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Child malnutrition is a grave concern for Pakistan, as the country has one of the highest incidences of child stunting in the developing world. The present study examines the relative significance of parents' education on a child's nutritional status in Pakistan.

For analysis, the study has used data from Phase 7 of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) (2017–2018). Since the dependent variable ranges from 0 to 1 (1 indicates not a stunted child, while 0 represents a stunted child), binary logistic regressions are used for the analysis.

The results show that mothers' and fathers' education positively contributes to a child's nutrition. However, mothers' education is considered more significant, especially in the long run. The mother's education categories are positive and significant in the long run, while only their higher education is positive and significant for the father's. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect also shows that the probability of stunting is less if the mothers are educated. The long-run coefficient for mothers' higher education is 0.752, while that of fathers' higher education is only 0.232.

The present study compares the importance of mothers' and fathers' education in child nutrition and concludes that the role of the mother is more crucial for child upbringing. There are rarely any studies that focus on the role of fathers' education in child nutrition and compare whose role, mothers' or fathers,' is more important for child well-being.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0483

Resource allocation is a key policy instrument that affects the educational achievement distribution (EAD). The literature on methods of allocation is focused mainly on equity issues. The purpose of this paper is to develop a composite funding formula, which adds to the equity-based element (i.e. a needs-based element compensating for students’ low starting points), an element of rewarding improvement in schools’ educational achievement distribution (IEAD) (i.e. raising the overall level of achievement and narrowing the achievement gap).

This formula is developed using advanced regression models as well as integrating further policy considerations. The data sets are comprised of nation-wide student-level information on longitudinal students’ achievements (8th graders of 2006, and four years later 12th graders 2010), as well as student background characteristics, and teacher profiles and school features. The Israel data serve as an interesting case study for other countries which are similarly characterized by its students’ diversity, and by its aspiration to improve its EAD and to narrow the achievement gap.

Results reveal that the variance among students’ performance is mostly explained by their past performance. In addition, other background characteristics also contribute to the explained variation in students’ performance; however, a lower contribution was found, compared with that of the previous performance. Specifically, schools’ value added contributes 25 percent to the overall 50 percent of explained variance. In other words, allocating resources to schools solely with accordance to equity issues might have an adverse effect on improvement. Yet, designing a composite mechanism that integrates both equity and improvement issues might be more effective.

Policy makers in other countries that strive to achieve improvement as well as equity in education might consider adjusting the technique developed in this work. The proposed technique might be adjusted based on each country’s nation-wide student-level data. The design of a research-based funding formula aimed at improvement in education as well as considering equity issues might be more effective, equitable, and efficient.

The main contribution of this work is the conceptual development of IEAD, as well as its measured weight in the funding formula. This work suggests an innovative method of allocation that rewards schools by allocating larger resources based on the improvement gained in the process of learning (not just on the inputs or outputs/outcomes). This research value lays in its design of a composite funding formula that takes into account, in addition to the equity component, an innovative improvement-based component. In addition to that, the value of this research lays on its policy implications. This research suggests and develops a technique for developing a research-based funding formula that might be useful for other countries aspire to improve their education.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between education and competencies from a comparative view, while controlling for background characteristics (e.g. parental education), home features (e.g. income) and country fixed effect.

This paper utilises an international data sets of 12 Belt and Road (B&R) countries participating in the PIAAC survey. Data are examined using regression models with “REPSET” Stata code. The focus on B&R countries is interesting as this recent economic and strategic development alliance might transform the contemporary global balance of power. Therefore, examining its educational development is important.

Findings reveal the higher the level of education, the higher the competency level in numeracy and literacy. Age was found to be negatively related to competencies, and gender was found to be dually significant. Among the examined B&R countries, Slovenia, Russia and Israel contribute the most to the numeracy, literacy and problem solving competencies (respectively) compared with other countries. The findings might contribute to the design of education for development policies aimed at increasing the level of state competitiveness while accounting for social cohesiveness.

The paper provides a comparative study into educational development of the B&R alliance, and therefore offers an insight of the developmental cooperation as it emerges. The focus on the B&R initiative is important as it is a strategic development alliance which might transform the contemporary global balance of power. Therefore, the examination of the above-mentioned relationships with the focus on B&R countries might advance the strategic design of this cooperation.

Sixteen million adolescents give birth each year, constituting 11% of all births worldwide. Adverse adolescent pregnancy outcomes are well-documented. Available data on adolescent pregnancies have mainly relied on self-reported age and retrospective survey data, which might not capture adolescent births accurately. This paper reports on trends in adolescent pregnancy and associated adverse birth outcomes in Matlab, Bangladesh, using data from the Matlab Heath and Demographic System (HDSS) which precisely documents maternal age.

