Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2016
Abstract
The Population Council and partners, with the support of the Human Dignity Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, implemented a pilot intervention in India─Project Sankalp─to assess the acceptability and feasibility of engaging parents and communities to promote girls’ secondary education. The project's aim was to measure its effectiveness in improving adolescent girls’ transition to secondary education, their attendance at school, and learning outcomes. Findings show that the effect of Project Sankalp on creating an enabling environment for girls to pursue secondary education was mixed. On the positive side, the project showed success in raising girls’ educational aspirations; improving parental support for their secondary education; and raising girls’ awareness of school management committees. However, there was no evidence of any effect on girls’ agency in matters concerning their schooling, awareness and utilization of the benefits available from school, and the time committed to school-related activities. These findings underscore the need for a longer-term engagement with girls and their parents than was possible in Project Sankalp, or for more intensive efforts that will enable girls to make effective use of the knowledge and skills they gain, and give parents more time to translate the messages they receive into real life practices.
DOI
10.31899/pgy9.1010
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Santhya, K.G., A.J. Francis Zavier, Pallavi Patel, and Neeta Shah. 2016. "Engaging parents to promote girls' transition to secondary education: Evidence from a cluster randomised trial in rural Gujarat, India." New Delhi: Population Council.
Project
Creating a Supportive Environment for Girls' Secondary Education in India
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gender Equity in Education Commons, International Public Health Commons