Bendera, S. J. and M. W. Mboya (eds.)
1999. Gender and Education in Tanzanian Schools. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Dar es Salaam University Press.
This book is a result of different researchers who set out to study/analyze gender issues in Tanzanian schools, both at primary and secondary school levels. There are individual and collectively written chapters by Women Education Development Group (WED) members.
Clark, Ann and Elaine Millard (eds.)
1998. Gender in the Secondary Curriculum: Balancing the Books. London and New York: Routledge.
The 'gender gap' in schooling, as manifested by the current disparity in boys' and girls' achievement, continues to create problems for teachers. In this volume, a team of contributors consider the gender issues particular to a range of subjects in the secondary curriculum. They discuss effective strategies - supported by their research and practice - and offer some ways forward for teachers.
Diller, Ann, Barbara Houston, Kathryn Pauly Morgan, and Maryann Ayim;
with a foreword by Jane Roland Martin
1996. The Gender Question in Education: Theory, Pedagogy, and Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
These authors not only remind us of gender's centrality in education, but also provide us with immensely helpful ways in which to think and talk about gender and education. In the process, they have presented education's aims, its curricula, its institutional structures, its pedagogies, and its practices in a brilliant new light.
Dorsey, Betty Jo
1996. Gender Inequalities in Education in the Southern Africa Region: An Analysis of Intervention Strategies. Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe: UNESCO Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa.
UNESCO recognized the need for a study to be carried out in the southern region of Sub-Saharan Africa to analyze the education and training systems in order to compare the success of intervention strategies that have been applied to improve girls' access to and achievement in education, and to put forward recommendations for improving educational policies and practices with regard to the education of girls and women in the sub-region.
1985. Combating Poverty Through Adult Education: National Development Strategies. London and Dover, NH: Croom Helm, Limited.
This book, one of a number to be published in association with the International Council for Adult Education, is a collection of papers examining ways of fighting poverty in the Third World. It places adult education in a different context than it is frequently found in the more developed countries. As such, it should prove enlightening reading not only to those concerned with various aspects of adult education but also to those who are more concerned about world poverty and the process of development.
2000. Gender, Literacy, and Life Chances in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clevedon and Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.
The author asserts that the question of women's access to literacy touches virtually all spheres of women's private and social life within organized society, including issues of power, politics, economics, demographics, health, and child welfare, as well as their psychological well being. To varying extents, this work touches on all of these. Additionally, the book addresses the broader implications of low literacy levels among women for society as a whole.
Floro, Maria and Joyce M. Wolf (eds.)
1990. The Economic and Social Impacts of Girls' Primary Education in Developing Countries. Washington, DC: Creative Associates International, Inc.
This worldwide literature review was prepared as part of Creative Associates International, Inc.'s work under the Advancing Basic Education and Literacy (ABEL) project, the Agency for International Development's (USAID's) primary mechanism for assisting government and USAID missions worldwide in the design and implementation of basic education programs.
1994. The Education of Girls and Women Beyond Access: Contribution of UNESCO to the Fifth Regional Conference on Women. Dakar, Senegal: UNESCO.
This publication reviews the state of education of women and girls in Africa. It commends the efforts of governments, NGOs, and international agencies in promoting the education of girls and women.
1991. An Assessment of the Academic Performance of Female Students in Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
No one would doubt that education is the major vehicle to development, the panacea to women's problems. Governments allot so much of their budget for education based on this premise, which is the theme of this paper. As one of the least developed nations, Ethiopia suffers from a very low representation of women at all educational levels, especially at the tertiary level. This particular study emphasizes that females lag way behind males in terms of numbers as well as level of performance in higher education.
1998. Nonformal Education for Women in Zimbabwe: Empowerment Strategies and Status Improvement. Frankfurt am Main and New York: P. Lang.
This study is partly based on information and data gathered by the author in the course of a three-month traineeship (July-September 1996) in Harare, Zimbabwe. The primary aim of the study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the status of rural women in Zimbabwe with a special focus on historical factors.
Heward, Christine and Sheila Bunwaree (eds.)
1999. Gender, Education, and Development: Beyond Access to Empowerment. London and New York: Zed Books - Distributed in USA exclusively by St. Martin's Press.
