Poor selection: how do poor people make education decisions?

What are the main barriers stopping children from poor households getting an education? What motivates poor parents in developing countries to send their children to school? How willing and able are the poor to pay for education? How do parents and children judge the quality of education?

A major comparative report published by DFID focuses on the barriers to education for the poorest households in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Despite the stereotype that the poor do not care about education, findings from twenty locations show that they in fact make sophisticated schooling choices based on assessments of quality, value for money and investment potential. Data on such non-monetary barriers to education as physical access, quality of education, vulnerability and health reveals the problems faced by poor households.

There is a notable willingness (but not necessarily, ability) amongst the poorest to pay – and to make sacrifices – for what they perceive to be good quality education. However, education never comes without a cost. Even if it is nominally free, there are lots of significant hidden charges. Spending on education as a proportion of total household spending is around 33% in Uganda, Zambia and Bangladesh. Even if school uniforms are not mandatory, peer pressure or unpublished school policies may add them as a cost burden for poor families. Seasonal variations in demand for labour affects attendance patterns, which in turn influence permanent and premature removal from school.

Other major research findings include:

• From the perspective of children – especially in Africa – violence in school is their major indicator of quality: but children’s widespread concerns about corporal punishment, intimidation and sexual harassment are played down by parents and teachers. 
• Gender inequality is a considerable barrier to education everywhere: cultural and societal norms determining what a girl or a boy should or should not do at various ages strongly affect demand for schooling.
• While parents claim not to distinguish between the sexes of their children when making decisions to support schooling, both boys and girls noted that parents were more supportive of boys.
• Poor children are more likely to be frequently absent due to illness, thus losing contact time and reducing learning outcomes.
• Carers of HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa are least likely to be able to afford the costs of schooling.
• There is a widespread conviction that the benefits of secondary education are not enough to justify the sacrifices required to meet the additional costs.

The major educational policy issues which arise from the study are the need to:

• listen and respond to the voices of the poor and of children
• create child-focused approaches to education that allow for flexible systems to meet widely differing local needs without compromising standards of provision
• ensure children feel safe and valued in school
• develop policies to improve access, attendance and completion. These should address the quality of the service being offered to ensure sustainable demand, rather than temporary surges in interest
• focusing education management and academic supervision on 'what is the child learning?' rather than ‘what is the teacher teaching?’.

Source(s):
“Reaching the poor: the ‘costs’ of sending children to school: a six country comparative study” by Siobhan Boyle, Andy Brock, John Mace and Mo Sibbons, DFID Education Research Paper 47, August 2002 Full document.

Funded by: Department for International Development, UK

id21 Research Highlight: 2 December 2003

Further Information:
Siobhan Boyle, Andy Brock and Mo Sibbons
Cambridge Education Consultants
Demeter House
Station Road
Cambridge CB1 2RS
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1223 463816
Fax: +44 (0)1223 461007
Contact the contributor: MS1@mm-camb.mottmac.com

Cambridge Education Consultants, UK

John Mace
Institute of Education
University of London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7612 6382
Fax: +44 (0)20 7612 6366
Contact the contributor: j.mace@ioe.ac.uk

Institute of Education, University of London, UK

DFID Education Publications Despatch
PO Box 190
Sevenoaks  TN14 5EL
UK

Contact the contributor: dfidpubs@eclogistics.co.uk

DFID Education Publications Department, UK

Other related links:
'Aid, public expenditure and Millennium Development Goals: is collaboration possible?'

'Does investing in education reduce poverty? Evidence from Ghana, Uganda and South Africa'

'Meeting education development goals: simply a question of money?'

'Achieving schooling for all – lessons in education spending'

'Class struggles: the challenges of achieving schooling for all' Insights Education#2