of which SES groups benefit more in terms of a change in mean levels of reading, there is still a considerable reduction in inequality by baseline achievement as means increase. These results have policy implications in terms of targeting of interventions: much can be achieved in terms of simultaneously improving averages and increasing equality. This seems particularly true when the initial learning levels are as low as they currently are the developing world.
Possible Catholic school effects are under-studied in developing country contexts.
Ugandan Catholic schools foster academic support, sense of family, & social justice, however, regulatory strings constrain autonomy & values of government aided Catholic schools. State-aid and regulation may affect staff cohesion, school culture, & locus of responsibility.
This qualitative case study explores the effect of government aid and related policies on the institutional character of Catholic secondary schools in Uganda. Private Catholic and government aided Catholic schools showed a clear and coherent institutional identity that fosters a positive school culture. However, Catholic school autonomy and identity are constrained by state policy, especially in government aided Catholic schools. Government control over selection of personnel and students in government aided schools affects mission alignment, goals and values, and perceptions of responsibility. Resource scarcity and leadership are key factors that affect the degree of state influence. This study suggests that further research should consider the relationship between autonomy and school climate and culture, especially in faith-based schools.
Communalism, otherwise known as ‘Ubuntu’ in African literature, has come to signify the philosophical and ethical thought capable of transforming behaviours/lives and restoring the continent’s cultural identity. This potent energy is explored in this article with a critical discussion of the conceptual, cultural and operational statuses of Ubuntu. While inhumanity across Africa has prompted some to question its viability, others – including the author of this article – see, in these testing times, an opportunity to reinvent the concept. Using narrative data from two urban primary head teachers based in Kinshasa/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the article highlights unique Ubuntu operational patterns of understanding others’ needs, negotiating and prioritising needs, assessing available resources, attending to others’ needs, and raised expectations and commitment to organisational goals. This process, it is noted, can successfully take place in the context of genuine dialogue; a compromise that not only prevents ‘bogus needs’ and looks beyond limited resources, but also serves the interests of both individuals and schools.
Student performance in the A'Level national examinations in Uganda is the main criterion for selection for higher education, particularly university. About 2000 merit-based scholarships are available annually for the best performing applicants to public universities, but in recent years the majority of the recipients of these scholarships have come from only a handful of the best performing secondary schools in the country university. This reflects a wider issue of the widely differing quality of secondary schools in Uganda, and motivated the current study. In order to investigate the nature of the school effect within the A'Level performance, a multilevel modelling procedure was employed. Covering a period of five years (2005-2010), it was found that up to 30% of the variation in student performance at the end of A'Level could be attributed to the student's A'Level school. Almost one quarter of this school effect was explained by four school characteristics: ownership, boarding status, gender ratio and whether it run the free universal secondary education (USE) programme. Of these, single-sex boarding schools that did not run the USE programme had the highest performance advantage. The performance advantages attributable to the type of school which students attend at A'Level can partly explain why the majority of students enrolled at universities in Uganda come from such a small proportion of secondary schools.
This paper examines the extent to which increased access to primary schooling in ten Southern and East African countries between 2000 and 2007 was also accompanied by increased access to actual learning. We develop a measure of access to learning that combines data on education access and learning achievement to measure the proportions of children in the population (including those enrolled and not enrolled) that reach particular thresholds of literacy and numeracy. In all countries there was greater access to learning in 2007 than in 2000. These improvements in access to learning especially benefited girls and children from poor households.
The importance of reading literacy as a foundation for academic success is widely acknowledged. What is less well understood is why gender patterns in reading literacy emerge so early and continue throughout learners’ educational careers. This paper adds to this literature by investigating the gender patterns of reading literacy (why girls outperform boys) in South African primary schools and whether changes in the schooling system can result in favourable changes in this gender reading gap. Compatible with international trends, girls in primary schools were significantly better readers than boys during the period of investigation. We found strong links between material and human resources and achievement in reading. The link between increased resource availability and improved educational outcomes was stronger for girls than for boys and therefore increased the female academic advantage. This finding remained consistent across socioeconomic levels. The implication is that either the school resources available in South African primary schools are more suitable for teaching girls how to read or that girls appear to be able to make use of the available resources more effectively to improve reading. Policy interpretations are discussed in the context of improved resourcing of schools.