This book grounds the education of women and girls in the realities of their lives and experiences in diverse areas of the developing world. The chapters all draw on substantial experiences in the field, giving a voice to groups of girls and women hitherto invisible. The book also presents a critical theoretical analysis of the World Bank's view of women's education. Including an overview chapter on the impact of structural adjustment on education throughout Latin America and Africa, the book provides detailed information on Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Niger, and Mauritius. It is useful reading for students, academics, and practitioners in education, development studies, and women's studies.
Hyde, Karin A.L.
1993. Gender Streaming as a Strategy for Improving Girls' Academic Performance: Evidence from Malawi. Zomba, Malawi: University of Malawi, Centre for Social Research.
This paper first reviews the major characteristics of female education in Malawi with an emphasis on the available data on performance. Data is collected from two co-ed secondary schools, which attempt to improve the performance of their female students through two types of gender streaming. Finally, implications for performance-enhancing strategies and for the conceptualization of female academic performance are discussed.
Hyde, Karin A.L. and Esme C. Kadzamira (eds.)
1994. Girls' Attainment in Basic Literacy and Education Project: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Pilot Survey: Final Report, August. Zomba, Malawi: University of Malawi, Centre for Social Research.
This study was conducted at the request of the GABLE (Girls' Attainment in Basic Literacy and Education) Social Mobilization Campaign in preparation for a pilot campaign in the Machinga District. The objectives were to gather data on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of parents with respect to their children's education; to obtain baseline measures in preparation for regular monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the campaign; and to provide other information to assist in the design of the campaign.
Jejeebhoy, Shireen J.
1996. Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour: Assessing What We Have Learned. New York: Guaranteed Printing.
In much of the world thus far, little attention has been paid to the education of girls. Huge gaps persist between women's and men's educational achievement. This book attempts to explain how to fill this gap. Synthesizing the available literature from various disciplines and regions, this review addresses the ways in which educating women affects their lives and their autonomy as well as the linkages between women's education and reproductive behavior.
Kelly, Gail P. and Carolyn M. Elliott (eds.)
1982. Women's Education in the Third World: Comparative Perspectives. Albany: State University of New York Press.
This book is organized around sets of closely related issues. It begins with a discussion of factors that affect women's access to education. It presents research that is sensitive to the cultural/historical context of each society and provides sufficient information to enable comparison among countries.
King, Elizabeth M. and Anne M. Hill (eds.)
1997. Women's Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits, and Policies. Baltimore and London: Published for the World Bank by the Johns Hopkins University Press.
This volume organizes recent data on the status of women's education in the developing world and links this information to indicators of development, such as income per capita, mortality rates, and fertility levels. This volume began as a collection of reviews of the literature commissioned by the World Bank's Population and Human Resources Department in preparation for an interagency conference on this topic at the World Bank in June 1989. Each review focused on the literature pertaining to one developing region.
Leo-Rhynie, Elsa and the Institute of Development and Labour Law, University
of Cape Town, South Africa
1999. Gender Mainstreaming in Education: A Reference Manual for Governments and Other Stakeholders. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.
This manual is intended to assist readers in using a GMS to mainstream gender in the education sector. It is part of a Gender Management System Series, which provides tools and sector-specific guidelines for gender mainstreaming. This manual is intended to be used in combination with the other documents in the Gender System Series, particularly the Gender Management System Handbook.
Oever-Pereira, Pietronella van den
1979. Training Women in Rural Africa: A Sahelian Case Study. Project Report (M. P. S. [Agr.]) - Cornell University, September.
The purpose of this report is to utilize the experience of several years of fieldwork in West Africa to illuminate the process of involving African rural women in education for economic development. The experience reported in this was gained in Mali from 1971 to 1975.
Osuman, Grace Iyabo
1997. The Education of Women in Developing Countries. Makurdi, Nigeria: Osuman & Co.
This book carefully examines the mitigating factors responsible for the stunted development of women in various areas of endeavor. It also brings to the fore some of the repugnant suppressive laws and traditional practices that discriminate against women. It not only makes useful suggestions, but also describes vividly the practical steps to take in order to sensitize women in both urban and rural areas.
Sweetman, Caroline (ed.)
