The Impacts of Retention, Expenditures, and Class Size on Primary School Completion in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-National Analysis

• Main Author: Ryan Richard Ruff
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Simon Fraser University 2016-08-01
• Series: International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership
• Subjects: Primary school completion; Retention; Expenditures; Class size; Africa
• Online Access: http://journals.sfu.ca/ijepl/index.php/ijepl/article/view/606/165

Education in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly viewed as a means of emancipation and a transformative project for social mobility. Developing nations have pursued policies such as universal or free primary education to increase access to education and improve student outcomes. In this study, direct and indirect precursors to primary school completion in Sub-Saharan Africa are analyzed using national cross-sectional data collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Results show that imbalanced pupil-teacher ratios and high student retention rates are negatively associated with primary school completion. Additionally, the positive relationship between expenditure increase and completion rates is mediated by a negative contribution to pupil-teacher ratios. Results are compared with existing production function research on educational inputs and student success.