This book focuses on formal primary and secondary education. The study begins by examining the volume, nature, and mechanics of community financing in a range of settings. Discussion then turns to policy issues facing governments and those who work with them. This leads to consideration of instruments for incentives, guidance, and control of community activities. Specific strategies from different countries are presented and evaluated. The next-to-last chapter underlines the importance of monitoring and evaluation. The paper concludes by summarizing the lessons in the context of debate about centralization and decentralization.
The influence of socioeconomic status upon the academic performance of poor children in Ugandan schools is investigated. In Uganda, socioeconomic status has little influence on school children's academic performance because the children of the wealthy are no more self-confident than are the children of the poor. The lack of influence exerted by socioeconomic status is due to the comparative recency of wide economic stratification; the close link between academic achievement, educational attainment, and later occupational success; and the universalistic prerequisite to educational advancement, the Primary Leaving Examination. Economic status is not linked with attitudes of self-concept. Therefore, although characterized by wide differences in wealth, Ugandan school children cannot be said to be marked by divisions of social class. Finally, the presence of the Primary Leaving Examination ensures that all have an equal chance for success. This exam maintains personal confidence by assuring children that, regardless of how menial their background, they will be judged fairly. Thus, it can be concluded that academic advantage is not an inevitable condition of economic privilege. 60 references.
This paper deals with the relation between children's home literacy environments (HLE) and their literacy development in the first phase of primary school. On the basis of a broad conceptualisation of the HLE, we identified three home literacy profiles (rich, child-directed and poor HLE). Firstly, we related these profiles to socio-cultural factors (more specifically, ethnicity and socio-economic status [SES]). We found an association between the HLE and ethnicity/SES, indicating that (Dutch) majority children and children from high SES families had, in general, the most stimulating HLEs. On the other hand, we observed considerable variability in HLEs within ethnic minority and low SES groups. Subsequently, we related the HLE profiles to literacy outcomes in kindergarten, first and second grade. We found that, after controlling for relevant background characteristics, the HLE had an effect on children's vocabulary scores in first grade, and their general reading comprehension both in first and second grade.
Using a multilevel modeling procedure, the authors explore: the percentage of variance in primary school achievement in Zimbabwe that could be attributed to the types of schools and classes attended; the differences between schools in student achievement in mathematics and English; and the reasons for these differences. They compare five types of schools. Students in Former A (European) schools and high-fee schools outperform those in Former B (African) schools, low-fee schools, and district council schools in both subjects. In English, school-type differences persist after controlling for student intake variables. For mathematics, they disappear. School and class variables related to higher math achievement include the amount of teacher training and instructional time, and pupil-teacher ratio. Higher achievement in English is related to the pupil-teacher and textbook-to-pupil ratios, and to the amount of teacher training.
Accountability requires standards for both inputs and outputs in order to address longstanding inequities in U.S. education.
"School variables" account for only a modest proportion of variance in academic achievement. Neither physical facilities nor characteristics of teachers match the strength of pupil socioeconomic status and other indices of the pupil's out-of-school environment. These findings, so vividly portrayed in the Coleman and Jencks studies, can now be generalized beyond the United States to Great Britain, to Western Europe, and (relying on the recently published IEA data) throughout much of the industrialized world. These conclusions are less qualified for less industrial societies, however. Facilities seem to have a larger impact and socioeconomic status appears to have less effect than would have been expected. This discussion explores recent results with an eye on two specific questions. First, can the primacy attributed to socioeconomic status be generalized beyond industrialized societies? Second, do school facilities and teacher characteristics have more impact on achievement in societies at the lower end of the industrial spectrum?
