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This paper sheds light on the role of family networks in the dynamics of a West African labour market, i.e. in the transitions from unemployment to employment, from wage employment to self-employment, and from self-employment to wage employment. It investigates the effects of three dimensions of the family network on these transitions: its structure, the strength of ties and the resources embedded in the network. For this purpose, [the authors] use a first-hand survey conducted in Ouagadougou on a representative sample of 2000 households. Using event history data and very detailed information on family network, [the authors] estimate proportional hazard models for discrete-time data.

[The authors] find that family networks have a significant effect on the dynamics of workers in the labour market and that this effect differs depending on the type of transition and the considered dimension of the family network. The network size appears to not matter much in the labour market dynamics. Strong ties however play a stabilizing role by limiting large transitions. Their negative effect on transitions is reinforced with high level of resources embedded in the network.

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The lack of appropriately qualified teachers in South Africa is growing rapidly and frequency of debates about the decline in teacher numbers in South Africa is increasing. In this study, the results of an investigation into possible factors that impact on the career choice of student teachers are reported. The reasons why first-year student teachers at the University of Pretoria chose teaching as a career were studied by using a non-experimental design (survey design; administering a non-standardised questionnaire). The results revealed inter alia that a number of factors influence the career choice of first-year student teachers. Trends that emerged from the current study include the following: many more women than men enter the teaching profession; relatively few students who speak an African language choose education as a field of study and the role of parents in helping their children to choose a career cannot be underestimated.

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This article examines how women managers in the maritime sector in Eastern and Southern Africa perceive the meaning of 'success' in their careers and how their work impacts on their lives. Eastern and Southern Africa have experienced the highest economic growth of the sub-African regions in the last few decades. As the majority of these countries are either coastal states or islands, the role of the maritime sector is large, contributing significantly to boosting the local economies. Despite the sector's traditionally male-dominated work environment, some women have reached managerial positions and have performed as remarkably as their male counterparts. However, this study highlights that to be successful in their maritime careers, women managers tend to live a work-led life rather than one that is work-life balanced. There is a lack of research on the work-life balance of the women labour force in Eastern and Southern Africa, particularly in the maritime sector. Here, a phenomenological method was adopted in which a survey was conducted to address this gap. A total of 45 responses were analysed to identify the challenges that Eastern and Southern African women managers are facing in the maritime sector today. Interviews were also carried out to further understand the meaning of career success to these women professionals engaged in the maritime sector. Although opportunities for women to participate in the formal economy have increased as a result of rapid industrialization in the regions, women are still expected to carry out the majority of domestic jobs associated with their traditional gender roles. The research concludes that the lack of a work-life balance model failed to increase women managers' agency within the 'man-made' system of the maritime industry. Given the particularities of each country, which impact on the actual realization of these women's aspirations, the article also acknowledges the importance of targeted capacity-building programmes by the International Maritime Organization for women at a regional and international level. This article is published as part of a collection on the role of women in management and the workplace.

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This study determined the perceived family-related determinants and implications of low enrolment of female students in electrical trade in technical colleges of Adamawa State. Two research questions were answered and two null hypotheses formulated to guide the study were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 13 Electrical Installation and Maintenance Work Trade (EIMWT) teachers and 129 parents of National Technical Certificate Two (NTCII) EIMWT students (either father or mother) in three Government Science Technical Colleges of Adamawa State. There was no sampling done as the entire population was used. A researcher developed 20-item questionnaire was used for the collection of data. Three lecturers from Electrical Technology Education Department of Modibbo Adama University Yola, validated the questionnaire. A reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was established to be 0.87 using Cronbach Alpha method.

The research questions were answered using weighted mean while t-test of independent samples was used to test the hypotheses. The study revealed low contribution from the female gender to family income in households and increased level of dependency of the female gender on the males in Adamawa State as major perceived family-related implications. The study therefore recommended among others that Adamawa State Government in collaboration with corporate bodies should embark on an awareness campaign in order to enlighten parents and family members on the prospects of EIMWT especially to female gender. The study concludes that mechanisms should be put in place to improve female enrolment into EIMWT as a way of investing in the education of females in view of breaking cycles of poverty and social vices that the females might be lured into.

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Youth transitioning into university face numerous life challenges, particularly in South Africa with its high levels of poverty and inequality. This article, recognising the vulnerability of many students, sets out to identify the resilience processes that facilitate the resilient outcomes of life satisfaction and academic progress. Using a sample of 232 psychosocially vulnerable undergraduate students, a quantitative survey was conducted and analysed using multivariate procedures. Results indicate that 27 per cent of the variance in life satisfaction was accounted for by 19 resilience variables, with community relationships and family financial security being individually significant, and that 18 per cent of the variance in academic progress was accounted for, with learning orientation being individually significant. Family relationships also emerged as important for both outcomes. The findings suggest that, during times of adversity, South African students draw in particular on relational resources in their home communities, and that academic progress is protected from deterioration by vulnerable students' love for learning. Practice implications for universities are proposed that go beyond reactive, therapeutic services towards creating a supportive academic community.

