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A study of equality of educational opportunity in Nepal using logistic regression analysis

Naruho Ezaki (Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan)

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

ISSN: 2396-7404

Article publication date: 3 August 2020

Issue publication date: 9 November 2020

169

Abstract

Purpose

While privatisation in education is expanding, the number of children transferring from public to private schools seeking high-quality education has increased. This study examined equality of educational opportunity, focussing on the attributes of individual children and their familial backgrounds. The target country is Nepal, which has been facing an educational disparity problem between public and private schools.

Design/methodology/approach

This study performed a logistic regression analysis with the objective variable as the binary capability to attend a private school and analysed the differences between children who attended public versus private schools. Semi-structured interviews with subjects and teachers and home-visit surveys were conducted to collect and confirm data.

Findings

This study revealed that particular children were excluded from seeking high-quality education in form of attending private schools. These children's characteristics correspond to lower economic status, illiterate mothers, being only children and female. Moreover, the study observed changes in awareness due to the modernisation and globalisation of Nepali society and growing enthusiasm for education, amongst others.

Originality/value

Research on privatisation and access to quality education, which has attracted scholarly attention in recent years, requires a broader scope regarding target countries and more in-depth analyses. This study focussed on Nepal since, in the country, the phenomenon of children leaving public for private schools is prominent and little research has been conducted on this context. Additionally, since the study gathered extensive data on individual children and did not rely on secondary data, it was possible to perform an in-depth analysis and accurately portray the real situation faced by Nepali children.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Takeshi Sekiya from Kwansei Gakuin University and Professor Yoko Ishida from Hiroshima University for providing valuable advice and support in the analysis. I also thank Dhirja Bahadur Kayastha for his kind cooperation. This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) under the Grant 26257114; JSPS Fellows under the Grant 16J09978; and Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up under the Grant 19K23304.Funding: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology >Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellows under the Grant 16J09978 Grant-in-Aid under the Grant 19K23304 Grant-in-Aid under the Grant 26257114.

Citation

Ezaki, N. (2020), "A study of equality of educational opportunity in Nepal using logistic regression analysis", International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 249-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-03-2020-0012

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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