IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devpol/v40y2022is2ne12651.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving pathways for girls and disadvantaged youth through secondary education and into work: Evidence and reflections from practice: Special Issue Youth & Adolescent Skills Development: Preparing young people for diverse global challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Mallory Baxter
  • Milena Novy‐Marx
  • Sophia D'Angelo

Abstract

Motivation Given the changing nature of work and recent shocks to environmental, health, and economic systems, secondary education in sub‐Saharan Africa must prepare youth to be adaptive and resilient as they transition into challenging labour markets. Access to opportunities to develop relevant skills and knowledge through secondary education is critical to ensure girls and other marginalized young people can secure work or create their own entrepreneurial ventures to improve their livelihoods. Yet many girls and marginalized youth either drop out of school or progress through the education system without developing the skills needed to effectively transition into labour markets. Purpose This article aims to synthesize insights from Mastercard Foundation's portfolio of programming in secondary education and situate these findings in the broader literature on equitable secondary education and preparing youth for the transition to work in sub‐Saharan Africa. Methods and approach This article draws on Mastercard Foundation's portfolio of work in secondary education in sub‐Saharan Africa, including its flagship report Secondary education in Africa: Preparing youth for the future of work, the donor collaborative Partnership to Strengthen Innovation and Practice in Secondary Education (PSIPSE), and the Scholars Program in addition to a wider literature and evidence base. It synthesizes key findings from research and programmes focusing on equitable access to and relevant skills development in secondary education. Findings Three key insights are explored: the importance of targeted financing to expand access, flexible approaches to improve completion, and entrepreneurship programming to develop relevant skills—each critical for promoting secondary education that prepares young women and men for work. Policy implications A systems‐based approach is critical to improving the access and relevance of secondary education. Gender‐equitable approaches that account for intersecting barriers are necessary to improve inclusion of disadvantaged youth in education systems and prepare them for work.

Suggested Citation

  • Mallory Baxter & Milena Novy‐Marx & Sophia D'Angelo, 2022. "Improving pathways for girls and disadvantaged youth through secondary education and into work: Evidence and reflections from practice: Special Issue Youth & Adolescent Skills Development: Preparing y," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(S2), October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devpol:v:40:y:2022:i:s2:n:e12651
    DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12651
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12651
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dpr.12651?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2018. "Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5), pages 445-458, September.
    2. Claudio E. Montenegro & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2014. "Comparable Estimates of Returns to Schooling Around the World," Working Papers wp390, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    3. João Pedro & Amer Hasan & Diana Goldemberg & Koen Geven & Syedah Aroob Iqbal, 2021. "Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes: A Set of Global Estimates [Tackling Inequity in Education during and after COVID-19]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 1-40.
    4. Catherine Elliott & Catherine Mavriplis & Hanan Anis, 2020. "An entrepreneurship education and peer mentoring program for women in STEM: mentors’ experiences and perceptions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intent," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 43-67, March.
    5. Arvil V. Adams & Sara Johansson de Silva & Setareh Razmara, 2013. "Improving Skills Development in the Informal Sector : Strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15802.
    6. Cosentino, Clemencia & Fortson, Jane & Liuzzi, Sarah & Harris, Anthony & Blair, Randall, 2019. "Can scholarships provide equitable access to high-quality university education? Evidence from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campbell, Susanna G. & Üngör, Murat, 2020. "Revisiting human capital and aggregate income differences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 43-64.
    2. Malament Miriam, 2023. "Retornos a la Educación e Inversión en Capital Humano: El Caso Argentino," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4665, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    3. Sam Jones & Thomas Pave Sohnesen & Neda Trifković, 2018. "The evolution of private returns to education during post-conflict transformation: Evidence from Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-143, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Harry Anthony Patrinos & George Psacharopoulos & Aysit Tansel, 2019. "Returns to Investment in Education: The Case of Turkey," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 1906, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    5. Bilo,Simon & Ajwad,Mohamed Ihsan & Alansari,Ebtesam & Alhumaidan,Lama & Alrashidi,Faleh M F E, 2021. "The Long Shadow of Short-Term Schooling Disruption : Analysis of Kuwait's Civil Service Payroll Data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9641, The World Bank.
    6. Yubilianto, 2020. "Return to education and financial value of investment in higher education in Indonesia," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-28, December.
    7. Harry Anthony Patrinos & George Psacharopoulos & Aysit Tansel, 2019. "GLOBALISATION AND GOVERNANCE: Returns to Investment in Education: The Case of Turkey," ERC Working Papers 1903, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Mar 2019.
    8. Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2022. "Learning loss and learning recovery," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 49(2), pages 183-188, June.
    9. Ukaj MIC & Mustafa Topxhiu RAHMIJE, 2019. "The returns to investment in education: Some theoretical and empirical insights," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 1, pages 193-203.
    10. Marjan Entekhabi, 2023. "Human Capital in Developing Countries: Common Challenges and the Path Forward," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(2), pages 18-29, July.
    11. David E. Bloom & Alex Khoury & Vadim Kufenko & Klaus Prettner, 2021. "Spurring Economic Growth through Human Development: Research Results and Guidance for Policymakers," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(2), pages 377-409, June.
    12. Gordon Betcherman & Themrise Khan, 2018. "Jobs for Africa’s expanding youth cohort: a stocktaking of employment prospects and policy interventions," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Gong, Jie & Pan, Jessica, 2023. "The returns to an additional year of education for college graduates," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    14. Garcia Moreno,Vicente A. & Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2020. "Returns to Education in Azerbaijan : Some New Estimates," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9117, The World Bank.
    15. Kóczán, Zs., 2024. "Lasting scars: The long-term effects of school closures on earnings," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    16. Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2020. "The Learning Challenge in the 21st Century," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9214, The World Bank.
    17. Fasih,Tazeen & Patrinos,Harry Anthony & Shafiq,M. Najeeb, 2020. "Economic Crises and Returns to University Education in Middle-Income Countries : Stylized Facts and COVID-19 Projections," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9472, The World Bank.
    18. Acevedo, Ivonne & Fernández, Raquel & Pagés, Carmen & Székely, Miguel, 2023. "Education Inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13198, Inter-American Development Bank.
    19. Florencia Torche, 2019. "Educational mobility in developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-88, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Remi Jedwab & Paul Romer & Asif M. Islam & Roberto Samaniego, 2023. "Human Capital Accumulation at Work: Estimates for the World and Implications for Development," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 191-223, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devpol:v:40:y:2022:i:s2:n:e12651. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/odioruk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.