1998. Gender, Education and Training. Oxford, UK: Oxfam.
This collection of articles by development workers and researchers focuses on the role of education and training in promoting equality between women and men in all areas of development. They discuss a broad range of opportunities for learning, giving attention to both formal and informal education. A resource list includes books, journals, and websites.
Thody, Angela and Eleanor Stella M. Kaabwe (eds.)
2000. Educating Tomorrow: Lessons from Managing Girls' Education in Africa. Kenwyn, South Africa: Juta.
The case studies in this book highlight the critical role of education in gender equality. As an agent of socialization and a key determinant of future life chances, education represents an important arena in which strategic interventions can be made in favor of gender equality.
2001. Schooling, Diaspora and Gender: Being Feminist and Being Different. Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press.
This book illustrates the changing location for research on ethnic minority girls and boys by a series of reflections on two different research projects she undertook, over a decade apart. This book is grounded in the author's strong history of active engagement in the educational politics of these issues. It sets up a case which is not simply about what is done to minority groups in education, and not simply about how minority groups experience their education, but is an original contribution to feminist theorizing of difference, and schooling debates about students of minority cultural background.
Walters, Shirley (ed.)
1997. Globalization, Adult Education and Training: Impacts and Issues. New York and London: Zed Books.
This collection of critical essays from leading academics, professional practitioners, and education activists from more than a dozen countries looks at the impact of globalization on adult education and training (AET), with a particular focus on women. The authors explore the effectiveness of AET strategies, workplace training, and experiential learning in diverse contexts and countries.
Wamahiu, Sheila Parvyn
1997. The Empowerment of Women Through Functional Literacy and the Education of the Girl-Child: Report of the African Conference on the Empowerment of Women Through Functional Literacy and the Education of the Girl-Child: Organized by the Government of Uganda and the Organization of African Unity: Kampala, Uganda, 8-13 September 1996. Nairobi, Kenya: UNICEF ESARO.
This report highlights issues that impact the education of the girl-child. These issues consist of safety and security in schools and alternative approaches to functional literacy. It also highlights pledges for female education from both high enrollment countries and countries with relatively high but declining enrollments, as well as pledges from relatively low enrollment countries.
Wamahiu, Sheila Parvyn
1994. The Status of Girls' Education in Africa: An Overview Under the Theme "Achievement." Nairobi, Kenya: Forum for African Women Educationalists.
This paper views educational achievement as a multi-dimensional concept, encompassing several hierarchical levels. In order to reduce the gender gap in educational achievement, it is vital to demonstrate personal commitment to the cause of female education; have an empathetic understanding of the problem; design relevant, contextual and creative solutions; and adopt "package" or holistic intervention strategies that take into consideration the linkages between various underlying factors and consequences.
Wrigley, Julia (ed.)
1992. Education and Gender Equality. London and Washington, DC: Falmer Press.
This book grew out of a special issue of Sociology of Education. It analyzes gender and education from a comparative and historical perspective, with particular attention to the role of the state, 'Diversity, Social Control, and Resistance in Classrooms,' and 'Gender and Knowledge.' The authors seek to understand the many ways in which the private world of families and the public world of schools intersect.
Castro, Teresa Martin
1995. Women's Education and Fertility: Results from 26 Demographic and Health Surveys. Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 26, No. 4 (July/August), pp. 187-202.
This article presents an updated overview of the relationship between women's education and fertility. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys for 26 countries are examined. The analysis confirms that higher education is consistently associated with lower fertility. However, a considerable diversity exists in the magnitude of the gap between upper and lower educational strata and in the strength of the association. In some of the least-developed countries, education might have a positive impact on fertility at the lower end of the educational range. Yet, compared with patterns documented a decade ago, the fertility-enhancing impact of schooling has become increasingly rare. The study also examines the impact of female education on age at marriage, family-size preference, and contraceptive use. It confirms that education enhances women's ability to make reproductive choices.
Cubbins, Lisa A.
1991. Women, Men, and the Division of Power: A Study of Gender Stratification in Kenya. Social Forces, Vol. 69, No. 4 (June), pp. 1063-1083.
