Social Exclusion and the
Gender Gap in Education
Paulina Armacińska
Marisha Tardif
Social exclusion and the gender gap in
education
• Over the past few decades, the world has experienced a
positive increase in the number of girls who enrol, attend
and complete schooling at various levels.
• This may seem positive, however...
AN EDUCATIONAL GENDER GAP
REMAINS IN SOME COUNTRIES
• The authors argue that the main reason for such a
significant gender gap is the degree of social exclusion
within the countries surveyed, as measured by ethnolinguistic fractionalization.
What is ELF?
• ELF stands more Ethno-Linguistic Heterogeneity, or ethnolinguistic fractionalization.
• Across the literature on the subject matter, ELF has proven to
be an driver of economic growth, amongst other factors.
• The authors of this text use ELF to explain gender gaps in
education.
• Critique: “ELF allows cross country comparisons of
fractionalization of ethnicity and language, but does not provide
specific evidence of exclusion. A country could be highly
heterogeneous and there would be no social exclusion”
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
Girl’s education and development
• It is not new to see female education at all levels as an
important factor contributing to social development at
both the micro and macro level; a variety of quantitative
and qualitative research act as proof for this. Female
educational attainment even has a positive association to
GDP levels and economic growth.
“Investment in girls’ education may well be
the highest return investment available in
the developing world.”
-Summers (1994)
• Development economists place a special emphasis on how
crucial it is to educate girls in order to reach development
goals.
The effect of schooling on growth
• Each year of schooling boots long-run growth
by 0.58 percentage points.
• Countries in which test scores go one standard
deviation unit higher than the average have a
2% higher growth rate in GDP per capita.
The Power of education for
women
• Educated women are more likely to enter the formal labour
market.
• In cultures where dowries or bride prices are still observed,
educated potential brides have a much higher value.
• Education raises productivity even in the agricultural sector.
• Improvements in women’s farming methods have the potential
to reduce infant malnutrition.
• Education of mothers lowers fertility, reduces infant and child
mortality, and promotes children’s education.
• Education may also help to improve a woman’s status within her
family by giving her greater control over finances.
• Education empowers women to protect themselves from
infection and domestic violence.
A mother’s education and her children’s
schooling
• A woman obtaining an education starts a circle of positive
returns- it has a very encouraging effect on children’s
schooling. The level of maternal education is a significantly
related to whether or not a child attended school. This was
proved true for 63 of the 68 countries surveyed by the
Unesco Institute of Statistics.
• We may find that a mother’s education has a strong effect
on girls, especially in settings where female enrolment
rates are lagging behind that of males.
Positive changes
•
Through the advocacy and eventual expansion of mass education, a
near-universal enrolment at the primary and lower secondary levels
may be seen, accompanied by 88% primary school completion rates.
• Investment in girls’ education has gained attention, and through this
girls have been catching up with boys at a steady pace.
• Female primary school completion rates in developing countries has
risen since 1990, even reaching close to the 100% mark in certain
regions. The gender gap in developing countries even managed to
drop by a significant amount of percentage points.
This is all good news, however
the gap between the genders
remains.
• According to UNESCO, 40% of developing countries have not achieved
gender parity in primary school enrolment, in an estimate dating from
2002.
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
Gender and ethnic differences in
schooling
• According to an UNESCO estimate, nearly 78 million
primary school-age children remain out of school, and a
gap in school enrolment as well as completion and learning
continued to exist between boys and girls, but especially
among various ethnic groups within countries.
• History plays an important role here- countries in which
women have been traditionally marginalised and secluded,
for example in South Asia show higher gender gaps in
education.
• We witness a separation by ethnic group- these groups
suffer a disproportionate amount compared to
‘mainstream’ groups in education.
• For ethnic groups, gender gaps may be found in school
enrolment rates and years of completed schooling.
Marginalized groups and the “double
disadvantage”
• In general, “marginalized” ethnic-linguistic
groups are disadvantaged with respect to
schooling, often on account of geographical
isolation.
• Because of this, marginalized girls are not only
behind the children from the mainstream
group, but also the boys. This means that these
girls are less likely to attend school, and if they
do, they do so with limited participation, and
remain in school only briefly.
Disadvantages
• Geographical isolation
• Social status
• Restrictions on mobility
• Impoverished families
•Historical inequities
Why do certain social groups become
marginalized?
a few socio-economic perspectives
• Definition of social exclusion:
GROUPS THAT APPEAR LOWER STATUS AND
MARGINALIZED
• There exist certain historical preconditions in
order for social exclusion to occur, however.
» Stigmatization by recent historical trauma at the
hands of the majority population.
