 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The working papers prepared by Young Lives that appear in this section include studies of children and poverty done with all or part of the group of children being followed in Peru. Other publications on childhood poverty from other countries participating in Young Lives can be found on the Young Lives Web site:
(http://www.younglives.org.uk/our-publications/working-papers).
| Working Paper 70 |
|
 |
'I'd rather be hit with a stick...Grades are sacred': Students' Perceptions of Discipline and Authority in a Public High School in Peru
This working paper discusses views and experiences of discipline and punishment in everyday schooling among a group of boys and girls aged between 14 and 16 years old, who are attending a public high school in an urban Andean city in Peru. It draws on data collected using a range of a qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews with students, their parents, teachers and headteacher; group discussions with students; and class-, school- and home-based observations.
More
The findings suggest that punishment is the cornerstone of the disciplinary system within the school setting and therefore shapes social relationships between the different agents involved, including students, teachers and parents. The school environment defines students as actors who lack authority and voice; they are there to obey the rules imposed by the headteacher and teachers, and if these are not observed, students are penalised. The high school studied, far from presenting itself as a democratic institution, reproduces hierarchical relationships and ends up being fertile ground for the imposition of will through physical and verbal aggression, not only between teachers and students but also among the students.
|
|
| Working Paper 65 |
|
|
Psychosocial Status and Cognitive Achievement in Peru
The aim of this paper is to assess the importance of psychosocial status in the accumulation of cognitive skills during the transition from mid to late childhood. We use longitudinal data from a cohort of 700 Peruvian children drawn from a very rich dataset, the Young Lives survey, to test the impact of children’s perception of respect at the age of 8 on cognitive achievement four years later, controlling for cognitive skills at the age of 8, lagged child and household characteristics, and community fixed effects.
More
This empirical specification is akin to estimating a conditional demand function for cognitive skills, which deals with some of the main pitfalls of skill endogeneity. We find that poorly respected children are linked to a lower rate of cognitive accumulation than their better-respected counterparts. A child’s perception of respect increases later cognitive achievement by about 7 per cent of a standard deviation, a substantial effect given the marginal contribution of other cognitive determinants. As expected, we also find that previously accumulated cognitive skills enable higher subsequent cognitive skill accumulation. We go one step further by testing and finding evidence of complementarities across skills. We show that cognitive differences amplify over time between children with low and high psychosocial skills. Overall, our results suggest that psychosocial status, an aspect little studied in the context of developing countries, plays an important role in the acquisition of cognitive skills during childhood.
|
|
| Working Paper 63 |
|
|
Change and Opportunity: The Transition from Primary to Secondary School in Rural and Urban Peru
This paper reports the expectations, concerns and experiences of Peruvian children from four contrasting districts during their transition from primary to secondary school. The children who participated in this study were aged 11 to 13 years old and were part of Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty in four countries. They were visited in two consecutive years to capture different views before, during and after the transition process. Qualitative methods were used to elicit the views of children themselves, as well as those of their parents and teachers. The study found that children do identify a series of changes related to the different organisation and pedagogical approach in secondary schools: these are seen by children both as a difficult challenge in academic and social terms, but also as an opportunity to enjoy more freedom and autonomy and to grow up and progress in their educational careers.
More
The study also highlights the importance of peer relationships as sources of academic and emotional support in making this transition. We argue that, to fully understand this transition, it is necessary to situate it within a particular discourse about the role of education in children’s narratives, in order to contextualise this moment and its importance in relation to children’s personal and family aims. The social and cultural meanings associated with education are related to a particular view of progress, upward mobility and modernisation, which involves becoming a professional and living in the city, and thus a major change in identity, especially for rural children. In this way, the research shows how the meanings associated with education sustain children’s transition through the school system and their expectations for the future.
|
|
|
| Working paper 57 |
|
|
Early Nutrition and Cognitive
Achievement in Pre-school Children in Peru
The aim of this paper is to examine the link between early stunting and later cognitive achievement. It differs from nutrition–learning studies in other developing countries in that it focuses on pre-school children, and therefore time spent in school plays no role. Data comes from a cohort of children in Peru (Young Lives survey), for which information is available from two points of time: 2002, when they were six to 20 months old; and 2006-7, when they were 4 to 6 years old. For the empirical estimation, I use Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), controlling for lagged child and household characteristics and taking into account community characteristics. To try to identify early nutrition, I use maternal height and exposure to low temperatures during the first months of life as instrumental variables (IVs) for early nutrition.