This study demonstrates the importance of modern and traditional sources of macro-level economic power in explaining gender stratification in developing countries. The author argues that gender differences in the macro-level distribution of adult economic power affect boys' and girls' privilege through the investments of their parents. Census and ethnographic data from Kenya for 1969 and 1979 are analyzed in testing hypotheses derived from the Blumberg theory of gender stratification. The author compares how adult employment, technical expertise in the traditional division of labor, and inheritance rights affect children's privilege in education. The economic power of both sexes is found to influence children's education in Kenya. In general, modern sources of adult economic power increase formal schooling, while traditional sources reduce children's education.
Desai, Sonalde and Soumya Alva
1998. Maternal Education and Child Health: Is There a Strong Causal Relationship? Demography, Vol. 35, No. 1 (February), pp. 71-81.
Using data from the first round of Demographic and Health Surveys for 22 developing countries, the authors examine the effect of maternal education on three markers of child health: infant mortality, children's height-for-age, and immunization status. In contrast to other studies, they argue that although there is a strong correlation between maternal education and markers of child health, a causal relationship is far from established. Education acts as a proxy for the socioeconomic status of the family and geographic area of residence. Introducing controls for husband's education and access to piped water and toilet attenuate the impact of maternal education on infant mortality and children's height-for-age. This effect is further reduced by controlling for area of residence through the use of fixed-effects models. In the final model, maternal education has a statistically significant impact on infant mortality and height-for-age in only a handful of countries. In contrast, maternal education remains statistically significant for children's immunization status in about one-half of the countries, even after individual-level and community-level controls are introduced.
Fuller, Bruce, Judith D. Singer, and Margaret Keiley
1995. Why Do Daughters Leave School in Southern Africa? Family Economy and Mothers' Commitments. Social Forces, Vol. 74, No. 2. (December), pp. 657-681.
By focusing on the family economy and its capacity to mediate broad economic developments, sociologists are beginning to move beneath macro structural forces to better explain parental demand for schooling and children's attainment. This materialist model focuses on the explanatory power of contextual labor demand and resources internal to the family. Parents' social preferences and commitments, antecedent to "choosing" between work and school for their children, are presumed to converge with economic factors. In contrast, research on family practices within impoverished settings reveals that parents' social commitments linked to child development or schooling can vary independently of the family's economic circumstances. Applying these alternative theories to family behavior in Southern Africa, the authors assess the relative influence of mothers' economic demands and social commitments on their daughter's probability of staying in school. They found that the risk of daughters leaving school is more strongly influenced by mothers' social commitments than by household economics. Maternal influences do interact with selected family-economy indicators and are conditioned by the level of discretionary time afforded to daughters.
Jacobs, Jerry A.
1996. Gender Inequality and Higher Education. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 22, pp. 153-185.
This paper reviews a diverse literature on gender and higher education. Gender inequality is more pronounced in some aspects of the educational system than in others. The analysis distinguishes access to higher education, college experiences, and post collegiate outcomes. Women fare relatively well in the area of access, less well in terms of the college experience, and are particularly disadvantaged with respect to the outcomes of schooling. Explanations of gender inequality in higher education should distinguish between these different aspects of education and should explain those contexts in which women have attained parity as well as those in which they continue to lag behind men.
Levels and Trends in Reproductive Behavior
Knodel, John and Gavin W. Jones
1996. Post-Cairo Population Policy: Does Promoting Girls' Schooling Miss the Mark? Population and Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (December), pp. 683-702.
One emphasis of the new population paradigm that emerged at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo concerns gender inequality in education and the need to promote girls' schooling at the secondary level, both as a goal of human development and as a means to encourage lower fertility in developing countries. A critical weakness of this approach to population and development policy is that it fails to address the socioeconomic inequality that deprives both boys and girls of adequate schooling. Such unbalanced attention to one dimension of inequality detracts from the attention accorded to other dimensions. Moreover, while female disadvantage remains an important feature of educational access in some regions, there are numerous countries, even within the developing world, where the gender gap in education is absent or modest, and in almost all countries it has been diminishing substantially over the last few decades. By contrast, the authors contend, inequality in education based on socioeconomic background is nearly universal and, in most cases, more pronounced than gender inequality. Data from various developing countries, especially Thailand and Vietnam, are documented in the review.
Lloyd, Cynthia B. and Anastasia J. Gage-Brandon
1994. High Fertility and Children's Schooling in Ghana: Sex Differences in Parental Contributions and Educational Outcomes. Population Studies, Vol. 48, No. 2 (July), pp. 293-306.
