Abuya, BA

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

The Mediating Effects of Aspiration, Self-Confidence, Interest in Schooling, and Peer Influence on the Relationship Between Teen Girls' Behavior and Academic Performance

By Ngware, MW

Indulgence in risky behavior is a reason for low academic performance. We hypothesized that four constructs including academic aspiration, self-confidence, interest in schooling, and peer influence mediate the relationship between risky behavior and academic performance. Data are from 1256 school-going girls in urban slums who came from the lowest 40% of poor households. Results show that indulgence in risky behavior leads to low aspiration, low self-confidence, and low interest in schooling. The constructs mediate between risky behavior and academic performance even after accounting for covariates. The results imply that education practitioners can focus on soft-skills to enhance academic achievement.

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Understanding Wealth Inequalities in Education Access in Urbanizing Sub-Saharan Africa

By Mutisya, M

Introduction: Urbanization is a double-edged sword, while it is transforming the world, it is also creating spaces that pose threats to its benefits. In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization is occurring amidst slowed economic growth and into spaces that are already strained. This is resulting in the growth of urban poverty and possibly increasing inequalities. It is thus imperative to understand the effects of urbanization in realizing inclusive and equitable education for all.Objective: We examine inequalities in enrolment of schooling going children aged 6-17 years living in urban areas using the latest Demographic and Health Surveys data from 24 SSA countries.Methods: We utilize three measures of inequality: Rate difference, rate ratio, and relative concentration index to examine inequalities in education access. Using wealth status as the key inequality indicator, we compute and compare school enrollment of children living in urban poor households with that of those living in urban rich households for each measure of inequality. Where appropriate, we stratify the results by country, age, and gender.Results: The results show high levels of inequalities in education access in urban settings. Across all the measures of inequality, in most countries, children from urban poor households were significantly less likely to be in school compared to those from the richest ranked households. The degree of inequality varied considerably between countries and the age groups. Among children aged 6-11 years, Tanzania, Burundi, Nigeria, and Uganda had the highest degree of inequality favouring the urban rich. We also find intriguing results in few countries such as Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal and Mali, which the urban poor had, better school enrolments than the urban rich. We do not find a clear pattern to suggest girls from poor households are overly disadvantaged than boys from similar households.Conclusion: Our study shows a high level of inequalities in education access in an urban setting, with children age in urban poor settings hugely disadvantaged. There is a need for strategic efforts in terms of deliberate interventions and policy frameworks to combat the apparent inequalities that disadvantage children from poor families from accessing education.

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