The Effect of Sociodemographic Factors on Female Educational Attainment: An Application of the Multipopulation Curie–Weiss Model

Abstract

In recent times, there have been a lot of advocacies to encourage females of all ages to pursue education to the highest level. The Government of Ghana and its stakeholders have championed this to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 in this regard. However, progress has been on a snail’s pace. In this study, we employed the multipopulation Curie–Weiss model to establish the influence of sociodemographic factors on the educational attainment of all females in Ghana. We utilized data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (2008 and 2014). The parameters of the interacting and noninteracting multipopulation Curie–Weiss models were estimated using the partial least squares and ordinary least squares methods, respectively. Our findings suggest that marital status, place of residence, and wealth status of females in Ghana influence their educational attainment. Therefore, to get more females of all ages to attain higher levels of education, the Government of Ghana and its stakeholders should channel their efforts towards eradicating poverty at all levels, preventing early and teenage marriages, providing better infrastructure, and creating better living conditions for all females especially those in the poorest regions of the country.