» Ethnic differences. This may stem from ethnic group,
language, or religion.
» Low socio-economic status
» Involuntary minority status.
» Traditional status hierarchies
Marginalization
• One of the things marginalization leads to are substandard
public supply of schools as well as lower demands for
education. This is caused by its costs, and the perceived
lack of benefits.
• Public programs intended for marginalized groups are
generally inferior in quality compared to those aimed at
mainstream groups. Schools servicing rural communities
will often be of poor quality. Though this has an effect on
both boys and girls, it affects girls most.
• Not only are the schools of poor quality, but marginalized
children are discriminated against within their walls- this
is one of the main reasons parents of children in
marginalized groups keep their children out of school.
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
Perspectives on social
exclusion
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ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
The high costs of schooling: opportunity costs, social costs,
direct costs.
Low returns: weak employment opportunities, perceptions of
low returns in the labour market. Boys may be given preference
to be sent to school due to higher possible returns.
Labour market returns often lower for minority groups and
women
Need for child labour
Due to these costs of schooling as well as low returns, the
demand for schools becomes reduced.
Significant income gap between mainstream groups and
marginalized groups.
Girls suffer more from economic shocks to the household.
Insurmountable costs?
SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
• A testing situation in school may “activate” gender or ethnic
stereotypes; those who suffer are those who feel
threatened by the stereotype. This creates anxiety and thus
lower scores. Performance in general declines when
stereotypes are activatesd.
• This is a surmountable barrier, however. Stereotype-based
discrimination may be reduced by counter-stereotypical
information.
• The lower expectations which exist for marginalized
groups are difficult to eliminate and also have significant
effects on performance. Marginalized girls suffer
particularly from such negative expectations.
OTHER CORRELATES OF EXCLUSION
• Marginalized groups also suffer from weak home
support for schooling.
• The issue of geographical isolation is very important; is
there a school available in the community? Of what
standard is it?
• Low educational attainment of parents enrolment in
most cases. Studies have proven that higher levels of
parental education have a significant impact on their
children’s enrolment.
• Cultural factors; in certain countries there may be
cultural issues arising from mixing girls with boys.
Parental beliefs about social roles are also an important
cultural barrier.
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
What is this section about?
• Test of the relationship between degree of
ethnic and linguistic heterogeneity within a
country and within-country gender gaps in
primary school completion
• Examine these effects on overall learning
Data and approaches
• Ethnolinguistic fractionalization (ELF)
– Developed by Alesina et al. (2003)
– Captures the degree of racial and linguistic
heterogeneity
Data and approaches
ELF and schooling indicators
• ELF highly correlated with schooling
outcomes
Once again:
Countries with multiple ethnic and language
groups tend to have:
• lower primary completion rates for girls
• wider gap between male and female
completion rates
• lower overall achievement
Second part of analyse
• Variation in level of developement across
countries
Ethnic heterogeneity slows down progress in
education for girls
Important factors:
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National income
Within-country heterogeneity*
Share of population living in rural locations
Women’s labour force participation
History of educating women
*not in explaining learning
Outline
1. Girls’ Education and Development
2. Gender and Ethnic Differences in
Schooling
3. Perspectives on Social Exclusion
4. Cross-Country Analysis
5. Policy Implications and Discussion
Investment on two fronts:
• Improving the supply of school
opportunities
• Boosting the demand for education
Improving and diversifying the
supply of education
• Policies that appear to be fair are biased
against girls from excluded groups
– Teaching in majority language
– Single-sex
or coeducational schools
– Discrimination promoted
in textbooks
Improving and diversifying the
supply of education
• Programs that can help:
– Those that respond to paternal concerns
– Preschools that help to transit to formal schools
– Compensatory in-school or after-school
programs
– Radio, TV, computers
Improving and diversifying the
supply of education
School quality matters more for excluded girls
than for boys and children from mainstream
families!
Creating incentives for households
to send girls to school
• Conditional cash transfers
• Scholarships and stipends
• School feeding programs
Changing expectations
• Expectations are powerful determinants of
success
• Programs tended to focus on changing
parent and community expectations to
include schooling for all children
• No special programs for girls
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRA
heOxk98
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugP_Q4
pD3RE
2002 OECD Education Policy
Analysis
Strengthening early childhood programmesa policy framework
OECD- 8 key strategies
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A systematic approach to policy development and integration
A strong and equal partnership with the education system
A universal approach to access, with particular attention to children in need
of special support
Substantial public investment in services and infrastructure
A participatory approach to quality improvement and assurance
Appropriate training and working conditions for staff in all forms of
provision
Attention to evaluation, monitoring and data collection
A framework and long-term agenda for research and evaluation.