IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wodepe/v30y2023ics2452292923000188.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Children’s early foundational skills and education continuation in India: Heterogeneous analysis by caste, gender and location

Author

Listed:
  • Kumar, Deepak
  • Pratap, Bhanu
  • Aggarwal, Archana

Abstract

Despite near universal access to elementary education in India, children’s foundational literacy and numeracy skills remain low, particularly for disadvantaged groups. In this context, we examine how the early foundational skills (i.e., reading and math scores) is differently associated with the education continuation of SC/ST (i.e., Scheduled Castes/Tribes) and non-SC/ST children, and its variation by gender and location. Using India Human Development Survey panel (2005 & 2011–12) data, we find that children from disadvantaged groups (such as SCs and STs) have significantly lesser chances of education continuation, post enrolment. The level of early reading and math scores are positively and significantly associated with the likelihood of students’ education continuation. In addition, using the interaction analysis, we find that the marginal effect of reading and math scores is significantly higher for SC/ST female and urban children than their non-SC/ST counterparts. The results of the study suggest that the increase in the level of children’s foundational literacy and numeracy skills will significantly reduce school dropout, particularly for disadvantaged groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Kumar, Deepak & Pratap, Bhanu & Aggarwal, Archana, 2023. "Children’s early foundational skills and education continuation in India: Heterogeneous analysis by caste, gender and location," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:30:y:2023:i:c:s2452292923000188
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100502
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292923000188
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100502?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. Bhagavatheeswaran, Lalitha & Nair, Sapna & Stone, Hollie & Isac, Shajy & Hiremath, Tejaswini & T., Raghavendra & Vadde, Kumar & Doddamane, Mahesh & Srikantamurthy, H.S. & Heise, Lori & Watts, Charlott, 2016. "The barriers and enablers to education among scheduled caste and scheduled tribe adolescent girls in northern Karnataka, South India: A qualitative study," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 262-270.
    2. Nishimura, Mikiko & Yamano, Takashi, 2013. "Emerging Private Education in Africa: Determinants of School Choice in Rural Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 266-275.
    3. Kumar, Deepak & Padhi, Debasmita & Pratap, Bhanu & Aggarwal, Archana, 2022. "Corporal punishment and praise in Indian schools: Caste-based heterogeneity on children’s cognitive skills," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Björklund, Anders & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2011. "Education and Family Background: Mechanisms and Policies," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 3, pages 201-247, Elsevier.
    5. Desai, Sonalde & Dubey, Amaresh & Vanneman, Reeve & Banerji, Rukmini, 2009. "Private Schooling in India: A New Educational Landscape," India Policy Forum, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 5(1), pages 1-58.
    6. Rosenthal, Beth Spenciner, 1998. "Non-school correlates of dropout: An integrative review of the literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 413-433, June.
    7. Peter Glick & David E. Sahn, 2010. "Early Academic Performance, Grade Repetition, and School Attainment in Senegal: A Panel Data Analysis," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(1), pages 93-120, January.
    8. Steven G. Rivkin & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain, 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 73(2), pages 417-458, March.
    9. Hanushek, Eric A. & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon & Woessmann, Ludger, 2015. "Returns to skills around the world: Evidence from PIAAC," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 103-130.
    10. Ashwini Deshpande, 2007. "Overlapping Identities under Liberalization: Gender and Caste in India," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(4), pages 735-760, July.
    11. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    12. Dhiman Das, 2019. "Academic Resilience Among Children from Disadvantaged Social Groups in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 719-739, September.
    13. Nakajima, Maki & Kijima, Yoko & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2018. "Is the learning crisis responsible for school dropout? A longitudinal study of Andhra Pradesh, India," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 245-253.
    14. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    15. Alban Conto, Carolina & Akseer, Spogmai & Dreesen, Thomas & Kamei, Akito & Mizunoya, Suguru & Rigole, Annika, 2021. "Potential effects of COVID-19 school closures on foundational skills and Country responses for mitigating learning loss," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    16. Robert Haveman & Barbara Wolfe, 1995. "The Determinants of Children's Attainments: A Review of Methods and Findings," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1829-1878, December.