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Based on an approach focusing on actors and in particular on educational trajectories, this paper analyses the effects of diversification of educational provision on inequalities in rural Mali. It shows that there are considerable gaps in the skills acquired by students, including within formal education. These gaps are perceived as illegitimate by education stakeholders. The skills developed though the familial apprenticeship - which is simultaneous with schooling - play a prominent role in workplace integration. At the same time, the skills acquired through schooling are put into practice for productive activities. Consequences of these results for education policies are also analyzed.

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The performance of the sub-Saharan region in the area of lifelong learning is poor and basic education, the foundation of lifelong learning, is on the decline. As two thirds of the educationally deprived young people are girls, the focus of this paper is on the challenges of lifelong learning for girls. It looks at economic, social and cultural obstacles and includes a discussion of what needs to be done to promote lifelong learning among girls.

The volume of reports is indexed at TD/TNC 70.434; individual reports are indexed from TD/TNC 70.435 to TD/TNC 70.444. Show less

One aspect of the call for democracy in the recent Arab region uprisings is the issue of women's rights and gender equality. Three cultural and ideological forces have continued to shape the gender discourse in Arab Muslim-majority societies. They are: 'Islamic' teaching and local traditions concerning women's roles in a given society; Western, European colonial perception of women's rights; and finally national gender-related policy reforms. This paper examines the past and present status of women and gender-educational inequality in the Arab world with particular reference to Egypt and Tunisia, prior to and post colonialism. Special attention is given to colonial legacy and its influence on gender and education; to current gender practices in the social sphere with a focus on women's modesty (hijab); to international policies and national responses with regard to women's rights and finally to female participation in pre-university and higher education. These issues incorporate a discussion of cultural and religious constraints. The paper demonstrates similarities and differences between Egypt's and Tunisia's reform policies towards gender parity. It highlights the confrontation of conservative versus liberal ideologies that occurred in each country with the implementation of its gender-related reform policy.

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We investigate the micro-level determinants of labor force participation of urban married women in eight low- and middle-income economies: Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, Tanzania, and Vietnam. In order to understand what drives changes and differences in participation rates since the early 2000s, we build a unified empirical framework that allows for comparative analyses across time and space. We find that the coefficients of women's characteristics differ substantially across countries, and this explains most of the between-country differences in participation rates. In particular, the relationship between a woman's education and her participation in the labor force varies from being positive and linear (Brazil and South Africa) to being U- or J-shaped (India, Jordan, and Indonesia), or a mixture of both (Bolivia, Vietnam, and Tanzania). Overall, the economic, social, and institutional constraints that shape women's labor force participation remain largely country-specific. Nonetheless, rising education levels and declining fertility consistently increased participation rates, while rising household incomes contributed negatively in relatively poorer countries, suggesting that a substantial share of women work out of economic necessity.

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This collection of essays examines the various social, cultural, and economic intersections of rural place and global space, as viewed through the lens of education. The contributions explore practices that offer both problems and possibilities for the future of rural schools and communities, both in the United States and other countries. The chapters are as follows: Introduction: rural education and community in the twenty-first century / Kai A. Schafft and Alecia Youngblood Jackson; Part one, ‘Spaces of identity’: Learning to be rural: identity lessons from history, schooling and the U.S. corporate media / Paul Theobald and Kathy Wood; Poverty and school achievement in rural communities: a social-class interpretation / Craig B. Howley and Aimee Howley; ‘The drama of their daily lives’: racist language and struggles over the local in a rural high school / Susan L. Groenke and Jan Nespor; Fields of discourse: a Foucauldian analysis of schooling in a rural U.S. southern town / Alecia Youngblood Jackson; Part two, ‘Placing education’: The challenges of student transiency for rural schools and communities in the era of No Child Left Behind / Kai A. Schafft, Kieran M. Killeen, and John Morrissey; Wharf talk, home talk, and school talk: the politics of language in a coastal community / Michael Corbett; Globalization, asymmetric urbanization, and rural disadvantage in Sub-Saharan Africa / Sarah Giroux, Fatou Jah, and Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue; Teaching school in rural America: toward an educated hope / Jacqueline Edmondson and Thomas Butler; Part three, ‘Teaching communities’: Tribally controlled colleges and universities: global influence and local design / Susan C. Faircloth and John W. Tippeconnic III; The golden cage of rural college access: how higher education can respond to the rural life / Patricia M. McDonough, R. Evely Gildersleeve, and Karen McClafferty Jarsky; Opening their eyes: e-learning for rural and isolated communities in Australia / Stephen Crump and Kylie Twyford; Advocating for English language learners: U.S. teacher leadership in rural Texas schools / Rebecca M. Bustamante, Genevieve Brown, and Beverly J. Irby; Growing up rural and moving toward family-school partnerships: special educators reflect on biography and place / Gretchen Butera and Lisa Humphreys Costello; Conclusion: economics, community, and rural education: rethinking the nature of accountability in the twenty-first century / Kai A. Schafft. Show less