The study was conducted in the rural subdistrict of Matlab in Bangladesh. HDSS data were used to examine trends in adolescent motherhood (10–19 years) in the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr, b) service areas (ISA) and government service areas (GSA) between 2007 and 2015. A total of 4,996 adolescent mothers were included in the analysis. Chi-square testing and binary logistic regression were used to document adolescent pregnancy trends and the differences in and causes of perinatal death.

The fertility rate was 27 per 1000 adolescent mothers in ISA and 20 per 1000 adolescent mothers in GSA, during the 9 years of the study period. The adjusted odd of an adolescent mother having a perinatal death in ISA, relative to GSA was 0.69. Significant determinants of perinatal death among adolescent mothers included maternal education, paternal education, mother’s age at first birth, asset score and distance from the nearest health facility.

This paper documents the real trend of adolescent pregnancy by capturing the accurate age at pregnancy for the first time in Bangladesh.

This study examines the extent to which educational outcomes are transmitted from mothers to daughters in rural China. An analysis of the 2010 China Family Panel Survey reveals that: (i) how far daughters go in their education is strongly associated with their mothers’ education; (ii) the association between mothers’ and daughters’ educational outcomes in rural China was found to be stronger than the corresponding relationships between mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, and fathers and sons, especially at higher levels of education; and (iii) while having more brothers and being born later worsens daughters’ educational outcomes, mothers’ higher education effectively mitigates these negative effects. These findings add to a growing body of literature and empirical evidence that challenges conventional social mobility research paradigms that neglect mothers’ roles. More importantly, the distinction between mother–daughter relationship and that between fathers and daughters and mothers and sons highlights the fact that education is likely transmitted intergenerationally via mechanisms that differ depending on the gendered parent–child pairs.

This paper aims to discuss the determinants of food security in Kassala state using the measurement of Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). We use the measurement of HFIAS and use new primary data from a food security household survey in Kassala state (2019).

This paper focuses on the determinants of food security in Kassala state using the measurement of Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), using new primary data from a food security household survey in Kassala state (2019) and using the multinomial logistic regression analysis and both ordered logit and ordered probit regression to examine the determinants of food security.

Our results are in support of our hypothesis that the significant determinants of household food insecurity are family-owned production (that negatively affects the probabilities of household being food insecure), household income (that negatively affects HFIAS). We observe that the effects of family-owned production on household food insecurity are particularly significant in the case of mildly and moderately food insecurity. We explain that the other factors that affect the household food insecurity include improvement in the level of agricultural services, marketing, banking services and road characteristics that reduce HFIAS. We find a gender gap related to food security in the sense that male-headed households produce more food compared to female-headed households and also families headed by males are more likely food secure. Therefore, the major policy implication from our results is the importance of increasing households income and enhancing family own production of food to eliminate food insecurity.

This paper provides a significant contribution to the Sudanese and international literature because it discusses the determinants of food security in Kassala state. Different from the two other accompanying papers that focused on the incidence of food security in Kassala state using the measurement of Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the determinants of production of food and consumption of food in Kassala state, this paper focuses on the determinants of food security in Kassala state using the measurement of HFIAS and using new primary data from a food security household survey in Kassala state (2019). We fill the gap in the Sudanese literature because we provide a more interesting analysis of the determinants of food security in Kassala state. Our analysis is useful from policy perspective since we provide useful policy recommendations to enhance food security through agricultural development in Kassala state.

The purpose of this paper is to show that HIV/AIDS‐related stigma has persisted world‐wide for decades. However, studies on the linkage between stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and misconceptions about HIV transmission routes in the general population, especially among youth in China, are sparse – a gap this study is intended to fill.

Cross‐sectional data from 1,839 students from 19 colleges were collected by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire in Jiangsu province of China.

This study reveals that there is a high proportion of college students having both stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS transmission routes. Multilevel logistic regression analysis results show that having stigmatizing attitudes towards PLWHA is positively associated with having misconceptions about HIV transmission routes. Participants with high misconception scores were more likely to possess stigmatizing attitudes towards PLWHA.

To reduce stigmatizing attitudes towards PLWHA, HIV/AIDS education should be strengthened among the general population, especially among youth.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the Cancer Society of Lower Saxony’s school-based nutrition education programme “5-a-day for kids”, designed to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption. Intervention: the programme included three parts (each 45 minutes): education-based classroom session; food knowledge in a local supermarket; and practical vegetable snack preparation. Additional promoting information materials for parents were provided.