More
OLS results show a positive and statistically significant impact of early nutrition on cognitive achievement four years later for the full sample. Using maternal height as an instrument, IV estimations produce a higher coefficient for the parameter of interest, implying that OLS might be downward biased. Using average minimum temperature as an IV for a sub-sample of communities located in the Highlands produces results in the same direction. Preliminary results are reported and discussed.
|
|
| Working Paper 56 |
|
|
Maternal Migration and Child Well-Being in Peru
Migration affects not only those who migrate, but may also have intergenerational effects on their children. Looking at those mothers with a history of internal migration who are part of the Young Lives project, and comparing them with suitable controls, we find that mothers’ migration has had a positive impact on the nutritional outcomes and cognitive achievement of their offspring.
More
However, we also find that there are heterogeneous impacts, as different types of migration trajectory (rural to rural; rural to urban – to intermediate cities or to the capital, Lima) can be associated with the prevalence of different channels affecting child well-being. Those channels are the income channel, as migration may lead to new income-generating opportunities; the information channel, as migration may allow the mother to access more information about child-care and health-related practices; and the access to services channel, as migration may facilitate or hinder access to key public services.
|
|
| Documento de Trabajo 54 |
|
|
Pathways through Early Childhood Education in Ethiopia, India and Peru
The potential of quality early childhood and primary education to help break inter-generational poverty cycles is widely recognised. My focus is on how far this potential is being translated into reality, through implementing positive early childhood policies in practice. The paper summarises evidence from Young Lives research into early transitions, based on both survey and in-depth qualitative research with 6,000 Young Lives younger cohort children in Ethiopia, Andhra Pradesh (India) and Peru.
More
Primary education is still being consolidated in Ethiopia, and pre-school is a minority urban experience, mainly offered by the private sector. Peru offers a very different story, with a well-established government primary and pre-school system but concerns about quality and coordination between sectors. Andhra Pradesh offers the most complex set of challenges, with a long-established government system of ECCE, but an increasing trend towards use of private services, including amongst the poorest communities. The paper offers five broad conclusions, about the importance of: ensuring quality and equity in early education; better coordinated pre-school and school systems; targeting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children; recognising the full range of equity issues; and ensuring more effective governance, including governance of the private sector.
|
|
|
| Working paper 51 |
|
|
Promoting Early Childhood Development through a Public Programme: Wawa Wasi in Peru
Working Document 51 presents the results of a study from the Niños del Milenio/Young Lives project about the impact of the Wawa Wasi program on child development and the perceptions that different actors have about the program. Wawa Wasi is the public program with the greatest state coverage oriented toward children aged six months to four years who live in impoverished circumstances. A maximum of eight children can be registered in each Wawa Wasi and can attend the center five days a week where they are under the care of a “caregiver mother,” who is a woman from the community. The program includes components of care, learning, nutrition and health.
+ More
Regarding the developmental levels of the children, the results of the study demonstrate that a group of children who have spent six months in a Wawa Wasi have similar indicators regarding large motor skills, language and fine motor development as other children of a similar age and from similar socioeconomic circumstances who remained at home. However, after the children attended the Wawa Wasi the program implemented a plan to strengthen its cognitive stimulation and early learning component, so the development of the children who participated could subsequently be better.
On the other hand, for the study we interviewed a wide range of relevant local actors and nearly all of them had a positive attitude regarding the program: the Wawa Wasi are perceived to be a place where children are safe, where they have a nutritious diet and which allow their mothers to dedicate themselves to their domestic work, to go out to work or to study without having to worry.