This paper explores the linkages at the family level between sustained high fertility and children's schooling in Ghana, in the context of a constrained economic environment and rising school fees. The unique feature of the paper is its exploration of the operational significance of alternative definitions of "sib size" - the number of "same-mother" siblings and "same-father" siblings - in relation to enrollment, grade attainment, and school dropout rates for boys and girls of primary and secondary school age. The analysis is based on the first wave of the Ghana Living Standards Measurement Survey (GLSS) data, collected in 1987-88. The results of the statistical analysis led to the conclusion that the co-existence of high fertility, rising school costs, and economic reversals is having a negative impact on the education of girls, in terms of dropout rates and grade attainment. Some of the costs of high fertility are borne by older siblings (particularly girls) rather than by parents, with the result that children from larger families experience greater inequality between themselves and their siblings by sex and birth order. Because fathers have more children on average than mothers, the inequality between their children appears to be even greater than between mothers' children, particularly given the importance of the fathers' role in the payment of school fees. The paper concludes that the greatest cost for children in Ghana of sustained high fertility is likely to be the reinforcement of traditional sex roles, largely a product of high fertility in the past.
Lloyd, Cynthia B. and Ann K. Blanc
1996. Children's Schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Fathers, Mothers, and Others. Population and Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 2 (June), pp. 265-298.
This article examines the determinants of children's school enrollment and completion of primary grade four - one of UNICEF's key indicators of social progress - in seven countries of sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the role of parents and other household members in providing children with educational and residential support. While in most of these countries a substantial majority of 10- to 14-year-old children are currently enrolled in school, many fewer children by this age have attained a minimum of a fourth grade education, primarily due to late ages of entry into school and slow progress from grade to grade. The resources of a child's residential household, in particular the education of the household head and the household standard of living, are determining factors in explaining variations among children in these aspects of schooling. By contrast, a child's biological parents appear to play a less critical role, as demonstrated by comparing the educational record of orphans with that of children whose parents are still living. Furthermore, children living in female-headed households have better school outcomes than children living in male-headed households, when households with similar resources are compared.
Shapiro, David and Oleko B. Tambashe
1994. The Impact of Women's Employment and Education on Contraceptive Use and Abortion in Kinshasa, Zaire. Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 25, No. 2 (March/April), pp. 96-110.
This report examines contraceptive behavior and abortion among women residing in Kinshasa, Zaire's capital city, with particular emphasis on women's employment and education. Data is collected from 1990, covering 2,399 women of reproductive age. While the practice of contraception is a common event in Kinshasa, dominated by the rhythm method, the use of modern contraceptives remains limited, but is on the rise. Induced abortion is reported by 15% of the ever-pregnant women in the survey. Women's employment and education are strongly linked to contraceptive use and abortion, and differences in the incidence of abortion by schooling and employment status appear to play an important role in contributing to corresponding observed differences in fertility. Modern contraceptives and induced abortion appear to be used as complementary fertility control strategies in Kinshasa, and analyses of the findings suggest that better educated women employed in the modern sector are most likely to be in the forefront of the contraceptive revolution.
1998. Adolescent Childbearing in Developing Countries: A Global Review. Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 29, No. 2, Adolescent Reproductive Behavior in the Developing World (June), pp. 117-136.
This article discusses the current levels and recent trends in the rate of adolescent childbearing, the timing of the first birth, and births to unmarried women for 43 developing countries. Differences in rates of adolescent childbearing by residence and level of education are also examined. The analysis is based on nationally representative fertility surveys. Substantial declines in adolescent fertility have occurred in North Africa and Asia, but levels are still high in some countries. Declines are beginning to occur in sub-Saharan Africa, but current levels are still high in most countries of this region, and the proportion of births to unmarried adolescents is increasing in some countries. In Latin America, where the level of teenage childbearing is moderate, declines are less prevalent and some small increases have occurred. Higher education is associated with lower rates of adolescent childbearing, but other socioeconomic changes cancel or reduce this effect in several countries.
Wall, Lewis L.
1998. Dead Mothers and Injured Wives: The Social Context of Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Among the Hausa of Northern Nigeria. Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 29, No. 4 (December), pp. 341-359.
