Analyzing spatial and non-spatial factors that influence educational quality of primary schools in emerging regions of Ethiopia: Evidence from geospatial analysis and administrative time series data

Abstract

Education is the most powerful instrument to transform socioeconomic status of given society. However, education will be only more effective when its quality is sustained. Education without quality is a gun without bullet. In developing countries there are number of factors that affect education quality. However, little is known about those factors. Therefore, this study seeks to identify spatial and nonspatial factors affecting quality of primary education in in Emerging Regions of Ethiopia. As methodology, descriptive survey design was used as the research strategy. Key informant interview, focus group discussion and field observation were used to collect primary data. Secondary data were also collected from reports, policy documents and research outputs. Efforts have been made to triangulate the collected facts. In order to interpret spatial analysis of accessibility and service area coverage, maps were prepared using Geographical Information System (GIS). Based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis, this study found that low teachers' qualification, low teachers' motivation, limited teachers' building capacity, ineffective school leadership, low participation of parents, lack of adequate school facilities, overcrowded classes, low quality of classrooms, high pupil teacher ratio, and lack of instructional materials were some of the non-spatial factors that lower education quality. The study further asserted that from the total area of the city, 32% was well accessible, 20% was moderately accessible, 5% fairly accessible and the rest 43% was not accessible at all. Based on all findings, it can be said that the Ethiopian government has a long way to go to deliver quality education to its citizens. Based on the results, it was recommended that to improve education quality efforts must be doubled on developing national and particularly regional educational system that are responsive to existing multiple challenges. Institutional, administrative and leadership reforms are mandatory to escape from this devastating situation.

Geospatial Data Analysis of School Distribution in Baghdad City

“…Primary school data were gathered from spatial and nonspatial data sources. Then, the spatial data of Baghdad was transformed into spatial layers and saved within the GIS database [36] to extract the locations of existing schools. The case study data comprise 787 schools and their statistical numbers, types, names, spatial coordinates, and student and teacher numbers.…”

“…[32] [35] stated that effective planning involves a preferable comprehension of the available resource, spatial distribution, and targeted population of demands and service provision, which can explain why resources are adapted to meet needs. Also, [10] mentioned that spatial accessibility is a significant index for assessing educational facilities distribution [36]. The Average Nearest Neighbor Analysis (ANNA) was devised in 1954 by plant ecologists Clark and Evans to spread different evolved plant species across the earth's surface; the approach shows the degree to which any observable distribution deviates from what can be predicted if there is a normal distribution of points.…”

“…So, education quality has not yet been ultimately achieved. Consequently, lack of access is one of the critical topics in the education system [36].…”

“…Lastly, the number of schools expanded parallel with the distance growth. Thus, all factors significantly influence education quality; if a student cannot access the educational institute in their neighborhood, socioeconomic and cultural impact the student learning process and education quality [36]. The spatial analysis determined the pattern of distances using the interpolation technique, where contour maps are produced as in Figures (5)(6)(7)(8), which explore four principle patterns.…”

Variation in Educational Attainment Levels: Statistical Evidence from The Nigeria Demographic Health Surveys (2008, 2013 and 2018)

“…

Education is an essential tool for societal and/or national advancement; but there seems to be a wide and varying disparity in the level of educational pursuit largely due to geographical positioning, limited resources, and socio-economic factors such as poverty, parental education level, and family income (Saima and Nasir, 2016;Abraham, 2019); as well as gender disparities with females having lower literacy rates compared to males -attributed to cultural practices, early marriage, and lack of access to education, especially in rural areas (UNESCO, 2019). Educational inequality is a global problem (Hart, 2019;Roza and Satrianto, 2021) often resulting in severe effects globally such as increased out-of-school children (Obasuyi et al, 2018), women trafficking, prostitution, and child labour (Adeoti, 2021); it also leads to generation of gaps and marginalization among groups (UNESCO, 2021).

…”