Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The effects of community factors on school participation in Turkey: A multilevel analysis

  • Published:
International Review of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Turkey, like many developing countries, is facing considerable problems in terms of low school attendance rates, late enrolment and early dropout of girls in particular. Numerous studies have already been conducted, both in Turkey and elsewhere, to determine the factors affecting school enrolment of boys and girls. Existing studies in Turkey, however, have focused extensively on the association between household-level factors and school participation, ignoring the role of the broader environment in which children live. Using a recent, large-scale and nationally representative data set, this paper investigates school participation at both primary and secondary levels in Turkey, giving specific attention to community-level factors. In taking into account socioeconomic context variables using the multilevel modelling method, this study contributes significantly to current school participation literature in Turkey. The author’s findings highlight the importance of community/context factors in explaining low school enrolment in Turkey. The results of the study can help policy makers develop a systematic understanding of the relationship between socioeconomic context and school participation, and enable them to make more appropriate decisions for improving school participation across the country.

Résumé

L’incidence des facteurs communautaires sur la participation scolaire en Turquie : une analyse multicritères – Comme de nombreux pays en développement, la Turquie fait face à des problèmes sérieux liés aux faibles taux de fréquentation scolaire, à une scolarisation tardive et à l’abandon précoce particulièrement des filles. De nombreuses études ont déjà été réalisées, tant en Turquie que dans d’autres pays, pour déterminer les facteurs affectant la scolarisation des garçons et des filles. Mais les études menées en Turquie sont essentiellement axées sur l’association entre facteurs liés aux ménages et participation scolaire, sans tenir compte du rôle de l’environnement de vie des enfants. Exploitant un fichier de données récentes, recueillies à grande échelle et représentatives au niveau national, l’auteur examine la participation scolaire aux niveaux primaire et secondaire en Turquie et se penche spécialement sur les facteurs communautaires. En tenant compte de variables relatives au contexte socioéconomique au moyen de la méthode de modélisation multicritères, cette étude apporte une contribution notable à la documentation actuelle sur la participation scolaire en Turquie. Les résultats de l’auteur signalent l’importance des facteurs liés à la communauté et au contexte pour expliquer la faible scolarisation en Turquie. Les conclusions de l’étude pourront aider les décideurs à appréhender systématiquement les liens entre contexte socioéconomique et participation scolaire, et leur permettront de prendre des décisions adéquates pour renforcer la participation scolaire dans l’ensemble du pays.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In developing countries, young children’s schooling decisions are generally made by their parents (Huisman and Smits 2009).

  2. Unofficial school fees might be collected by schools during registration or regularly for each month or semester to pay the salary of extra staff such as security personnel and cleaners, to buy new materials or to fix old equipment etc.

  3. The Turkish school system was reformed in 1997 and again in 2012, each time increasing the number of compulsory years of education. My study is based on the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey which was carried out in 2008 (HUIPS 2009). In 2008, compulsory primary schooling was eight years. While there was no division within the primary schooling at that time, the last three years of primary school were sometimes referred to as “middle school”, or, in this paper, as “second-level primary”. Since 2012, however, primary schools are officially divided into elementary and middle schools, each of which takes four years, and compulsory education has increased to twelve years, including an additional four years of secondary schooling.

  4. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) investigates the linear relationship between two variables. The Kendall tau rank correlation coefficient measures the relationship between two variables in terms of similarities subject to rank.

References

  • Adams, J., & Hannum, E. (2005). Children’s social welfare in China, 1989–1997: Access to health insurance and education. The China Quarterly, 181, 100–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anh, T. S., Knodel, J., Lam, D., & Friedman, J. (1998). Family size and children’s education in Vietnam. Demography, 35(1), 57–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakis, O., Levent, H., Insel, A., & Polat, S. (2009). Türkiye’de Egitime Erisimin Belirleyicileri [Factors determining educational attainment in Turkey]. Istanbul: Egitim Reformu Girisimi, Sabanci Universitesi.

  • Basu, K., & Van, P. H. (1998). The economics of child labor. American Economic Review, 88(3), 412–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis. The Journal of Political Economy, 70(5), 9–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binder, M. (1999). Community effects and desired schooling of parents and children in Mexico. Economics of Education Review, 18(3), 311–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blundell, R., Dearden, L., Meghir, C., & Sianesi, B. (1999). Human capital investment: The returns from education and training to the individual, the firm and the economy. Fiscal Studies, 20(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P. H., & Park, A. (2002). Education and poverty in rural China. Economics of Education Review, 21(6), 523–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., & Brakewood, D. (2000). Labor structures and school enrollments in developing societies: Thailand and Kenya compared. Comparative Education Review, 44(2), 175–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., & Hannum, E. (2001). Education and stratification in developing countries: A review of theories and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 77–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chudgar, A. (2006). Factors associated with decisions to educate sons and daughters in India. PhD Thesis, Stanford University.