Northern Nigeria has a maternal mortality ratio greater than 1,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Serious maternal morbidity (for example, vesico-vaginal fistula) is also common. Among the most important factors contributing to this tragic situation are: an Islamic culture that undervalues women; a perceived social need for women's reproductive capacities to be under strict male control; the practice of purdah to cover universal female illiteracy; marriage at an early age and pregnancy often occurring before maternal pelvic growth is complete; a high rate of obstructed labor; directly harmful traditional medical beliefs and practices; inadequate facilities to deal with obstetric emergencies; a deteriorating economy; and a political culture marked by rampant corruption and inefficiency. The convergence of all of these factors has resulted in one of the worst records of female reproductive health existing anywhere in the world.
Wils, Annababette and Anne Goujon
1998. Diffusion of Education in Six World Regions, 1960-90. Population and Development Review, Vol. 24, No. 2 (June), pp. 357-368.
Education has been found to be related to fertility and hence population growth, to the status of women, and to labor force skills. Therefore, education is a central issue for development, and it is important to understand the dynamics of education diffusion throughout populations during development. This note analyzes trends in school enrollment and adult education achievement for six world regions, 1960-90. There has been an enormous global increase in both measures of education. Gaps between male and female enrollment remain, and the gap is larger at lower levels of education. As enrollment rates increase and the average level of adult education rises, the gender gap narrows considerably.
2000. Educational and Economic Reforms, Gender Equity, and Access to Schooling in Africa. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 41(1):89-120, January.
This paper investigates the relationship between economic reforms, particularly the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Programs and educational policies with regard to gender equity in access to schooling in Africa. Using qualitative, historical, and quantitative methods and based on data from UNESCO and African Development Bank, it analyzes the impact of economic factors, specifically gross domestic investment, public expenditure on education as a percentage of gross national product, public expenditure on education as a percentage of government expenditure, and government deficit/surplus as a percentage of GDP at current prices, on women's access to higher education.
Barrett, H. and A. Browne
1996. Health, Hygiene and Maternal Education: Evidence from The Gambia. Social Science & Medicine 43(11):1579-1590, December.
This paper explores the ways in which women's education influences domestic hygiene practices and use of health care services in a traditional agricultural village in The Gambia. The "environment of health" is one of poverty, high morbidity, and low levels of female literacy. A detailed household survey was undertaken in the rainy season when agricultural work is demanding of people's time and energy and morbidity rates are high. Mothers with and without formal education and with at least one child under five years were included in the study. Small differences were found between the educated and uneducated group in the knowledge and practice of household hygiene. The healthcare services in the village were utilized by all women regardless of whether or not they had been to school, but educated mothers appeared to have a better understanding of health education messages. The case study illustrates the synergy between health, hygiene, and maternal education and discusses the implications of the findings.
2002. National Policies on Pregnancy in Education Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Botswana. Gender and Education 14(1):21-35, March.
The article critiques pregnancy policies in the education systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Policies discussed are divided into expulsion, re-entry, and continuation policies. Arguing from the standpoint of theories of oppression, it is postulated that expulsion policies symbolize direct violence against girls who become pregnant and are more common in those countries with poor human rights records. Continuation and re-entry policies are prevalent in countries that have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is argued that re-entry policies also violate girl mothers' right to education through a retreat ideology that requires temporary withdrawal of the pregnant girl from school. Moreover, gender inequalities are built into the policies and supported by traditional and institutional ideologies that make re-entry of the girl mother into the school difficult. The Botswana re-entry policy is reviewed to illustrate difficulties in the readmission of girl mothers to school.
Curtin, T.R.C. and E.A.S. Nelson
1999. Economic and Health Efficiency of Education Funding Policy. Social Science & Medicine 48(11):1599-1611, June.
Public spending programs to reduce poverty, expand primary education, and improve the economic status of women are recommended priorities of aid agencies and are now gradually being reflected in Third World governments' policies, in response to aid conditions imposed by the World Bank and OECD countries. However, outcomes fall short of aspiration. This paper shows that donors' lending policies, especially those restricting public spending on education to the primary level, perpetuate poverty, minimize socio-economic impact of public health programs, and prevent significant improvement in the economic status of women. These effects are the result of fundamental flaws in the donors' education policy model. Evidence is presented to show that health status in developing countries will be significantly enhanced by increasing the proportion of the population that has at least post-primary education. Heads of households with just primary education have much the same probability of experiencing poverty and high mortality of their children as those with no education at all.
