Dynamics underpinning children's frequency of school attendance in a number of ethnic minority villages in insular Malaysia

Research in Progress Seminar by Noemi Gerber.

Noemi Gerber

Abstract

In a time when ‘Education for All’ is at the forefront of the education and development agenda, the focus of policy interventions is often on school enrollment. However, 11 weeks of research in rural indigenous villages of East Malaysia suggest that children’s frequency of school attendance should be of greater concern.

Further, the use of several participatory methods revealed that children play an active role in the decision-making process concerning everyday school attendance. Thus, these findings suggest that research and policy debates need to go beyond the current focus on school enrollment and parents as decision-makers, towards an appreciation of frequency of school attendance, the dynamics underpinning this, and children’s agency.

See for more information:

Annet van Geen or Bram Buscher (buscher@remove-this.iss.nl)