A pre-/post-test research design was used for the evaluation. In total, 1,376 pupils (age 7-14, 51 per cent female), their parents and 69 teachers of 35 schools in Lower Saxony participated in the study. The fruit and vegetable intake was measured with the KiGGS-Food Frequency Questionnaire.

A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine the change in fruit and vegetable consumption over three measurements (baseline, one month, three months). No significant positive effect of the intervention was observed with the applied method for the daily intake of fruit and vegetables, neither at month 1 nor at month 3.

A 135 min school-based intervention does not seem to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption. To enhance its effectiveness, the programme may be improved by adding a longitudinal classroom component, extensive parental involvement and/or distribution of free fruit/vegetables every day.

This is the first evaluation of a 5-a-day-intervention in Germany.

Religious pursuits may promote explicitly “spiritual” goods (theo-relational connectedness, character formation, etc.) and “secular” utilities including health. The purpose of this paper is to initiate investigation of this intersection for paternal religious practices in Lithuania’s dynamic post-Soviet social context. Reflecting on religio-political history, the nature of the religious field, spiritual capital, and externalities related to confessional identity, what relationships exist between institutional engagement, devotional practice, education and other predictors in the post-Soviet Lithuanian religious context?

Original data were collected in 2011 (returning 73 of 100 surveys) in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Correlation and χ² identified variables for regression analysis. Given Ordinary Least Squares heteroscedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test), weighted least squares modeling estimated coefficients for extra mural and institutional religious practice generically and differentiated by confessional identity.

Generically and by confessional identity, utility differences in institutional context appear paradoxical to secularization hypotheses. While correlated, institutional engagement and non-institutional devotional practice evidenced non-complementarity regarding educational attainment: greater education predicted higher institutional engagement but sparer devotional life. The authors suggest in explanation higher opportunity costs in individual devotional practice opposite positive offsets from secondary institutional utilities (e.g. social networking). Both were predicted by education, work hours, the non-dependent religious practice variable, self-reported health status, patterned by confessional identity, specifically Protestant opposite majority Catholic. Intergenerationally, a gender gradient was identified.

This analysis illuminates with original data divergent public institutional and private devotional religious practice utility structures in a dynamic transitional post-Soviet context.

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised upwards the recommended contacts for antenatal care (ANC) by expectant mothers with a health provider from a minimum of four to eight over the pregnancy period. Although Ghana is yet to adopt the new recommendation, some women choose to adhere to the new protocol because of its enormous health benefits to the expecting mother and the unborn child. As part of ANC, family planning services are also provided to ensure child spacing and birth control. To reduce health costs, government introduced the free maternal health policy, Community-based Health Planning Services, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty and established the Northern Development Authority to increase access to healthcare and also create wealth. Given these interventions, the study hypothesizes that household wealth would not have a significant influence on antenatal visits and modern contraceptive use. Therefore, this paper aims to examine whether household wealth would play any significant role on the new minimum contacts proxied by antenatal visits and also on the use of modern contraceptives as a family planning counselling tool during ANC visits. The study further examines a possible heterogeneity effect of paternal characteristic on maternal health service utilization.

The study used data from the most recent Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS, 2014). Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the effects of household wealth on the number of antenatal visits and modern contraceptive use. The bivariate analysis employed the use of chi-square test whiles, the multivariate analysis involved estimations using logistic regressions.

The findings show that household wealth would play a critical role given the revised WHO minimum ANC contacts by expectant mothers. Household wealth exerts a positive and significant effect on ANC for all wealth quintiles for women who attended at least eight ANC visits, but was insignificant for the poorer and middle quintiles of those who attended four to seven visits. Wealth, however, had an insignificant relationship with modern contraceptive use. Generally, education, age, birth order, media exposure as well as geographical locations had a significant influence on both ANC visits and modern contraceptive use. The study further revealed a heterogeneous effect on ANC attendance. In particular, despite the relatively poor conditions, women in rural areas whose partners/husbands have attained a minimum of secondary education are about twice more likely to attend 4–7 antenatal visits compared to their counterparts whose husbands/partners are without education. Hence, a holistic health education, which includes husbands/partners in the rural areas as well as strengthening interventions that improve livelihoods, is crucial.

Health guidelines are constantly reviewed, and government policies must adapt accordingly. This paper looks at the significant role household wealth still plays on modern contraceptive use and ANC visits, given the revised WHO minimum ANC contacts and uniquely underscores the influence of paternal characteristics on the utilization of these maternal health services.