Ethnolinguistic Background and Enrollment in Primary Education: Evidence from Kenya*

Abstract

In Kenya, educational enrollment rates increased significantly for both girls and boys after 2003, when primary education became free of charge. Unfortunately, approximately one million school-aged children are still not enrolled in school. Earlier literature provides empirical evidence that educational opportunities differ among children, due to poverty, gender, rural area of residence and disability. Our paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the importance of children's ethnolinguistic background for their probability of being in school. Estimates from a three-level random intercept probit model using data from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2005/06 reveal that Somali and Maasai children are least likely to be in school. A separate analysis by child's gender shows that compared to Kikuyu children both girls and boys from the Somali and Maasai groups, but also Mijikenda and Swahili girls, have a lower probability to be in school. This might be an indication that gender norms are stronger in these groups.

Rainfall shocks, cognitive development and educational attainment among adolescents in a drought-prone region in Kenya

“…The pastoral-based livelihoods in Wajir also have implications for educational outcomes in the county. The ethnolinguistic groups in Kenya that commonly practice pastoralism, the Somali and Maasai, are the least likely to send their children to school, which is related to factors including cultural norms, language and opportunity costs of time (Vimefall et al, 2017). Consistent with this pattern, the largely Somali Wajir County has the lowest adult literacy rate (26 per cent) and the lowest average female education in the country (KNBS, 2015).…”

Ethnicity as a predictor of gender segregation among young children in an informal urban settlement in Kenya

“…Moreover, British colonists promoted and exaggerated the archetype of the Maasai warrior man and that, in conjunction with forced settlement, land alienation, declining livestock, social-political marginalization, and disenfranchisement of the Maasai people, consolidated and expanded Maasai men's sociopolitical-economic power in the family (Hodgson, 1999). A recent national study of education in Kenya showed that Maasai children (along with Somali children) were the least likely to be enroled in primary school than children from other ethnic groups in Kenya, and the Maasai had greater gender disparity in primary education enrolment than most other ethnic groups (Vimefall et al, 2017). This study was informed by both socialization and evolutionary perspectives of gender segregation (Maccoby, 1998;Pellegrini, 2009) and existing research on the cultural values, customs, and social organization of each ethnic group.…”

“…Siblings are also expected to help raise younger brothers and sisters (Price, 1996). The Kikuyu have been found to have greater access to education compared with other ethnic groups in Kenya (Beguy & Mberu, 2015; Dodoo & Tempenis, 2002; Ikamari et al., 2013) and have less gender disparity in primary education enrolment than other ethnic groups in Kenya (Vimefall et al., 2017).…”

Effets de la qualité des institutions sur l'éducation en Afrique

“…Le capital humain regroupe l'ensemble des connaissances, des compétences et la santé accumulées par un individu tout au long de sa vie qui lui permettent de réaliser pleinement son potentiel et d'être productif (Banque Mondiale, 2020b). Dans une économie du savoir, l'accumulation de la composante éducation du capital humain est essentielle pour améliorer la productivité totale des facteurs et la compétitivité, favoriser l'innovation, instaurer une société pacifique, réduire la pauvreté et les inégalités, amorcer la transformation structurelle et par ricochet impulser la croissance et le développement inclusifs (Diagne, 2007; Gyimah‐Brempong, 2011; Ogundari & Abdulai, 2014; Shimeles & Verdier‐Chouchane, 2016; Vimefall, Andrén, & Levin, 2017). Le rôle crucial que joue l'éducation dans le processus de développement est largement reconnu dans les Objectifs de développement durable (ODD).…”

“…L'importance cruciale de la formation de la composante éducation du capital humain dans le processus de développement des pays a conduit les économistes et les responsables politiques à rechercher ses déterminants. Dans ce cadre, les politiques publiques, les inégalités et la fragmentation ethnolinguistique, les facteurs démographiques, historiques, religieux et culturels, l'autonomie de gestion accordée aux écoles ont été identifiés comme des déterminants du financement et de l'accumulation du capital éducation (Anyanwu, 2016; Becker & Woessmann, 2009; Fuchs & Woessman, 2007; Vimefall et al, 2017).…”