School, work and community-level differences in Afghanistan and Tajikistan: divergence in secondary school enrolment of youth

Whitsel, Christopher M.; Mehran, Weeda

doi:10.1080/02634937.2010.533973

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Since then, 65 private institutions have opened, mostly in Kabul (Habibi ) . Despite low overall secondary education access (Whitsel and Mehran ), roughly 140,000 high school graduates took the university entrance exam, the Konkor, in 2012, and 175,000 did so in 2013, with only 40,000 able to be accommodated each year in the national system . As this growing demand indicates, many Afghans are putting a lot of hope, energy, and resources into higher education.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Afghanistan, these youth are self‐conscious of their place in society as both inheritors of current conditions and as positioned to contribute to future conditions. They are on the leading edge of secular education, a social institution that has undergone significant transformation and growth since the Taliban were overthrown (Giustozzi ; Whitsel and Mehran ). However, despite considerable public support and enthusiasm for education, state and secular education, especially for women, remains a terrain of contestation and negotiation in many families and communities (Giustozzi and Franco ; Hunte ).…”

Section: Introduction and Theoretical Framingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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TheOnlySolution: Education, Youth, and Social Change in Afghanistan

Holland¹,

Yousofi

2014

Anthropology & Education Quarterly

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This article draws on practice theory to examine aspiring youths' pursuit of higher education in Afghanistan. It finds that plans and actions are mediated through youths' families, communities, and solidarity networks. As a result, the personal improvement and enhanced reputational status that aspiring youth seek is structurally connected to processes of social reproduction and social change. The paper is based on over 100 in-depth interviews conducted with youth in Afghanistan by an undergraduate research team. [Afghanistan, family, higher education, youth, social change] Introduction and Theoretical FramingSeveral years ago, when I initially came to Kabul to teach, I was chatting with Asmaa, a female undergraduate and student of mine, who recalled how her uncles had refused to speak to her or their brother, her father, in protest over her having traveled to the United States to represent our university, the American University of Afghanistan. 1 With time, Asmaa further explained to me, two of these three uncles had changed their attitudes such that they were now sending their own daughters, her cousins, to high school. That such an important opportunity for a self-made and overtly modern young Afghan woman would provoke such a harsh reaction from her close relatives surprised me. But even more intriguing was the fact that these uncles had eventually shifted their views. The story seemed to hold the kernel of something important about social change in contemporary Afghanistan and inspired the research reported here.There has been a long tradition in anthropology of seeking to understand how culture change happens as well as the related issue of how culture reproduces itself-how continuities of social values, norms, and behaviors are transferred across time and through generations. These questions are tied to the more general social theoretical problem of the relationship between structure and agency (Giddens 1984). Practice theory developed as a way to view individual and collective practices (human action/agency) as simultaneously shaping and being shaped by a system (culture/structure) that is itself continually being reproduced through these practices and is subject to change as a result (Ortner 1984). The emphasis in practice theory on explaining the reproduction and change of form and meaning of culture is the reason why the approach is used here. In Afghanistan, questions about continuity and change are not just theoretical but are consequential to people's lives, as many in the country are self-consciously reflecting on the imminent transition (of security control from the international community to the Afghan government) as well as the virtue and staying power of changes introduced over the last dozen years (after the Taliban were removed from rule). These questions are particularly concerning to youth in Afghanistan. This paper focuses on a subset of youth, "aspiring youth" (Lepisto 2010), who are young adults in their late teens and twenties who are pursuing a better future through higher education. In...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction and Theoretical Framingmentioning

confidence: 99%

TheOnlySolution: Education, Youth, and Social Change in Afghanistan

Holland¹,

Yousofi

2014

Anthropology & Education Quarterly

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“…UNICEF (2002) reported that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, fewer girls had been attending school. Whitsel and Mehran (2010) showed that girls continue to be less likely to be enroled in school than boys.…”

Section: The Educational Context Of Post-soviet Tajikistanmentioning

confidence: 95%

Sex, urban/rural and minority differences in educational attainment in Soviet and post-Soviet Tajikistan

Whitsel

2012

International Studies in Sociology of Education

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This paper analyses the educational attainment of Tajikistani adults born between 1947 and 1989. Adults in the oldest cohorts completed school during the educational expansion of the Soviet period and the youngest cohorts completed their education in the post-Soviet period, which was marked by educational contraction. To date, there is not a clear picture of attainment trends during the Soviet period that provide a perspective for judging educational attainment in the post-Soviet period. Using household survey data collected in 2007 by the World Bank, I conduct a synthetic cohort analysis to estimate the likelihood of completing basic, secondary and higher education for men and women; urban and rural residents and ethnic majority and minority citizens. Findings for particular groups are mixed, but in general the gap in educational attainment between advantaged groups and disadvantaged groups narrows during the Soviet era, but widens in the post-Soviet period.