It is argued that the effects of family background on science achievement are the result of different processes between schools and within schools; therefore, an examination of the multilevel effects of background is warranted. Between schools, variation in the effects of family background reflects social policies that govern the relationship of community characteristics to school resources and activities. Within schools, the effects of family background result from the structure of interpersonal allocations of rewards within an educational system. Examinations of science achievement data on 14-year-olds from the United States, England, and Sweden indicate that the between-school relation of background to achievement varies across countries while the within-school effects of background are similar. It is suggested that cross-national differences in social policies governing education can account for the between-school findings, but that within-school processes are apparently resistant to these differences.
Typescript (photocopy). Thesis (M.S.)--Central Missouri State University, 1995. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 20).
The central hypothesis of this chapter is that the effect on pupil achievement of increasing educational resources (e.g., buildings, teachers, books) will depend on the current availability of those resources: The effect will generally be positive but will be greatest in settings where resources are currently scarce. This hypothesis implies that policies aimed at increasing the equity of distribution of resources are also cost effective for increasing the overall achievement in a society. Using data from a recent national survey of primary schools in Thailand, we found considerable support for this hypothesis: Pupil-teacher ratio, school spaciousness, school size, textbook provision, teachers' utilization of materials, and the provision of preprimary education were all found to be nonlinearly related to pupil achievement in ways which imply that the likely effect of adding resources is greatest when those resources are currently scarce.
This study sets out to clarify two questions within the context of a non-industrial society's educational system: (1) In what areas would there be measurable variation in physical facilities between primary schools? (2) Is any of this variation statistically related to the academic performance of children on the national selection examination (PLE) used for entrance into senior secondary school? The discussion would support those who hold that, especially in environments of material poverty, school facilities can make a difference. But aside from reporting a number of significant correlations, the paper explores an additional theory relevant to other educational survey research efforts: that the physical existence of a piece of equipment in a school may not be as critical for understanding achievement as knowing how and by what means it got there.
It is commonly held that Uganda had a well-functioning social service deliv- ery system in the 1960s. The subsequent economic and social decay all but decimated this system, however. Undoubtedly, institutional recovery is more complex than implementing policy reforms by "a stroke of the pen." While evidence on economic performance is fairly readily available, much less infor- mation exists on Uganda's institutional recovery during the past 15 years, ei- ther in terms of institutional assessments or systematic recording of perfor- mance indicators. This chapter sheds light on service delivery in education and health. The two subsequent chapters, which explore household responses to recent policy initiatives in these two sectors, complement this analysis. The principal motivation for the study reported in this chapter was the substantial increase in public spending on basic services, albeit from a small base, since Uganda's recovery started in the late 1980s, while several offi- cially reported outcome and output indicators remained stagnant. The most obvious disparity in output indicators was in primary school enrollments. Despite increases in budgetary allocations for education, officially reported enrollments increased only slightly during the first half of the 1990s. The hypothesis for the study was that actual service delivery, or output, was much worse than budgetary allocations implied because public funds, or inputs, were subject to capture by bureaucrats and did not reach the intended facili- ties (see, for example, Bardhan and Mookherjee 1998). To test this hypoth- esis, the study's author compared budgets and actual spending in the pri- mary education and health care sectors.
In this study, the literacy knowledge that 4-year-olds from low- and middle-socioeconomic status homes bring to preschool was compared. Sixty-four children drawn from six separate preschools participated in the study; 33 were from low-in-come backgrounds and 31 from middle-class backgrounds. All preschoolers were assessed within the first 4 weeks of school. In addition, questionnaires were administered to parents to examine the frequency and quality of the literacy activities in which parents and children interact. Results indicated that even as early as 48 months of age, many children from low-income homes are at a distinct disadvantage when compared with their middle-class peers in understanding written language. Nonetheless, limited knowledge of literacy was not confined to preschoolers from impoverished homes. The combined findings suggest that the operative factor in literacy development is not economic instability but, rather, a paucity in early experiences with print.
