Gender differences in education: an exploration of time spent in school, work and study

Sajeda Amin, Population Council
S. Chandrasekhar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

The decision to go to school and work are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Since child labor in rural areas is often light, if children had access to schools they would be able to attend school and also work. An improved understanding of time use patterns of children and adolescents will help formulate appropriate policies for improving school enrolment, grade completion, and educational attainment. We approach the issue of child schooling and work outcomes using a data set on time use of children and adolescents in Bangladesh. We have two hypotheses. First, with the considerable investments in programs to send poor children to school, attendance in school and time spent in school will be less sensitive to measures such as poverty. Second, time spent in domestic work is likely to explain the amount of time spent studying at home more than it will influence time in school.