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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Pauline DixonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This paper reports on the findings of a natural experiment based on a sample of 1,123 children aged 4 to 8 from the Punjab province in Pakistan, and Gujarat in India. It looks at the impact of attendance (or not) in early schooling on the cognitive and social-emotional development of young children. The role of school attendance was assessed over one year. Children and their families were tested twice, in or near their village homes. The study confirmed that all children progressed in learning regardless of school attendance. The overall impact of schooling is clear but relatively small. Children who attended school over the year gained in numeracy and especially in social and emotional learning, which appear to be harder than literacy to pick up outside school. Parents and children offered a range of reasons for non-attendance, including safety at home for girls, economic necessity, and a perception that school will not matter for their child’s envisaged future. The study therefore raises a variety of issues for central and local governments to address if they want to create a school system suitable for all citizens
Author(s): Siddiqui N, Gorard S, Bulsari S, See BH, Dixon P, Saeed S, Safaraz H, Pandya K
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Educational Research Journal
Year: 2025
Volume: 51
Issue: 5
Pages: 2377-2400
Print publication date: 01/10/2025
Online publication date: 17/04/2025
Acceptance date: 13/02/2025
Date deposited: 23/04/2025
ISSN (print): 0141-1926
ISSN (electronic): 1469-3518
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4147
DOI: 10.1002/berj.4147
Data Access Statement: The anonymised data can be made available upon request
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