Girls' Education and Crises.

Overview & Synopsis

Research efforts have shown that girls' education is a key component in improving economic and social well-being. Investment in girls' education has been related to increased productivity and labor force participation, decreased fertility and infant mortality, and increased child health. Social, institutional, and political factors that contribute to low participation of girls in school may be exacerbated in times of severe economic downturn, civil strife, or epidemic disease, and interventions to overcome constraints may prove less effective. This report summarizes the results of an examination of types of crises on the participation of girls in primary schooling. The report is based on a compilation of statistics available in international databases. These statistics examine aspects of girls' education in 89 developing countries receiving United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assistance through descriptions of trends over an almost 30-year period of time. The report's summary of the general trends in girls' education follows a brief description of the methodological approach. The subsequent section discusses the principal findings regarding girls' education in these countries during periods of crisis resulting from severe economic downturn, epidemic disease, and internal conflict. The final section of the report draws implications from the findings. (Includes a list of acronyms, four notes, and 30 tables. Contains a 33-page bibliography. Appendix A includes education indicators by country. Appendix B depicts crises patterns by access, girls and women's education (GWE), region, and country.) (BT)