|
|
|
|||||||||||
INFANTS AND CHILDREN The universal right to education has been affirmed by the world’s governments for more than 50 years, most recently by the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the 191 member states of the United Nations in 2000. However, some 115 million children—among them 62 million girls—are still denied this right. According to data from UNICEF, outside of the developed world, only 76 percent of all boys and 70 percent of all girls attend primary school. Researchers have shown that education, particularly women’s education, yields powerful positive outcomes in levels of fertility, health, life expectancy, and economic development. Therefore, in addition to the Population Council’s research on schooling and the transition to adulthood, Council researchers have worked to identify obstacles to school enrollment and primary school completion, including families’ assessment of the value of education, teachers’ attitudes toward girl students, and the effects of living standards and relative poverty. Current work is exploring the factors that influence parents’ decisions to enroll their children in primary school. Results of this research thus far suggest that school quality influences decisions on initial enrollment. In addition, the resources of the community as a whole, such as public transportation, sewerage, and electricity, can have a significant effect on school enrollment. Project Publications/Resources on this issue See Also
|
| |||||||||||
