1. The Inexcusable Absence of Girls in School Marlaine Lockheed Center for Global Development World Bank Global Symposium October 2, 2007

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3. 3 Schooling Trends are Improving in the Developing World  Girls’ schooling has traditionally lagged that of boys, but girls are catching up  “Excluded” children still lag  “Excluded” girls are the least likely to go to school  Extra efforts are required to reach “excluded” children, particularly “excluded” girls

4. 4 Gender Parity in Primary Enrollments Rose Between 1960 and 2000

5. 5 Gender Parity Improved at Secondary Level in Most Regions, 1990-2000

6. 6 So, What is the Problem?  About 77 million children of school age are still out of school (but down from about 98 million in 1999)  A plurality (57%) of those out of school are girls – 43 million in 2004  About 70 percent of the girls who are out of school come from “socially excluded groups”

7. 7 Socially Excluded Girls as Estimated Share of All Girls Out of School, by Region

8. 8 Who are the Socially Excluded Groups?  Stigmatized groups  Ethnically different groups  Groups accorded low status  “Involuntary” minority groups

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10. 10 Pakistan: Fewer Baluchi/ Pathan rural females complete primary school than any other group, 1995- 2002

11. 11 Rural female- Other Rural-Male-Other

12. 12 Guatemala: Indigenous girls are least likely to have ever enrolled in school

13. 13 Benin: Non-Fon/French-speaking males have caught up with Fon/French speaking females, but non-Fon/French speaking females still lag

14. 14 Malawi: The gender gap has become an ethnic gap

15. 15 Ghana: The gender gap has become an ethnic gap

16. 16 Roma complete fewer years of school than non-Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia/Montenegro

17. 17 New Zealand: More females complete 6 th Form or higher, but Maoris lag Europeans, 2001

18. 18 As for learning, when given the chance to go to school  Girls achievement is comparable, and in some cases better, than that of boys  But the achievement of “excluded” children is generally lower than that of “mainstream” children

19. 19 Quechua Girls Outperform Quechua Boys in 5 th Grade, Peru 2000

20. 20 Indigenous Girls Outperform Indigenous Boys in Ecuador

21. 21 Hill Tribe Girls’ Performance Same as Hill Tribe Boys’ Performance in Laos

22. 22 Why are “Socially Excluded” Girls not in School?  Three main reasons typically offered Legal or administrative barriers Low demand for girls’ education Poor quality and limited supply of education  Another reason: within-country heterogeneity

23. 23 Male-Female Gap in Primary Completion Rates Larger in Heterogeneous Countries

24. 24 Primary Completion and Learning and Ethnolinguistic Fractionalization (elasticities) (1)(2)(3) Coefficientlog (Female PCR)log (Male PCR) – log (Female PCR) log (Learning score) Ethnolinguistic fractionalization, log –0.22*** 0.09*** –0.17*** (–4.27)(3.99) (–3.65) Constant 4.06*** 0.17*** 5.74*** (62.8)(6.46)(101) Observations118 55 R2R2 0.140.120.20 * Significant at the 10 percent level. ** Significant at the 5 percent level. *** Significant at the 1 percent level. Note: Figures in brackets are t- statistics.

25. 25 Table 6. Determinants of gender disparity in primary school completion Difference between male and female primary completion rates Variable(1)(2)(3)(4) GDP per capita (log) –2.93*** (2.88) –3.18*** ( 3.46) Ethnolinguistic fractionalization10.61*** (3.01) –18.32* (1.77) 17.88*** (4.42) 16.43*** (3.52) Ethnolinguistic fractionalization squared 31.69*** (2.72) Average years of schooling, female (age 25+) –2.93*** (4.49) Education expenditure (percentage of GDP) –0.32 (0.92) –0.44 (1.39) 0.13 (0.24) Female labor force participation rate 0.10 (1.41) Socialist dummy 11.59*** ( 4.86) Road density (total network/land area) 0 (0.45) 0.02* (1.89) Rural population (percentage of total population) 0.04 (1.15) Constant 20.77** (2.06) 30.52*** ( 3.60) –7.04** (2.44) 2.75 (0.77) Number of observations 111979453 R2R2 0.39 0.460.3 0.60 * Significant at the 10 percent level. ** Significant at the 5 percent level. *** Significant at the 1 percent level.

26. 26 Ethno-linguistic Fractionalization and Learning Achievement, Various Countries

27. 27 The Challenge: Getting and Keeping Disadvantaged Children in School  In all countries disadvantaged children lag behind in school, and girls do so disproportionately: Enrollment Completion/Graduation Performance  Excluded girls go to school, stay in school and do better than boys when given the opportunity

28. 28 How Heterogeneity Affects Schooling  Legal and administrative barriers Fixed number of schools per community Pregnancy and expulsion Dominant group language as medium of instruction and in textbooks Lack of schools in remote communities Selection examinations and tracking

29. 29 How Heterogeneity Affects Schooling (cont.)  Supply and Quality of schooling Less knowledgeable teachers Less instructional time  Teacher absenteeism Fewer textbooks and instructional materials  Particularly in local languages Inadequate facilities and physical inputs

30. 30 How Heterogeneity Affects Schooling (cont.)  Weak demand for education “cultural” considerations Safety and security of girls Perceived low rates of return for education Discrimination in labor markets  Social-psychological considerations Stereotype threat in performance situations Expectations and interaction in the classroom

31. 31 What has Worked in Developing Country Settings?  Anti-discrimination – limited but important  Compensatory instruction outside of school rather than affirmative action  Pre-school  Bi-lingual programs  Community schools/non-formal education  Radio or television extension courses  Better inputs for poorer performing schools: teachers, books, materials

32. 32 What Else has Worked in Developing Country Settings?  Curriculum reform to integrate alternative cultural issues  Creative options: English, computer skills  Parental and community involvement in schools  Incentives for households: CCT  DON’T have separate schools for the disadvantaged (can be true for girls too)

33. 33 Practical Donor Actions to Promote Education for Excluded Girls  Support the production of school participation and achievement data disaggregated by gender and exclusion  Establish a trust fund for multilateral programs targeted at excluded girls  Encourage demand and financing for compensatory costs associate with reaching excluded children  Expand the knowledge base through a girls’ education evaluation fund