In the knowledge-based economy that characterizes the 21st century, most previously industrialized countries are making massive investments in education. The United States ranks poorly on many leading indicators, however, primarily because of the great inequality in educational inputs and outcomes between White students and non-Asian “minority” students, who comprise a growing share of the U.S. public school population. Standards-based reforms have been launched throughout the United States with promises of greater equity, but while students are held to common standards—and increasingly experience serious sanctions if they fail to meet them—most states have not equalized funding and access to the key educational resources needed for learning. The result of this collision of new standards with old inequities is less access to education for many students of color, rather than more. This article outlines current disparities in educational access; illustrates the relationships between race, educational resources, and student achievement; and proposes reforms needed to equalize opportunities to learn.
Within industrialized countries, much is known about the relationship between schools’ material inputs or social practices and pupils’ achievement levels. Less is known about school effects in developing countries. In the Third World, the secular school is often a novel institution, operating in social settings where written literacy and formal socialization are relatively recent phenomena. Therefore, even schools with limited material resources appear to have a stronger impact on academic achievement, independent of pupils’ family background, than within industrialized countries. This optimistic claim is undercut, however, by limitations in how pupil background characteristics have been specified within empirical models. I review 60 (multivariate) studies conducted in the Third World that (a) report on the school’s aggregate influence on academic achievement versus the influence of family background and (b) assess the relative influence of alternative school inputs and organizational practices, pointing to more efficient strategies for raising pupil achievement. A framework is introduced to critically evaluate this existing empirical work and to suggest a second generation of questions that researchers might ask in the future.
In the past two decades, cash-strapped countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been unable to provide even rudimentary primary education systems. User fees for primary education have become common, as has the intervention of parent-teacher associations (PTAs), which requires further fees. A look at the relationship between PTAs and local government in Jinja, Uganda, demonstrates that the de facto decentralization of the provision of primary education to PTAs provides an opportunity for building political accountability; when parents bring resources to the table, governments must share resources and responsibility and relationships of accountability emerge. These relationships are threatened by the new universal primary education (UPE) policy for which Uganda has few resources and little accountability. Current UNESCO initiatives for establishing UPE in Sub-Saharan Africa call for participation and accountability but may ignore the potential for accountability and improvement through partnerships between governments and PTAs.
L'interaction entre reproduction sociale, production du capital humain et developpement economique national est un objet de recherche majeur dans le cadre d'une etude comparative transnationale. Dans le cadre d'une opposition entre pays developpes, l'auteur tente de comprendre a quel niveau le developpement national economique influence le processus de reproduction sociale en milieu scolaire a travers la production du capital humain. L'influence de l'origine sociale et de l'environnement scolaire sur le rendement dans deux matieres, en science et mathematiques est illustree ici a travers la publication de donnees statistiques.
Participation, a 'buzzword' in social development in both developed and developing countries, has several different interpretations in terms of purpose, form and implication. For instance, parents are encouraged to participate individually in choosing the school for their own children, and they are expected to participate collectively in school development through the work of school governing bodies. Furthermore, participation in education is often considered to be a means of assuring accountability of decentralised institutions. This paper explores the notion of parental participation in school governance, based on data obtained from field research in Uganda. It argues that parents' perceptions of the accountability of the school affect the way they participate in education. Thus, accountability is one of the crucial factors for realising local democracy through decentralisation.
In this article school characteristics linked with educational effectiveness in 14 sub-Saharan African countries are identified. Effectiveness has been defined in terms of students' literacy achievement at the end of Grade 6, after taking their social and academic backgrounds into account. The data used are from the second major educational policy research study conducted by the 14 countries that constitute the Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality study (SACMEQ). This study, known as the SACMEQ II Project, collected questionnaire and test survey data from around 42,000 students in 2,300 schools in the 14 countries. Information about schools was obtained from questionnaires administered to teachers and principals. The multilevel methods (HLM) we used are appropriate for such analyses and the SACMEQ II nested data design. Schools are differentiated in terms of their social compositions, contexts, and resources (physical and human). Though student achievement is strongly associated with students' social and academic background in all SACMEQ countries, school effects vary across countries. Evident is a pattern of higher achievement in urban schools, with more resources and higher-quality teachers; achievement is typically lower in large schools and those that offer education in “shifts.” Policy implications are emphasized.
