Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The transition into school is one of the major changes in a child’s early life, and its timing can have long-term effects with regards to their human capital development. Delayed entry of primary school can affect student learning, retention and school drop-out (Arnold, Bartlett, Gowani, & Merali, 2007; Unicef, 2012). Starting primary school after the legal starting age is a common phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa resulting in children starting school up to several years later than their peers (Bommier & Lambert, 2000; Fentiman, Hall, & Bundy, 1999; Moyi, 2010). Empirical research found various reasons for postponing school attendance, among which are poverty (Engle & Black, 2008), child labor (Moyi, 2010), school quality and distance to school (Fentiman et al., 1999), and school readiness (Glewwe & Jacoby, 1995). The existing literature is limited on how parents decide when a child is ready to be send to school.

School readiness has been described as a combination of concentration, cognitive and socioemotional skills, and are considered important for learning and adaption to the classroom environment (Duncan et al. 2007). The development of these skills is associated with early life health and nutrition status (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007). However, perceived school readiness by the parents or caregivers may go beyond the children’s actual competencies may also include aspects such as physical appearance and parents’ perception of the child’s age (Fentiman et al, 1999). This study seeks to explore the relationship between height-for-age, school readiness (measured through a combination of cognitive, motor and socio-emotional skills) and early school attendance.
In this study we concentrate on children around primary school starting age in poor households in rural Zambia, who have a high chance to be malnourished (23% of children between 5 and 8 years are stunted) and are at a higher risk of starting school with a delay (only 32% of the children in this cohort is attending school). For our analysis we use a panel dataset enabling us to follow children throughout their early childhood into early school age. We use first differences and instrumental variables based on lagged input variables to purge the association from any endogeneity due to underlying parental preferences.

Preliminary results using first differences show a positive association between height-for-age and school attendance of children between 5 and 8 years. These results hold even when mediated through school readiness. In other words, height-for-age contributes to primary school attendance regardless of the level of skill development of children. These findings suggest that height-for-age and school readiness contribute to the decision to attend school in their own right. Policies concentrated on human capital development and school attendance should therefore account for school readiness skills and children’s height.