Language choice and education quality in Eastern and Southern Africa: a review

Trudell, Barbara

doi:10.1080/03050068.2016.1185252

Cited by 54 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The education community, including UNESCO and national governments, has increasingly emphasized the importance of instruction in learners’ mother tongue (that is, language spoken at home) for several reasons: growing evidence that it improves learning outcomes, inclusion of diverse learners and community members, and maintenance of linguistic and cultural diversity (Trudell 2016; UNESCO 2007). At the same time, English language skills are often seen as not only economically valuable (given that English is often required for entry into higher education and the formal economy) but also symbolically appealing (Casale and Posel 2011; Chowdhury and Kabir 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Literacy and Numeracy in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia

Psaki

Soler‐Hampejsek²,

Saha³

et al. 2019

Demography

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Global investments in girls’ education have been motivated, in part, by an expectation that more-educated women will have smaller and healthier families. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, the timing of school dropout and first birth coincide, resulting in a rapid transition from the role of student to the role of mother for adolescent girls. Despite growing interest in the effects of pregnancy on levels of school dropout, researchers have largely overlooked the potential effect of adolescent childbearing on literacy and numeracy. We hypothesize that becoming a mother soon after leaving school may cause the deterioration of skills gained in school. Using longitudinal data from Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia, we test our hypothesis by estimating fixed-effects linear regression models to address the endogeneity in the relationship between childbearing and academic skills. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of adolescent childbearing on academic skills in low- and middle-income countries. Our results indicate that among those with low levels of grade attainment, first birth has a negative effect on English literacy and numeracy. Among those with higher levels of grade attainment, we find little evidence of effects of childbearing on academic skills. Childbearing also has little effect on local language literacy. Beyond the immediate loss of English literacy and numeracy, if these skills lead to better health and more economic productivity, then adolescent childbearing may have longer-term repercussions than previously understood. In addition to ongoing efforts to increase educational attainment and school quality in low- and middle-income countries, investments are needed to strengthen the academic skills of adolescent mothers to secure the demographic and economic promise of expanded education for girls and women.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13524-019-00816-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Literacy and Numeracy in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia

Psaki

Soler‐Hampejsek²,

Saha³

et al. 2019

Demography

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“…However, it may be particularly challenging in Africa to implement UNESCO's guidelines of at least six years of mother tongue education because of the continent's high degree of linguistic heterogeneity. As a concrete example, Kenya's formal educational policy mandates that early primary instruction be conducted in the mother tongue in rural areas and in Swahili in urban areas––with a transition to English at Grade 4 in either case–– however, this policy is only loosely followed in practice, illustrating the practical challenges inherent in such complex environments (Manyonyi et al, ; Trudell, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multilingual assessment of early child development: Analyses from repeated observations of children in Kenya

Knauer

Kariger

Jakiela

et al. 2019

Developmental Science

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In many low‐ and middle‐income countries, young children learn a mother tongue or indigenous language at home before entering the formal education system where they will need to understand and speak a country's official language(s). Thus, assessments of children before school age, conducted in a nation's official language, may not fully reflect a child's development, underscoring the importance of test translation and adaptation. To examine differences in vocabulary development by language of assessment, we adapted and validated instruments to measure developmental outcomes, including expressive and receptive vocabulary. We assessed 505 2‐to‐6‐year‐old children in rural communities in Western Kenya with comparable vocabulary tests in three languages: Luo (the local language or mother tongue), Swahili, and English (official languages) at two time points, 5–6 weeks apart, between September 2015 and October 2016. Younger children responded to the expressive vocabulary measure exclusively in Luo (44%–59% of 2‐to‐4‐year‐olds) much more frequently than did older children (20%–21% of 5‐to‐6‐year‐olds). Baseline receptive vocabulary scores in Luo (β = 0.26, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001) and Swahili (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, p = 0.032) were strongly associated with receptive vocabulary in English at follow‐up, even after controlling for English vocabulary at baseline. Parental Luo literacy at baseline (β = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.045) was associated with child English vocabulary at follow‐up, while parental English literacy at baseline was not. Our findings suggest that multilingual testing is essential to understanding the developmental environment and cognitive growth of multilingual children.

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“…More than 120 local languages are believed to exist within the country, but the exact number of languages is unknown and may be even higher (Heilman & William 2012;Petzell 2012). There is an intense ongoing debate on the language of instruction in schools in Tanzania, and elsewhere in East Africa (for further discussions see Hartwig 2013;Brock-Utne 2015;Clegg & Simpson 2016;Trudell 2016).…”

Section: Amenities and Provision Of Teaching Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing the quality of primary education in urban and rural settings: The case of Iringa Region, Tanzania

Lindsjö

2018

Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography

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The purpose of the article is to discuss the term 'quality' in relation to primary education in Tanzania, and to contextualize quality and identify the premises for obtaining quality in primary school education in rural and urban settings. To understand opinions about the quality of education and the current situation in primary schools, the author conducted interviews with teachers and focus group discussions with parents and caregivers in Iringa town and three villages in Iringa Region. The findings indicate a general consensus, regardless of geographical setting, that quality in primary education is primarily measurable through national exams. However, surrounding circumstances such as infrastructure and poverty have a great impact on the quality of education in rural primary schools. Lack of water and electricity, and poor transport networks have consequences for schooling by limiting children's, parents', and teachers' access to school supplies and limiting the ability of officials to carry out monitoring activities. The author concludes that the premises for providing and receiving education vary to a great extent, depending on geographical setting, and favour urban youths with respect to their further education.

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Language choice and education quality in Eastern and Southern Africa: a review

Cited by 54 publications

References 18 publications

The Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Literacy and Numeracy in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia

The Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Literacy and Numeracy in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia

Multilingual assessment of early child development: Analyses from repeated observations of children in Kenya

Contextualizing the quality of primary education in urban and rural settings: The case of Iringa Region, Tanzania

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