Currently the Wawa Wasi program is exploring ways to expand its services to other areas where children are living in poverty or extreme poverty, in order to contribute to the integral development of boys and girls. This study describes some of the strengths and makes some suggestions to strengthen its notable achievements, publicly awarded and recognized in diverse opportunities.
|
|
|
| Working paper 47 |
In recent years, a growing body of literature has pointed to the importance of children’s experiences of preschool and first grade as foundational for success during the subsequent school years. However, most of this research has been carried out in industrialised countries and has paid little attention to developing countries. This paper therefore seeks to contribute to this area by paying attention to the Latin-American context, where repetition and drop-out rates tend to be high, and taking as a case study an Andean country characterised by cultural diversity.
More
Young Lives in Peru has conducted qualitative research on a subsample of four communities throughout the country, which represent different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. This paper describes findings in relation to data generated on the preparedness of schools and teachers for facilitating transition to first grade; parents’ perspectives on early schooling; how much information they have on the transition; and the ways in which children experience this transition. In this way, the research shows how childhood is represented and experienced during early childhood transitions and across different domains (home, school, community). A mixed method approach was used, combining interviews with parents, teachers and children; participatory techniques with children; home and community observations; and classroom observation at preschool and primary levels.
|
|
|
| Working paper 36 |
Peru is in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA which would eliminate trade concessions on most goods and services. This paper analyses the potential impacts of such extensive trade liberalisation for Peru. The focus is on possible short-term welfare impacts and especially on child-related welfare outcomes. The effects of a full and abrupt elimination of tariffs as part of a FTA are estimated in a general equilibrium framework, a branch of theoretical micro-economics which seeks to explain production, consumption and prices in a whole economy. More
Using this framework the connection between domestic prices and household welfare is modelled. Additionally, the demographic profiles of the most vulnerable population groups are analysed to assess whether children will be at an increased risk. The modelling exercise identifies that there will be potential negative short-term impacts of a FTA particularly for households in rural areas. Based on these findings, the authors suggest a gradual reduction of tariffs to allow time for policies to be developed to boost rural productivity and the ability to withstand external competition. They conclude that a FTA could have different negative short-term effects on children’s welfare, such as increased child labour and school drop-out rates. Therefore, they recommend the creation and strengthening of social safety nets and welfare programmes as a measurement to protect children from negative effects of a FTA with the USA.
|
|
| Working paper 35 |
This paper presents and discusses the findings of a study on families’ and teachers’ understanding of parental involvement in children’s schooling in public primary schools in Peru. The study was undertaken against a background of encouragement of parental participation in education as a means to democratise and improve the quality of educational services. In Peru, as elsewhere, parental involvement in schooling is increasingly seen as contributing to learning and achievement.
More
A sample of 16 children in four departments of Peru was interviewed, together with their teachers and parents. Researchers found parents have limited knowledge about how learning takes place in schools and how they can support their children. Hardly any schools have strategies to guide parental involvement in schooling. Understanding of learning is especially inadequate among poorer and less-educated families. The authors draw the attention of policy-makers to the need to develop better strategies to shape and promote parental involvement in ways that might help enhance children’s learning and achievement.
|
| Working paper 28 |
|
Capital social y resultados educativos en el Perú urbano y rural |
|
|
Social Capital and Education Outcomes in Urban and Rural Peru
Although enrolment in primary schools in Peru is very high, more than half of primary school children are one or more grades below the norm for their age. Evaluations show Peruvian school children score well below the global average for their age and the average of countries with similar socio-economic circumstances. The role of social capital, or social networks and support, trust, and reciprocity, in explaining these findings has not been studied. Research in the United States has suggested positive associations between social capital and educational achievement.
