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Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan

While more girls are now attending school in Afghanistan than prior to 2010, there is a lack of evidence on how school attendance is helping their cognitive development. We use data from a large sample of all-girls state-funded school students to estimate for the first time the “learning profile” fo...

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Main Authors: Asadullah, M. Niaz, Alim, Md. Abdul, Hossain, M. Anowar
Format: Article
Published: Wiley 2019
Subjects:
HC Economic History and Conditions
L Education (General)
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/23835/
https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12354
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spelling my.um.eprints.238352020-02-19T01:40:00Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/23835/ Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan Asadullah, M. Niaz Alim, Md. Abdul Hossain, M. Anowar HC Economic History and Conditions L Education (General) While more girls are now attending school in Afghanistan than prior to 2010, there is a lack of evidence on how school attendance is helping their cognitive development. We use data from a large sample of all-girls state-funded school students to estimate for the first time the “learning profile” for Afghanistan. Students enrolled in grades 4 to 9 were assessed using the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) test items. We find that higher grade progression (particularly in grades 6–9) leads to almost no gain in numeracy (addition and subtraction) skills that should have been achieved in early grades. Similar results follow from the analysis of student performance in the EGRA test, particularly in oral reading fluency (correct words read per minute) and oral reading comprehension (number of correct answers out of 12). These findings warn that simply enrolling girls in school without improving the relationship between grade completion and learning is unlikely to transform the lives of women in Afghanistan. © The Authors 2017. Development Policy Review © 2017 Overseas Development Institute Wiley 2019 Article PeerReviewed Asadullah, M. Niaz and Alim, Md. Abdul and Hossain, M. Anowar (2019) Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan. Development Policy Review, 37 (4). pp. 486-503. ISSN 0950-6764 https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12354 doi:10.1111/dpr.12354
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic HC Economic History and Conditions
L Education (General)
spellingShingle HC Economic History and Conditions
L Education (General)
Asadullah, M. Niaz
Alim, Md. Abdul
Hossain, M. Anowar
Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
description While more girls are now attending school in Afghanistan than prior to 2010, there is a lack of evidence on how school attendance is helping their cognitive development. We use data from a large sample of all-girls state-funded school students to estimate for the first time the “learning profile” for Afghanistan. Students enrolled in grades 4 to 9 were assessed using the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) test items. We find that higher grade progression (particularly in grades 6–9) leads to almost no gain in numeracy (addition and subtraction) skills that should have been achieved in early grades. Similar results follow from the analysis of student performance in the EGRA test, particularly in oral reading fluency (correct words read per minute) and oral reading comprehension (number of correct answers out of 12). These findings warn that simply enrolling girls in school without improving the relationship between grade completion and learning is unlikely to transform the lives of women in Afghanistan. © The Authors 2017. Development Policy Review © 2017 Overseas Development Institute
format Article
author Asadullah, M. Niaz
Alim, Md. Abdul
Hossain, M. Anowar
author_facet Asadullah, M. Niaz
Alim, Md. Abdul
Hossain, M. Anowar
author_sort Asadullah, M. Niaz
title Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
title_short Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
title_full Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
title_fullStr Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
title_full_unstemmed Enrolling girls without learning: Evidence from public schools in Afghanistan
title_sort enrolling girls without learning: evidence from public schools in afghanistan
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2019
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/23835/
https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12354
_version_ 1662755186893914112
score 13.211869

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