The effects of parental socioeconomic characteristics on highest grade of formal school completed are stable over cohorts born during the first half of the twentieth century. Mathematical analysis and empirical findings based on the 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation Survey show that linear models of the educational attainment process are stable over cohorts because their coefficients depend upon quantities which vary over time in offsetting directions. The coefficients are weighted sums of the associations between socioeconomic background and school continuation decisions where the weights are functions of the school continuation probabilities. Intercohort increases in school continuation rates by themselves imply declining background effects on educational attainment, but, over cohorts, the associations between background and continuation increase to offset the dampening effect of the changing marginal distribution of schooling. Stable linear model effects are the result.
This study, which is based on a longer report by Willms and Somers (2000), employs hierarchical linear regression models to examine the relationships between 3 schooling outcomes (language and mathematics achievement, and time to complete primary schooling) and family background, as well as various school policies and practices. The analyses employ data from the Primer Estudio Internacional Comparativo ( PEIC ; UNESCO, 1998), which includes data for 13 Latin American countries, with samples of approximately 100 schools in each country, and 40 grades 3 and 4 pupils sampled in each school. The study finds that the relationship between schooling outcomes and family background varies among countries. The most successful country, Cuba, has uniformly effective schools, and relatively small inequities along social class lines and between the sexes. Across all countries, the most effective schools tend to be those with: high levels of school resources; classrooms which are not multigrade, and where students are not grouped by ability; classrooms where children are tested frequently; classrooms and schools with a high level of parental involvement; and classrooms that have a positive classroom climate, especially with respect to classroom discipline. The article concludes with a discussion about how we might improve capability to monitor school performance in low-income countries.
▪ Abstract This review examines research on education and inequality in developing regions. In tracing the progress of this field of inquiry, it focuses on empirical studies of educational inequality in four broad areas: macro-structural forces shaping education and stratification; the relationship between family background and educational outcomes; school effects; and education's impact on economic and social mobility. It assesses the contributions of research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to the general study of education and social stratification and the theoretical leverage gained from examining stratification processes in developing regions of the world. Finally, the review discusses recent developments that hold promise for addressing the knowledge gaps that remain; these include utilizing relatively new data sources and methods in comparative, cross-national studies and greater collaboration between researchers who study strikingly similar questions but remain segregated due to their focus on ...
[1] The World Bank does not accept responsibility for the views expressed herein, which are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the World Bank or its affiliated organisations. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are the results of research or analysis supported by the Bank; they do not necessarily represent official policy of the Bank.
"Unfulfilled Expectations" examines the home and family characteristics, school teaching practices, and family-school relationships that affect the literacy development of low-income children. Eschewing comparisons across social class, the authors focus exclusively on an ethnically diverse group of low-income children in grades two, four, and six, the thirty-two subjects of an intensive two-year study and a follow-up study five years later.
Catherine Snow and her colleagues pinpoint the diverse home factors that can explain differential achievement by youngsters from the same socioeconomic background. These include the family's own uses of literacy, their attitudes toward and communication with the schools, their social networks, their rules and schedules, and their susceptibility to economic and psychological stress. This book also examines influences on literacy progress within the classroom, including the nature of the curriculum, the teachers' instructional emphases, the availability of varied literacy materials, and the teachers' expectations for children's achievement.
"Unfulfilled Expectations" challenges assumptions about low-income families' commitment to and interest in their children's schooling. The authors' original two-year study generated a relatively optimistic picture of the children and their progress in elementary school. The findings of their follow-up study are more disturbing; it documents declining achievement and lowered expectations for the children as they continue through secondary school. This book offers valuable recommendations for parents, teachers, and administrators to ensure that low-income children fulfill their early promise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recent research on education in the stratification system of the United States is reviewed in light of the demands for data and interpretation which would be generated by a set of national accounts for educational stratification. A descriptive scheme for locating school variables and educational outcomes in the stratification process is proposed. The basic characteristics of the present system of educational stratification in the United States are outlined. Some of the difficulties of measuring changes in the stratification process are illustrated. Methods and results of large-scale surveys of educational stratification are reviewed. Our limited capacity to produce detailed interpretations of the process of stratification which can be generalized to population cohorts is a major obstacle to improved knowledge and policy in the area of educational stratification.