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“…Violence against children (VAC) is a significant international problem requiring urgent action (Hillis, Mercy, Amobi, & Kress, 2016). In July 2016, as part of Agenda 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Heir, 2014;Mghir, Freed, Raskin, & Katon, 1995;Mghir & Raskin, 1999;Panter-Brick, Eggerman, Gonzalez, & Safdar, 2009;Panter-Brick, Goodman, Tol, & Eggerman, 2011), poor child health (Mashal et al, 2008), increased maternal mortality (Amowitz, Reis, & Iacopino, 2002), increased occupational injuries (Graves, Vaqas Ali, & Gunn, 2014), and poor school engagement (Whitsel & Mehran, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research clearly demonstrates the devastating impact that VAC has on children, families, communities, and nations, and in particular, on children’s well-being and capacity to reach their full potential (Catani et al, 2009; Skardalsmo Bjorgo & Jensen, 2015; Skovdal, Emmott, & Maranto, 2014; Whitsel & Mehran, 2010). Studies have found an association between VAC and poor mental health outcomes (Catani et al, 2009; Jakobsen, Demott, & Heir, 2014; Mghir, Freed, Raskin, & Katon, 1995; Mghir & Raskin, 1999; Panter-Brick, Eggerman, Gonzalez, & Safdar, 2009; Panter-Brick, Goodman, Tol, & Eggerman, 2011), poor child health (Mashal et al, 2008), increased maternal mortality (Amowitz, Reis, & Iacopino, 2002), increased occupational injuries (Graves, Vaqas Ali, & Gunn, 2014), and poor school engagement (Whitsel & Mehran, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Violence Against Children in Afghanistan: Community Perspectives

Cameron

O’Leary

Lakhani

et al. 2018

J Interpers Violence

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Violence against children (VAC) is a significant international problem and, in Afghanistan, is particularly complex given the country has suffered armed conflict and extreme poverty for more than 30 years. The aim of this study was to examine the level of knowledge and observation of VAC by community leaders, professional groups, and business owners in three Afghan districts. A survey of community and religious leaders; health, socio-legal, and education professionals; and business owners from Kabul, Jalalabad, and Torkham ( n = 182) was conducted. Structured interviews included qualitative and quantitative components. Questions related to knowledge and experience of VAC, and to perceptions of consequences, causes, and strategies for preventing VAC. The statistical significance of differences between participant groups and measures of association were assessed by Pearson's chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney test, and the Kruskall-Wallis one-way ANOVA. Qualitative responses were analyzed thematically. VAC was reported to occur mostly in the home, community, and workplace. The scale of the problem varied, with religious and community leaders underreporting VAC by 30% to 40% compared with other participant groups ( p < .001). Business owners also significantly underreported VAC in the workplace, despite admitting to acts of discipline that included physical contact. There were some regional differences, with lower reporting of violence in Jalalabad compared with the two other locations ( p < .001). Causes of VAC were consistently attributed to poverty, lack of education, and the effects of war. The findings of this study indicate that VAC is a serious and complex problem in Afghanistan. Decades of armed conflict and entrenched poverty influence how violence is perceived and recognized. Consideration should be given to initiatives that build on the existing strengths within the community while raising awareness and recognition of the nature, extent, and burden of VAC in the community.

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School, work and community-level differences in Afghanistan and Tajikistan: divergence in secondary school enrolment of youth

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

TheOnlySolution: Education, Youth, and Social Change in Afghanistan

TheOnlySolution: Education, Youth, and Social Change in Afghanistan

Sex, urban/rural and minority differences in educational attainment in Soviet and post-Soviet Tajikistan

Violence Against Children in Afghanistan: Community Perspectives

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