    17. Kumar, Deepak & Choudhury, Pradeep Kumar, 2021. "Do private schools really produce more learning than public schools in India? Accounting for student’s school absenteeism and the time spent on homework," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    18. Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi, 2005. "Where Has All the Bias Gone? Detecting Gender Bias in the Intrahousehold Allocation of Educational Expenditure," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(2), pages 409-451, January.
    19. Nam, Yunju & Huang, Jin, 2009. "Equal opportunity for all? Parental economic resources and children's educational attainment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 625-634, June.
    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. Goel, Deepti & Barooah, Bidisha, 2018. "Drivers of Student Performance: Evidence from Higher Secondary Public Schools in Delhi," GLO Discussion Paper Series 231, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Kumar, Deepak & Padhi, Debasmita & Pratap, Bhanu & Aggarwal, Archana, 2022. "Corporal punishment and praise in Indian schools: Caste-based heterogeneity on children’s cognitive skills," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. Nakajima, Maki & Kijima, Yoko & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2018. "Is the learning crisis responsible for school dropout? A longitudinal study of Andhra Pradesh, India," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 245-253.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2012. "Schooling, educational achievement, and the Latin American growth puzzle," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 497-512.
    5. Lergetporer, Philipp & Werner, Katharina & Woessmann, Ludger, 2020. "Educational inequality and public policy preferences: Evidence from representative survey experiments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Grewenig, Elisabeth & Lergetporer, Philipp & Werner, Katharina & Woessmann, Ludger & Zierow, Larissa, 2021. "COVID-19 and educational inequality: How school closures affect low- and high-achieving students," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Falck, Oliver & Heimisch-Roecker, Alexandra & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Returns to ICT skills," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    8. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 9388, CESifo.
    9. Ana Hidalgo-Cabrillana & Zoë Kuehn & Cristina Lopez-Mayan, 2017. "Development accounting using PIAAC data," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 373-399, November.
    10. Ozawa, Sachiko & Laing, Sarah K. & Higgins, Colleen R. & Yemeke, Tatenda T. & Park, Christine C. & Carlson, Rebecca & Ko, Young Eun & Guterman, L. Beryl & Omer, Saad B., 2022. "Educational and economic returns to cognitive ability in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    11. Lisa Grazzini, 2016. "The Importance of the Quality of Education: Some Determinants and its Effects on Earning Returns and Economic Growth," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 43-82.
    12. Hanushek, Eric A. & Jacobs, Babs & Schwerdt, Guido & Van der Velden, Rolf & Vermeulen, Stan & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 14854, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Bernhard Christopher Dannemann, 2020. "Better Off On Their Own? How Peer Effects Determine International Patterns of the Mathematics Gender Achievement Gap," Working Papers V-433-20, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2020.
    14. Huang, Jin, 2013. "Intergenerational transmission of educational attainment: The role of household assets," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 112-123.
    15. Kumar, Deepak & Choudhury, Pradeep Kumar, 2021. "Do private schools really produce more learning than public schools in India? Accounting for student’s school absenteeism and the time spent on homework," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Gradstein, Mark & Brückner, Markus, 2013. "Income and schooling," CEPR Discussion Papers 9365, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Chandan Jain, 2019. "Analysing Changes in Gender Difference in Learning in Rural India over Time," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 17(4), pages 913-935, December.
    18. Saria Hameed & Mumtaz Anwar Chaudhry, 2022. "Factors Affecting the Consumer Satisfaction with the Role of Social Media Influencers in Ready to Wear Clothing Brands," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(3), pages 98-106, December.
    19. Amin, Vikesh & Lundborg, Petter & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2015. "The intergenerational transmission of schooling: Are mothers really less important than fathers?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 100-117.
    20. Montse Gomendio, 2023. "The Level of Skills in Spain: How to Solve the Puzzle using International Surveys," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2023-35, FEDEA.

    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:wodepe:v:30:y:2023:i:c:s2452292923000188. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development-perspectives .

    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.