  • Chudgar, A. (2008). Looking beyond the household: The importance of community level factors in understanding underrepresentation of girls in Indian education. In M. A. Maslak (Ed.), The structure and agency of women’s education (pp. 201–215). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chudgar, A. (2009). Does adult literacy have a role to play in addressing the Universal Elementary Education challenge in India? Comparative Education Review, 53(3), 403–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chudgar, A., & Shafiq, M. N. (2010). Family, community, and educational outcomes in South Asia. Prospects, 40(4), 517–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(S), S95–S120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, R., & Zheng, Z. (2003). Determinants of school enrollment and completion of 10 to 18 year olds in China. Economics of Education Review, 22(4), 379–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dayioglu, M., Kirdar, M. G., & Tansel, A. (2009). Impact of sibship size, birth order and sex composition on school enrolment in urban Turkey. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 71(3), 399–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Leeuw, J., & Meijer, E. (2008). Introduction to multilevel analysis. In J. De Leeuw & E. Meijer (Eds.), Handbook of multilevel analysis (pp. 1–76). New York, NY: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dreze, J., & Kingdon, G. G. (2001). School participation in rural India. Review of Development Economics, 5(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duman, A. (2010). Female education inequality in Turkey: Factors affecting girls’ schooling decisions. International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 1(3), 243–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G. J. (1994). Families and neighbors as sources of disadvantage in the schooling decisions of white and black adolescents. American Journal of Education, 103(1), 20–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Kelly, P. (2002). Commentary: Uses and misuses of social capital in studying school attainment. In B. Fuller & E. Hannum (Eds.), Schooling and social capital in diverse cultures (pp. 73–83). Oxford: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Filmer, D. (2000). The structure of social disparities in education: Gender and wealth. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2268.

  • Garner, C. L., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1991). Neighborhood effects on educational attainment: A multilevel analysis. Sociology of Education, 64(4), 251–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goksel, I. (2008). Determinants of school attainment in Turkey and the impact of the extension of compulsory education. Paper presented at the Seminar on child labour, education and youth employment: A challenge for growth, Madrid, 11–12 September.

  • Govinda, R., & Bandyopadhyay, M. (2010). Social exclusion and school participation in India: Expanding access with equity. Prospects, 40(3), 337–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handa, S. (1996). Maternal education and child attainment in Jamaica: Testing the bargaining power hypothesis. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 58(1), 119–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannum, E. (2003). Poverty and basic education in rural China: Villages, households, and girls’ and boys’ enrollment. Comparative Education Review, 47(2), 141–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008). The role of cognitive skills in economic development. Journal of Economic Literature, 46(3), 607–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hisarciklilar, M. (2002). A censored regression model for the educational attainment of boys and girls in Turkey. Paper presented at the ERC/METU international conference in economics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 11–14 October.

  • HUIPS (Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies). (2009). Turkey demographic and health survey 2008 (TDHS-2008). Ankara: Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies in collaboration with T. R. Ministry of Health General Directorate of Mother and Child Health and Family Planning, T.R. Prime Ministry Undersecretary of State Planning Organization and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK).

  • Huisman, J., & Smits, J. (2009). Effects of household-and district-level factors on primary school enrollment in 30 developing countries. World Development, 37(1), 179–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilon, L., & Moock, P. (1991). School attributes, household characteristics, and demand for schooling: A case study of rural Peru. International Review of Education, 37(4), 429–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jencks, C., & Mayer, S. E. (1990). The social consequences of growing up in a poor neighborhood. In L. Lynn & M. McGeary (Eds.), Inner-city poverty in the United States. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirdar, M. G. (2009). Explaining ethnic disparities in school enrollment in Turkey. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 57(2), 297–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koc, G. Z. (2008). Sibling compositions and educational attainment of boys and girls. M.A. Thesis, Istanbul Technical University.

  • Kravdal, Ø. (2002). Education and fertility in sub-Saharan Africa: Individual and community effects. Demography, 39(2), 233–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, V. E., & Croninger, R. G. (1996). Social capital and children’s development: The case of education. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center of Education Research, University of Wisconsin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockheed, M. E., Bloch, D., Hamilton, A. O., & Vespoor, A. M. (1990). Primary education: A World Bank Policy Paper. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • MoNE (Ministry of National Education). (2010). National Education Statistics. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://sgb.meb.gov.tr/istatistik/meb_istatistikleri_orgun_egitim_2009_2010.pdf.

  • Pong, S. L. (1997). Sibship size and educational attainment in Peninsular Malaysia: Do policies matter? Sociological Perspectives, 40(2), 227–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Psacharopoulos, G., & Patrinos, H. A. (2002). Returns to investment in education: A further update. The World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2881. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sathar, Z. A., & Lloyd, C. B. (1994). Who gets primary schooling in Pakistan: Inequalities among and within families. The Pakistan Development Review, 33(2), 103–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skrondal, A., & Rabe-Hesketh, S. (2004). Generalized latent variable modeling: Multilevel, longitudinal, and structural equation models. USA: CRC Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Smits, J. (2007). Family background and context effects on educational participation in five Arab countries. Working Paper, 07-106. Nijmegen: Nijmegen Center for Economics (NiCE).

  • Smits, J., & Gunduz-Hosgor, A. (2006). Effects of family background characteristics on educational participation in Turkey. International Journal of Educational Development, 26(5), 545–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sudha, S. (1997). Family size, sex composition and children’s education: Ethnic differentials over development in peninsular Malaysia. Population Studies, 51(2), 139–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tansel, A. (2002). Determinants of school attainment of boys and girls in Turkey: Individual, household and community factors. Economics of Education Review, 21(5), 455–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomul, E. (2008). The relative effects of family socio-economic characteristics on participation in education in Turkey. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 30, 153–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2010). Reaching the marginalized. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010. Paris/Oxford: UNESCO/Oxford University Press.

  • UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2011). Regional overview: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011. Paris: UNESCO.

  • Webbink, E., Smits, J., & Jong, E. (2008). Household and context determinants of child labor in156 districts of 11 developing countries. Working Paper 08-114. Nijmegen: Nijmegen Center for Economics (NiCE).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Sciences, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey

    Sedat Gumus

Authors
  1. Sedat Gumus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sedat Gumus.

Additional information

This paper is based on the author’s PhD dissertation, completed at Michigan State University, USA, under the supervision of Dr. Amita Chudgar.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gumus, S. The effects of community factors on school participation in Turkey: A multilevel analysis. Int Rev Educ 60, 79–98 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-014-9411-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-014-9411-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation