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Reducing gender inequality, increasing government legitimacy: Recent findings from research on community-based education in Afghanistan

Wed, March 8, 9:45 to 11:15am, Sheraton Atlanta, Floor: 2, Augusta (South Tower)

Session Submission Type: Group Panel

Description of Session

This panel investigates the role of community-based education (CBE) in reducing inequalities in access to education among out of school children, across the urban and rural divide and between genders, in Afghanistan. The presentations examine CBE from the perspectives of government actors, nongovernmental service providers, and external academic researchers. Together the presentations examine the assumptions that service providers hold about whether and how CBE works as a strategy for expanding equal access to quality education for both boys and girls across geographic locales. The presentations discuss the merit of investing in CBE in Afghanistan by evaluating the impact of the intervention as well as the extent to which addressing inequalities in education serves as a mechanism for increasing government legitimacy.

Research has established CBE as a mechanism for increasing equality in education in Afghanistan. According to the 2012 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, average net school attendance in urban areas was 77.9% as compared to 53.8% in rural areas. A similar disparity exists between genders. Among boys in 2012, average nationwide net school attendance was 64%. Average nationwide net school attendance among boys was 48.3%. CBE addresses both gaps. Research conducted in 2009 showed that providing community-based classes dramatically improved attendance for both boys and girls in rural areas, increasing attendance rates to 70%, close to the average in urban areas (Burde and Linden 2013). Furthermore, girls’ enrollment increased by 15 percentage points more than did boys’. Learning outcomes were also affected, with CBE narrowing the gender gap in test scores. These results have led to substantial investment in CBE in Afghanistan. This panel examines how these investments have affected service providers’ approach to CBE.

This panel also examines why a state may decide to prioritize the expansion of access to education through interventions like CBE. Scholars theorize that providing education may increase the legitimacy of the state, contributing to stability (Burde, 2014; Mosselson, Wheaton, and Frisoli, 2009). Researchers have shown that this is primarily the case if education is equitably distributed across the country (Østby, Nordås, & Rød, 2009; Thyne, 2006). The panel considers the extent to which CBE may increasing legitimacy and how this function may provide support for investing in the intervention.

The panel consists of four presentations. First, representatives from the Afghan Ministry of Education show how the provision of CBE has changed over time and discuss a new strategy for improving access to education, particularly for girls, that may reinforce CBE. Second, CRS describes its experience implementing a CBE program and presents anecdotal evidence on the value of using religious messages to encourage parents to send their girls to school. Third, Aga Khan presents research on strategies for bolstering the participation of community members in CBE management and the educational outcomes of girls. Finally, the NYU researchers present evaluation results comparing different models of CBE and the extent to which the intervention improves learning, reduces gender inequity, and increases government legitimacy.

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