The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Staying in school: assessing the role of access, availability, and economic opportunities - the case of Tajikistan

Staying in school: assessing the role of access, availability, and economic opportunities - the case of Tajikistan
Staying in school: assessing the role of access, availability, and economic opportunities - the case of Tajikistan
At independence in 1991, Tajikistan enjoyed almost universal literacy, reflecting the legacy of social development achieved during the Soviet period. However, since then the country has undergone immense economic, political and social upheaval, including civil war. As a consequence, the gains of the past are quickly being eroded. Recent evidence suggests that school attendance rates are declining, the gender gap is widening, and there is increasing geographical variation. This paper uses a unique source of data to investigate the relative roles of individual, household, and contextual factors to determine whether or not a child attends basic education in Tajikistan. Applying multilevel modelling and geographical information system techniques, the results show that contextual factors have a strong effect on school attendance. In particular, the accessibility and availability of school services and the quality of education have a positive effect. However, the level of economic development of the community in which the child lives exerts a negative effect on school attendance, reflecting the influence of higher opportunity costs of education in terms of the opportunities for income-generating activities forgone. This has implications for educational policy, highlighting that a joined-up approach is necessary to foster local economic development and to lower school dropout rates.
tajikistan, multilevel modelling, gis, schooling attendance
1544-8444
205-224
Baschieri, Angela
8512fd8e-0c0a-4741-acb6-5d05bee0b108
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Baschieri, Angela
8512fd8e-0c0a-4741-acb6-5d05bee0b108
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519

Baschieri, Angela and Falkingham, Jane (2009) Staying in school: assessing the role of access, availability, and economic opportunities - the case of Tajikistan. Population, Space and Place, 15 (3), 205-224. (doi:10.1002/psp.512).

Record type: Article

Abstract

At independence in 1991, Tajikistan enjoyed almost universal literacy, reflecting the legacy of social development achieved during the Soviet period. However, since then the country has undergone immense economic, political and social upheaval, including civil war. As a consequence, the gains of the past are quickly being eroded. Recent evidence suggests that school attendance rates are declining, the gender gap is widening, and there is increasing geographical variation. This paper uses a unique source of data to investigate the relative roles of individual, household, and contextual factors to determine whether or not a child attends basic education in Tajikistan. Applying multilevel modelling and geographical information system techniques, the results show that contextual factors have a strong effect on school attendance. In particular, the accessibility and availability of school services and the quality of education have a positive effect. However, the level of economic development of the community in which the child lives exerts a negative effect on school attendance, reflecting the influence of higher opportunity costs of education in terms of the opportunities for income-generating activities forgone. This has implications for educational policy, highlighting that a joined-up approach is necessary to foster local economic development and to lower school dropout rates.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 12 January 2009
Published date: May 2009
Keywords: tajikistan, multilevel modelling, gis, schooling attendance
Organisations: Social Statistics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 65571
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65571
ISSN: 1544-8444
PURE UUID: 0ace8bce-086b-4f82-8596-7de636424d0b
ORCID for Jane Falkingham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-5875

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 24 Feb 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:46

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Angela Baschieri
Author: Jane Falkingham ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×