These words captured the popular perception of the new report by James Coleman and his colleagues, Equality of Educational Opportunity (Coleman et al., 1966). Released on July 4, 1966, in a vain attempt to avoid publicity for what were regarded as politically intemperate
findings, the report was supposed to document what most assumed to be true: poor and minority children performed poorly in
school because their schools lacked resources. Instead, the Coleman report (as it became known) discovered that differences
among schools in average resources were not nearly as great as expected, and the impact of school resources on student achievement
was modest compared to the importance of students’ family backgrounds.
In 1998 the Government of Uganda (GoU) began implementing an ambitious reform programme called the Education Strategic Investment Plan (ESIP) in order to effect Universal Primary Education (UPE). This paper offers a perspective on how the GoU has met the challenge of financing education reform, addressed the need to improve the quality of basic education and increased access and equity while improving efficiency at primary and post-primary levels of education. The development model described in this paper privileges good governance and donor co-operation within a Sector Wide Approach. Important lessons have been learned in Uganda including the need for political commitment to universal primary education within a clear conception of whole sector reform. However, the discourse of SWAPs tends to function primarily in the formal sphere and not at the level of the experience of most teachers, pupils and their families, yet it is at this level that national education policies have to be mediated in practice. More attention needs to be given in education sector reform to the processes as well as the context of change.
In all countries that participated in the IALS, there is a strong relationship between the literacy skills of youth and family socioeconomic status. This relationship is referred to a socioeconomic gradient. One of the key findings of studies that examined socioeconomic gradients within countries is that gradients tend to converge at higher levels of socioeconomic status; that is, youth from advantaged backgrounds tend to do well in any jurisdiction, while those from less advantaged backgrounds vary considerably in their proficiency among jurisdictions. This paper summarizes the evidence for converging socioeconomic gradients stemming from research based on the IALS, and discusses its policy implications.
While some governments in Sub-Saharan Africa have abolished tuition to achieve universal primary education (UPE), few studies have examined the impacts of the UPE policy beyond school enrolment. This study estimates the impact of the UPE policy in Uganda on overall primary education attainments by using data including 940 rural households. We find that UPE has decreased delayed enrolments and increased grade completion rates up to the fifth grade and its effects are especially large among girls in poor households. Yet, schools in Uganda still face further challenges in terms of low internal efficiency and the unequal quality of education.
The paper evaluates the impact of Uganda’s program of “Universal Primary Education” which, starting from 1997, dispensed with fees for primary enrollment. We find that the program was associated with a dramatic increase in primary school attendance, that inequalities in attendance related to gender, income, and region, were substantially reduced, and that school fees paid by parents decreased at the primary but not at the secondary level. At the same time, the general decline in the quality of education suggests that, in order to lead to sustained improvements in attendance and to transform these into higher levels of human capital, the policy needs to be complemented by improvements in school quality and accessibility of secondary education.
Reprinted in: Educational Development in Africa - vol.I See IIEP Pub. Catalogue A.20
Reviews both the scholarly literature on the subject and donors' experience. The book provides an overview of primary education systems and argues that developing countries must do more to serve the needs of all children. Those who have traditionally been underrepresented in primary school - girls and children from poor and rural families - must have greater access to education and more encouragement to enroll. At the same time, the curriculum must be strengthened, teaching made more effective, and other measures taken to ensure that when students complete the primary cycle, they have mastered what is taught. The authors discuss strategies for improving five aspects of primary education systems. The book concludes by outlining the challenges countries face at different stages of educational development and then suggesting priorities for reform. Appendix tables provide data on 129 countries, individually and by income group. -from Publisher