More
Young Lives researchers have examined whether social capital is associated with educational progress and achievement in Peru. In this paper, the authors consider the impact of social capital on children aged 7.5 to 8.5, focusing on whether or not the child is in a school grade corresponding to his/her age and achievements in mathematics and language. The findings in this paper confirm poor educational outcomes for many Peruvian school children. High proportions were unable to master simple tasks and were in a lower grade than they should have been considering their age. Educational achievement is clearly linked to poverty. Rural students are poorer and even more likely to achieve test results below their expected grade. This seems to be equally the case for both boys and girls. The results here do not support the hypothesis of a positive association between the social capital available to the family and their children’s educational attainment – but do show an association between cognitive social capital at the community level (norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs) and children being in the correct grade for their age. Communities in which there are relations of trust are more likely to have children who are in the correct school grade for their age. This finding applies to how children are progressing at school (whether they are in the correct grade for their age), but does not apply to their achievement (results in tests).
|
|
| Working paper 24 |
|
Does having a Newborn Child Affect Income Diversification Opportunities? Evidence from the Peruvian Young Lives Study
The ability of households to diversify their income sources is strongly related to their capacity to cope in times of pressure, such as during economic crises. This is particularly so among the poor, who often do not have adequate resources on which to draw when under such pressures. Households with a newborn child face two additional constraints: the income-generating capability of mothers can be moderately or severely reduced; and households may have to spend more because of the newborn child. Very little is known about whether income diversification strategies are constrained for such households, but such constraints could have serious implications for child well-being at a critical time in the child’s development. More
This paper describes the income diversification patterns of Peruvian households with young children (aged between 6 and 18 months). Comparisons are made with the overall population in Peru, and with the income diversification patterns of households in the same communities who have no young children. The authors explore links between income diversification strategies, household assets, the external environment and child well-being. Their findings give empirical support for policy or project interventions aimed at increasing income-generating opportunities for Peruvian women with a newborn child.
|
|
| Working paper 14 |
|
The Interaction of Public Assets, Private Assets and Community Characteristics and its Effect on Early Childhood Height-for-Age in Peru
Child health, particularly long-term nutritional status, is closely related to the characteristics of families, communities and children, including level of education and access to public services. Public policy has a crucial role in increasing the likelihood that a child can access high quality health-care and other services that affect health status. Access to these public services, however, may have different effects depending on community and family characteristics, particularly the education level of the mother or caregiver. In Peru, despite a dramatic increase in investment in health during the last decade, there is still a large degree of inequality of access.
More
This paper uses Young Lives data to explore the interaction of private assets, such as education, with public services, provided at the community and household level. The authors explore the ways in which maternal education levels interact with access to clean water and sewage, availability and quality of health facilities, proximity to paved or engineered roads, and access to electricity. The authors also focus on the direct and indirect impact of maternal education levels on height-for-age measurements. Their results clearly establish that the level of maternal education is an important determining factor of child nutritional status. Only in the case of those mothers who are more educated does access to services not make a significant difference to nutritional status. These findings thus endorse the argument investment in public services is even more necessary in areas of low maternal education levels.
|
|
| Working paper 13 |
|
Shocks Económicos y Cambios en los Patrones de Escolaridad Educativa
|
|
|
Economic shocks and Changes in School Attendence Levels and Education Expenditure in Peru
Despite improvements in enrolment rates in recent decades, the Peruvian school system still has serious shortcomings. A high drop-out rate in secondary school stems from the fact that the system does not provide adequate support for students who fall behind, cannot afford to go to school, or would rather work than continue their education. The situation becomes particularly difficult for households who face economic shocks that force them to reassign time and money away from education.
This paper studies the effect of economic shocks on household investment patterns in Peru using a sample of 6- to 14-year-old children going through the Peruvian education system. Most studies that have tried to determine the effect of economic shocks on human capital (investment in education, skills training, health, and well-being) have focused on an analysis of changes in school enrolment. The authors here suggest a more comprehensive analysis of the possible mechanisms through which investment in education can be affected. More
The conclusions presented here support the hypothesis that shocks have an impact on the quality, rather than the length, of education. The evidence shows that shocks do not necessarily effect the school drop-out rate or the rate of ‘over-age schooling’ (of children at least one year older than the age expected for their grade). The evidence does demonstrate, however, that negative shocks do reduce the effective accumulation of human capital through cuts in spending on education, in both urban and rural areas. Results are significant both when a short-term shock is brought about by changes in household income or expenses and when it is brought about by changes in employment status.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