Ekani-Bessala, M.M., N. Carre, T. Calvez, and P. Thonneau
1998. Prevalence and Determinants of Current Contraceptive Method Use in a Palm Oil Company in Cameroon. Contraception 58(1):29-34, July.
The principal reasons given by African women for not using contraception include lack of economic power and control over their choice of partner. An epidemiologic descriptive survey of a cross-section of the female personnel of a Cameroonian palm oil company (SOCAPALM) was carried out in August 1995 to evaluate the various determinants and level of use of various family planning methods in a well-defined population of women in employment. The adjusted odds ratios showed that use of modern contraceptive methods was significantly associated with the woman having received secondary education, having more than three children, being the head of the household, and, in cases where there was a man regularly present in the household, his approval of family planning. Recently receiving information (during the last month) about family planning was not identified by multivariate analysis as a significant factor affecting the decision to use modern or traditional contraception. The same factors were found to be associated with the use of traditional methods of contraception, but having had an illegal abortion was also associated with the use of such methods.
1999. Education and Perceptions of Social Status and Power Among Women in Larteh, Ghana. Africa Today 46(2):67-91, Spring.
In examining the status of women in developing countries, most research emphasizes the impact of development indicators, such as income or health, on women. This paper moves beyond development indicators by discussing women's own perceptions of social status and power in Larteh, a rural town in Ghana. This paper focuses particularly on the effects of gender and education on perceptions of social status and power. The first section provides a brief overview of the history of Ghana, which allows the reader to understand the current position of women in Ghana. The second section places the definitions of social status and power within an African context. The third section analyzes 24 interviews collected in Larteh, Ghana. The interviews asked respondents to discuss their own social status and power in relation to their community. Overall, the findings indicate that a woman's perception of increased social status and power is dependent on education and occupation. Other factors influencing perceptions of social status and power include wealth and culturally embedded positions held within the community, such as elder, chief, or priestess.
Glick, P. and D.E. Sahn
1999. Schooling of Girls and Boys in a West African Country: The Effects of Parental Education, Income, and Household Structure. Economics of Education Review 19(1):63-87, February.
In this paper the authors investigate gender differences in the determinants of several schooling indicators - grade attainment, current enrollment, and withdrawal from school - in a poor urban environment in West Africa, using ordered and binary probit models incorporating household-level random effects. Increases in household income led to greater investments in girls' schooling but had no significant impact on schooling of boys. Improvements in father's education raise the schooling of both sons and daughters (favoring the latter) but mother's education has significant impact only on daughters' schooling; these estimates are suggestive of differences in maternal and paternal preferences for schooling daughters relative to sons. Domestic responsibilities, represented for example by the number of very young siblings, impinge strongly on girls' education but not on boys'. Policies such as subsidized childcare that reduce the opportunity cost of girls' time in the home may therefore increase their ability to get an education.
Kirk, D. and B. Pillet
1998. Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Studies in Family Planning 29(1):1-22, March.
This study presents an assessment of fertility trends in 23 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. It examines trends and differentials in proximate determinants and fertility preferences. Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys for these countries over a period of 15 years show that desired family size has decreased significantly. Two-thirds of the countries examined show evidence of fertility decline, a particularly rapid decline in the cases of Kenya and Zimbabwe. Areas with higher education for women experienced lower child mortality and desired family size. Contraceptive use far exceeds other proximate determinants in explaining these changes. The striking regularity in fertility reduction across all ages indicates that contraception is practiced mostly for birth spacing and that contraceptive methods have gained wide acceptance among younger cohorts. Good prospects are seen for further intensification of fertility declines in East Africa and urban West Africa. However, low levels of education and high child mortality make rapid changes unlikely in rural West Africa.
2001. Main and Interaction Effects of Women's Education and Status on Fertility: The Case of Tanzania. European Journal of Population-Revue Europeenne de Demographie 17(2):107-135.
