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1.2.3 Quality of Education and School-Level Determinants
The survival rate to grade 5 in countries such as Mozambique for pupils who were over-age by two or more years was around
15%
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Rwanda has also shown how grade retention influences school dropout because it results in many pupils being over-age6 for their grade (MINEDUC/UNICEF, 2017). Research on the United Republic of Tanzania shows a higher likelihood of over-age children (by two or more years) dropping out towards the end of the primary school cycle than children who are at the appropriate age for their grade (McAlpine, 2009). The survival rate to grade 5 in countries such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe for pupils who were over-age by two or more years was around 15 per cent lower than for pupils who were at the appropriate age for their grade (EPDC, 2009, cited in UNICEF and UIS, 2015).7
PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION
Quantitative evidence from low-income countries indicates that children entering primary school after a successful pre-school education programme demonstrate better test-score performance, greater class participation and effort, and higher school completion rates (Berlinski, Galiani and Gertler, 2009; Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007). A recent impact evaluation of the Accelerated School Readiness (ASR) programme in Mozambique (UNICEF, 2020) showed substantial and sustained differences in pupils’ achievement at the end of Grade 1 as a result of exposure to the ASR programme. Yet, the Government’s supply of pre-schools is inadequate across the ESAR. Furthermore, the uneven and unregulated supply is dominated by private providers and remains the preserve of privileged urban elites (UNICEF and UIS, 2015). Earlier studies showed that only 4 per cent of children are enrolled in pre-school in Mozambique, and most come from affluent, urban populations (Martinez, Naudeau and Pereira, 2012).
completion rates.
1.2.2 HOUSEHOLD SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND
A review of studies conducted in developing countries show agreement that levels of dropout and high school absenteeism from primary school can be explained primarily by the socio-economic status of the family and household (Levy, 1971; Sommers, 2005; Roby, Lambert and Lambert, 2009; Casey, 2014). SDG 4 (Quality education) affirms that, in developing countries, children in the poorest households are four times more likely to be out of school than those in well-off households. They are less likely to be attending school, and those who do, are more likely to repeat grades and abandon school before the completion of a full cycle of primary education (UNICEF and UIS, 2015). One of the explanations is the limited time spent by parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds in supporting their child’s learning compared to families with a higher socio-economic status, often due to other conflicting demands on their time. Statistical analysis has showed how limited parental involvement can negatively impact school attendance and result in lower academic performance and eventually school dropout (Ho Sui-Chu and Willms, 1996; Jeynes, 2003). Furthermore, for children from poorer backgrounds, the pressure to withdraw from school increases as they get older, particularly as the opportunity cost of their time increases due to economic burdens in the household (Hunt, 2008: 8; Baiden et al., 2019).
6 “Over-age pupils” are those who are older than the official school-age range for the educational programme that they are enrolled in. – UIS-UNESCO Glossary, http://uis.unesco.org/en/glossary 7 In primary school in Mozambique, the cycles are Grades 1–3, 4–5 (both EP1) and 6–7 (EP2). Progression within cycles is automatic, but between cycles, it is dependent on passing national exams (MINEDH, 2012: 13).
A quantitative study conducted in the Sofala Province of Mozambique shows a correlation between household income and enrolment, and between household income and child attendance (Roby, Lambert and Lambert, 2009:346). The study shows a statistically significant difference in level of school attendance between low-income and wealthier families. Yet, compared to enrolment rates, attendance rates were lower for all income levels. Indeed, the study found that even with a higher income, school attendance can be a challenge due to other factors involved.
Among these factors, community infrastructure is a salient determinant. Quantitative evidence in research conducted by Ortiz et al. (2015) in Brazil, for instance, shows how, when not connected to the water and sewerage system, household members, in particular children, can be more prone to the contagion of water-related and -transmitted diseases that prevent them from attending school. In these cases, children may also end up spending more time collecting and carrying water and managing water storage. “It is through these health and leisure time use changes that access to water and sanitation services impacts the educational attainment of children” (ibid.: 1).
CHILDREN’S WORK AT HOME OR OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLD
Socio-economic stress also increases the family’s reliance on the child’s time and labour contribution to support household livelihoods. In a sample of 60 developing countries, pupils had a high on-attendance rate because of work (UNICEF and UIS, 2015). Sabates et al. (2010) draw on quantitative data analysis from African countries to show how rural households rely on children’s help during harvesting times. Because seasonal work often clashes with school timetables, this may lead to periodic withdrawals from school, resulting in high absenteeism, especially for boys (ibid.). Drawing on qualitative evidence from Mozambique and the time spent on housework (Roby, Lambert and Lambert (2009: 346) argue that twice as many girls as boys are likely to not attend.
They also show how, in exceptional circumstances and unforeseen events such as environmental hazards, families adopt alternative coping strategies to survive, for instance, recurring to the help of children in small income-generation activities such as selling coal or wood (ibid.). Here, the priority for families from the lower socio-economic strata is to provide food, with education becoming less important. Hence, environmental stressors and climate change further exacerbate poverty and household vulnerabilities, resulting in school disruption and a detrimental longterm impact on learning outcomes (UNICEF SEER, 2011).
VALUE ATTRIBUTED TO EDUCATION BY PARENTS AND THE COMMUNITY
The low value given to education in the community and society is another major factor affecting school attendance and dropout in Mozambican schools (Nivagara et al., 2016:41). Parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of how education can influence life and work opportunities are factors that influence the decision to withdraw early or keep the child in school. Similarly, quantitative evidence shows how the likelihood to access secondary school and the perceived ability Access to water and sanitation services impacts the educational attainment of children.
THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION
of the child to make progress through the grades can affect the priority placed on schooling within the household (Sabates et al., 2010: 13).
The parents’ level of education is commonly a factor predicting the role that they play and the level of their involvement in the education of their children. For example, research on Rwanda has shown that parents with higher levels of education are more likely to send their child to pre-school (MINEDUC/UNICEF, 2017:116). Data from Mozambique confirm these findings: among children whose caregivers had completed at least primary school (Grade 6 or higher), 83 per cent attended school, compared to only 57 per cent of the children whose caregivers had not completed any schooling (Roby, Lambert and Lambert, 2009: 347). Similar findings also emerged from a more recent qualitative study conducted in schools from northern, central and southern Mozambique (Nivagara et al., 2016). The study shows how educated household heads make efforts to keep children in school and help those who have dropped out to return.
1.2.3 QUALITY OF EDUCATION AND SCHOOL-LEVEL DETERMINANTS
The quality of education is one of the critical factors impacting a child and a family’s decision to attend or leave school. Structural and material factors (e.g. classroom’s conditions, learning material, water and sanitation facilities), quality of teaching and teachers’ ability to equally engage and motivate pupils, as well as language and pre-school attendance are some of the main determinants for school attendance and attainment identified in the literature.
SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES
The literature analysing the relationship between the level of school’s resources and the pupil’s achievement dates back to the pioneering work by Coleman et al. (1966). Already in the 1980s, Heyneman and Loxley (1983) argued that, despite a substantial variation in school quality, the impact of school and the quality of the teachers on pupils’ performance are comparatively greater than the family’s socio-economic status in lower-income countries. They suggest that “the poorer the national setting in economic terms, the more powerful [the school and teacher quality effect] appears to be” (1983: 1184).
In many ESAR countries, there is a general lack of resources and adequate conditions for learning in rural schools, which quantitative and qualitative evidence shows has a negative impact on school attendance (UNICEF and UIS, 2015). Indeed, limited resources translate into over-crowded structures offering mediocre to poor facilities. In these cases, there is a lack of basic features (e.g. chairs, blackboards) and/or resources such as teaching material (Ravishankar et al., 2010), as well as of appropriate sanitation facilities (Jasper, 2012).
Recent attention has also been drawn to possible linkages between poor sanitation in schools and low attendance rates among post-pubescent girls
(UNICEF and CISM, 2019). In Zambia, the dropout rate between Grades 1 and 9 for girls increases exponentially from about 1 to 7.4 per cent. Here, there is a strong correlation with the availability or lack of appropriate (i.e. separated by sex) sanitation in schools (UNICEF, 2014). Using qualitative data from girls and teachers, research in Kenya clearly suggests that improved access could address some key emotional and practical problems underlying girls’ absenteeism (Jewitt and Ryley, 2014). In these cases, absenteeism can also be specific to menstruation, as reported by post-pubescent schoolgirls in the United Republic of Tanzania and South Africa (Sommer, 2010; Abrahams et al., 2006). The combination of poor household resources and inappropriate water and sanitation facilities at school can prevent girls from attending during their menstrual period.
QUALITY OF TEACHERS: QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOL
Drawing on an analysis of the cumulative effects of teachers on pupils’ academic achievement over grade levels, Sanders and Rivers (1996) have argued for the importance of ensuring high quality and well-prepared teachers for all pupils, regardless of race, ethnicity or income. Indeed, research demonstrates a significant correlation between pupil academic achievement and teacher quality (Sanders and Rivers, 1996). Yet the Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) survey conducted by the World Bank (2018; 2019) on quality performance in Mozambique’s primary schools demonstrated that teacher performance was low despite the available facilities and materials (such as toilets, textbooks and blackboards), which was relatively high compared to other African countries where the same survey was conducted.8 The SDI highlighted how the biggest challenge in Mozambique was teachers’ low level of knowledge of the content they need to teach and their low pedagogical skills.
In addition, teachers’ absenteeism rate (45%) was also found to negatively impact pupils’ learning outcomes and to increase pupils’ absenteeism rate (Molina and Martin, 2015; Jarousse et al., 2009). Studies assessing the quality of education in primary schools in Mozambique through national surveys (sample of 176 schools) have also indicated that greater efforts are needed (Passos et al., 2005; Lauchande et al., 2013). Within this scenario, families may not see the value or advantage of sending their children to school.
In addition to training and qualification levels, according to a cross-country analysis of teachers’ experience in different African countries, it emerged that vast teaching experience had a positive impact on their teaching and therefore on pupils’ educational attainment (Jarousse et al., 2009). Yet, in the last two decades, African countries have seen the recruitment of large numbers of young, inexperienced teachers without providing the needed support to counterbalance any lack of experience (Lauwerier and Akkari, 2015:5). Policy analysis has indeed shown how professional training has been among the most neglected elements of recent policies in different countries of the continent (Jarousse et al., 2009:175). The combination of poor household resources and
TEACHERS’ ABSENTEEISM RATE
8 O inquérito dos Indicadores de Prestação de Serviços (SDI) foi lançado em 2010 e realizado em Moçambique e em oito outros países africanos: República Unida da Tanzânia (2010, 2014), Senegal (2010), Quénia (2012), Nigéria (2013), Togo (2013), Uganda (2013), Níger (2015) e Madagáscar (2016). O estudo inclui um conjunto de indicadores que mede a capacidade e o esforço de professores e directores, assim como a disponibilidade de factores e recursos chave que contribuem para o funcionamento de uma escola. Estas métricas permitem às autoridades educativas e às escolas identificar lacunas e acompanhar os progressos ao longo do tempo.
