IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v104y2024ics073805932300216x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does institutional quality matter for primary school retention? Lessons from Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Mugume, Regean
  • Bulime, Enock.N.W.

Abstract

Our study examines school institutional drivers of pupil retention schools in Uganda over the period 2008–2014. We use longitudinal data from a sample of 7824 government and privately owned primary schools. Using the fixed effects regression model, we estimate the association between institutional factors and retention. Our study finds that only three in every ten (32%) pupils who enrolled in primary one complete primary seven. Regression results further suggest that school retention is associated with moderate and not necessarily small class sizes which promote a conducive learning environment as well as group interactions among the learners. Additionally, retention is associated with boarding schools, and government–owned schools compared to their private counterparts. These findings suggest the need for government to strengthen the school inspection function especially in rural based government schools promote surveillance critical in addressing pupil dropouts. Furthermore, recruiting more and better trained teachers while regulating high school fee policy is critical to provide a support system for pupils to complete the primary school cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Mugume, Regean & Bulime, Enock.N.W., 2024. "Does institutional quality matter for primary school retention? Lessons from Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:104:y:2024:i:c:s073805932300216x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073805932300216X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102940?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shwetlena Sabarwal & Malek Abu-Jawdeh & Radhika Kapoor, 2022. "Teacher Beliefs: Why They Matter and What They Are [Instructional Time Loss in Developing Countries: Concepts, Measurement, and Implications]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 37(1), pages 73-106.
    2. Matthew M. Chingos & Kenneth A. Couch, 2013. "Class Size and Student Outcomes: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 411-438, March.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & Victor Lavy & Kohtaro Hitomi, 2008. "Do Students Care about School Quality? Determinants of Dropout Behavior in Developing Countries," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 69-105.
    4. Miguel Urquiola, 2006. "Identifying Class Size Effects in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rural Bolivia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 171-177, February.
    5. Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & Michael Kremer, 2015. "Education, HIV, and Early Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(9), pages 2757-2797, September.
    6. Isaac Mbiti & Karthik Muralidharan & Mauricio Romero & Youdi Schipper & Constantine Manda & Rakesh Rajani, 2019. "Inputs, Incentives, and Complementarities in Education: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1627-1673.
    7. Sophia Kan & Stephan Klasen, 2021. "Evaluating universal primary education in Uganda: School fee abolition and educational outcomes," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 116-147, February.
    8. Louise Grogan, 2009. "Universal Primary Education and School Entry in Uganda," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(2), pages 183-211, March.
    9. Guloba, Madina & Wokadala, James & Bategeka, Lawrence, 2010. "Does teaching methods and availability of Teaching resources influence pupils’ Performance: evidence from four Districts in Uganda," Research Series 127537, Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
    10. Katikar Tipayalai, 2020. "Impact of international labor migration on regional economic growth in Thailand," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, December.
    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. Stephanie Psaki & Nicole Haberland & Barbara Mensch & Lauren Woyczynski & Erica Chuang, 2022. "Policies and interventions to remove gender‐related barriers to girls' school participation and learning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review of the evidence," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), March.
    2. Al-Samarrai, Samer & Shrestha, Unika & Hasan, Amer & Nakajima, Nozomi & Santoso, Santoso & Wijoyo, Wisnu Harto Adi, 2018. "Introducing a performance-based component into Jakarta's school grants: What do we know about its impact after three years?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 110-136.
    3. Christopher Jepsen, 2015. "Class size: Does it matter for student achievement?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 190-190, September.
    4. Fang, Ximeng & Goette, Lorenz & Rockenbach, Bettina & Sutter, Matthias & Tiefenbeck, Verena & Schoeb, Samuel & Staake, Thorsten, 2023. "Complementarities in behavioral interventions: Evidence from a field experiment on resource conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    5. Marcus H. Böhme & Sarah Kups, 2017. "The economic effects of labour immigration in developing countries: A literature review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 335, OECD Publishing.
    6. Brudevold-Newman, Andrew, 2021. "Expanding access to secondary education: Evidence from a fee reduction and capacity expansion policy in kenya," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Han, Joseph & Ryu, Keunkwan, 2017. "Effects of class size reduction in upper grades: Evidence from Seoul, Korea," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 68-85.
    8. Burlando, Alfredo, 2023. "Tuition fees and the intra-household allocation of schooling: Evidence from Uganda’s Free Primary Education reform," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Keats, Anthony, 2018. "Women's schooling, fertility, and child health outcomes: Evidence from Uganda's free primary education program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 142-159.
    10. Yao Yao, 2022. "Fertility and HIV Risk in Africa," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 109-133, July.
    11. Celhay, Pablo A. & Depetris-Chauvin, Emilio & Riquelme, Cristina, 2024. "When a strike strikes twice: Massive student mobilizations and teenage pregnancy in Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    12. Sakaue, Katsuki, 2018. "Informal fee charge and school choice under a free primary education policy: Panel data evidence from rural Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 112-127.
    13. Assaad, Ragui & Ginn, Thomas & Saleh, Mohamed, 2023. "Refugees and the education of host populations: Evidence from the Syrian inflow to Jordan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Manasvi Sharma, 2024. "Ethnic fertility and exposure to armed conflict: the case of Sri Lanka," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1317-1351, December.
    15. Salman Asim & Stefan Dercon & Ravinder Gera Casley & Donna Harris, 2024. "Does Effective School Leadership Improve Student Progression and Test Scores? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Malawi," CSAE Working Paper Series 2024-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    16. TANAKA Ryuichi & WANG Tong, 2024. "How do Classmates Matter for the Class-size Effects?," Discussion papers 24004, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    17. Diether W Beuermann & C Kirabo Jackson & Laia Navarro-Sola & Francisco Pardo, 2023. "What is a Good School, and Can Parents Tell? Evidence on the Multidimensionality of School Output," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 65-101.
    18. Berlinski, Samuel & Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul, 2009. "The effect of pre-primary education on primary school performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 219-234, February.
    19. María Orduz, 2022. "Effect of educational spending on academic performance under different institutional arrangements," Documentos CEDE 20224, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    20. Blimpo, Moussa P. & Pugatch, Todd, 2021. "Entrepreneurship education and teacher training in Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

    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:eee:injoed:v:104:y:2024:i:c:s073805932300216x. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    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.