When various sources of spuriousness are taken into account, it is found that giving a woman more education reduces her fertility much less than suggested by unvaried tabulations of the total fertility rate. Expansion of primary education contributes to only a slightly higher age at first birth, and the effect on higher-order birth rates is not significant. Changes in post-partum insusceptibility outweigh those in fertility desires and use of modern contraception among women not wanting an additional child. Secondary school enrollment influences fertility more markedly, in particular because of a later first birth. Effects of women's status are estimated in models for actual fertility as well as fertility desires, post-partum insusceptibility and contraceptive use, using up to six macro- or micro-level indicators. All significant effects suggest that empowerment of women will tend to push fertility down, net of education. The significant interactions between women's status and education point in different directions, but a majority of them indicate that education has the most pronounced effect on fertility in the more egalitarian regions and among women with relatively high individual status.
Kritz, M.M. and P. Makinwa-Adebusoye
1999. Determinants of Women's Decision-Making Authority in Nigeria: The Ethnic Dimension. Sociological Forum 14(3):399-424, September.
Using data from a 1991 survey of five ethnic groups in Nigeria, this paper looks at the determinants of wives' decision-making authority. The analysis shows that ethnicity plays a very important role in shaping wives' decision-making authority and is even more important than wives' individual-level characteristics as a determinant of authority. The ethnic effect occurs both by shaping the levels of resources that women achieve and by shaping the relationships of wives' achieved characteristics to family decision-making. To the extent that characteristics other than ethnicity make a difference for authority, it is revealed that wives' contributions to household expenditures are important. That factor significantly increases wives' authority, as do wives' formal education, age, and work for pay outside the home. The findings underscore the importance of looking at ethnic social differentiation in the African context and advancing educational and employment opportunities for women.
Locoh, T. and M.P. Thiriat
1995. Divorce and Remarriage in West Africa - The Situation in Togo. Population 50(1):61-93, January/February.
The high matrimonial mobility of West African women is only generally analyzed by demographers as a correlate in polygamy research (on men) or as a fertility factor. Anthropological literature, on the other hand, has investigated the subject in its own right, weighing up the pros and cons of marriage, widowhood, and divorce for the status of women. Analysis of the matrimonial data on women surveyed in the DHS Togo survey (1988) confirms certain observations and interpretations by ethnologists. It shows the fragility of couples during the first few years of marriage. Multivariance analysis measures the impact of the housing environment, level of education, matrimonial co-habitation, infertility, and ethnic specificities on the risk of divorce. The last few years seem to have been marked by a rising trend in the probability of marriage breakups and remarriage. It still remains to be found out whether these new matrimonial trends result in a real gain in the autonomy of women or whether, on the contrary, women are less secure and more dependent on the person able to help them raise their children.
Shapiro, D. and B.O. Tambashe
2001. Gender, Poverty, Family Structure, and Investments in Children's Education in Kinshasa, Congo. Economics of Education Review 20(4):359-375, August.
This paper examines school enrollment and educational attainment in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and second-largest city in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors focus on the impact of poverty, household structure, and economic well-being on investments in children's education and differences by gender in such investments. These issues are addressed using data from a 1990 survey that provided information on the enrollment status and educational attainment of more than 8,500 youths aged 6-25. Findings indicate that increased economic well-being translates into greater investments in children's education for both females and males. However, improved economic status does not necessarily result in reduced gender differences in school outcomes. In addition, family structure (as measured by the number of children in the household in different age groups) and a child's relationship to the head of the household are also found to be significant influences on investments in children's education.
Shapiro, D. and B.O. Tambashe
1997. Education, Employment, and Fertility in Kinshasa and Prospects for Changes in Reproductive Behavior. Population Research and Policy Review 16(3):259-287, June.
This paper examines fertility behavior of women in Kinshasa, Zaire's capital city, with a population of roughly four million. The authors look at relationships linking women's education, employment, and fertility behavior (children ever born, age at first marriage, contraception, abortion, breastfeeding, and postpartum abstinence), using data from a 1990 survey of reproductive-age women. Other things equal, there are significant differences by educational attainment and by modern sector employment in lifetime fertility and in most of the proximate determinants as well. The results suggest that modern contraception and abortion are alternative fertility control strategies in Kinshasa, with abortion appearing to play an important role in contributing to the observed fertility differentials by education and employment. The dramatic increases that have taken place in women's access to secondary and higher education are likely to reduce fertility in the future, while the effects of Zaire's current economic and political crisis are uncertain.