Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
to complete their education (Heward and Bunwaree, 1999). These fac-
tors, combined with gender discriminatory attitudes which disadvan-
tage girls, particularly in contexts of poverty where parents are forced
to choose which of their children should continue their education, result
in significant differences between girls' and boys' enrolment, attend-
ance and attainment rates in rural and urban areas in several coun-
tries in the global South. Although gender gaps in primary education
have closed in the regions of East Asia/Pacific, Latin America/Caribbean
and Eastern/Southern Africa in recent years, girls of secondary school
age are more likely to be out of school than boys, and girls are less likely
to complete secondary and tertiary education (UNICEF, 2007). This is
regarded as particularly detrimental to long-term development goals,
since girls' completion of secondary education is perceived to have
long-term benefits in terms of delaying the age at which young women
first give birth, enhancing their bargaining power within households,
and increasing women's economic, social and political participation
(UNICEF, 2006).
Within the contemporary knowledge-based global economy, achiev-
ing a high level of education and financial autonomy are regarded as
increasingly important goals for many young people in the global
South. However, researchers have questioned the relevance of formal
education when secondary education is beyond the means of most
families; and even if young people manage to obtain secondary level
qualifications, this is not necessarily sufficient to secure formal sector
employment and may not enhance their livelihood outcomes (Ansell,
2004). Global processes such as economic decline and restricted labour
markets, urbanization, food insecurity, armed conflict, and the HIV and
AIDS epidemic mean that young people may be increasingly involved
in activities, roles and responsibilities that are usually associated with
'adulthood'. In rural Bolivia, for example, structural constraints affect-
ing the quality of education, household work demands and climatic
conditions restricted educational choices and led to poor perceptions of
schooling among children and parents (Punch, 2004). Formal education
was viewed simply as a means to the acquisition of basic literacy and
numeracy, and young people make early and rapid transitions from
primary school into work between the ages of 12-14 years. In communi-
ties affected by HIV and AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa, some
young people - particularly girls - take on caring roles for family mem-
bers living with HIV, orphaned children or elderly grandparents (Evans
and Becker, 2009). Their transitions to independent adulthood, such as
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