Learning outcomes
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different and/or much more complex origins than education quality. In Kosovo, youth in both Serb- and Albanian-majority areas and in the corresponding Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia education systems strongly agree on this despite a history of highly politicized education. All youth subgroups in Tajikistan also agree, although youth in urban areas and those with a history of displacement feel more strongly that poor education quality increases the likelihood of military conflict (20 per cent of urban youth compared with 10 per cent of rural youth and 27 per cent of ever displaced youth, compared with 11 per cent of never displaced). These findings by no means support a conclusion that education quality has no impact on the risk of armed conflict in these or other countries. It does, however, show that the vast majority of Kosovo and Tajikistan youth are not focused on the ways in which poor education can directly or indirectly support armed conflict, and instead view the relationship as very indirect or non-existent in their contexts and are more concerned about, or aware of other potential consequences. Again by contrast, about half of Georgia’s youth feel that poor education quality increases the risks of grievances and disappointment with government and of a return to conflict. They feel this almost as much as they feel that poor education quality leads to decreased interest in secondary school. Youth in urban areas, older, tertiary-educated and unemployed youth are most likely to cite the increased risk of conflict. Furthermore, although youth concerns about how poor education quality impacts their feelings about government differ in the cases, youth distrust in government outpaces their feelings about how education quality rates overall. This indicates that sources of dissatisfaction and distrust of government often lie outside government performance on education service delivery, at least at the level of quality provided in these settings at the time of these surveys. Key findings: Learning outcomes • Although primary enrolment and increasing secondary and tertiary enrolment rates in each case reflect young people’s strong desire for formal education and their dedication to pushing past barriers to achieve their education goals, youth absenteeism and dropouts show that engagement in schooling is faltering for many youth, who say they continue to face many obstacles to achieving their education goals. Given the known links between serial absenteeism and dropping out in other settings, the reasons behind them require further research and action, including addressing differences in subgroup involvement. • Self-reported absenteeism is troublingly high in each case, involving nearly a third of youth in Kosovo, half of youth in Tajikistan and over two thirds of youth in Georgia. In Georgia and Tajikistan, being absent is associated with dropping out among the samples drawn, but not in Kosovo. Gender and age play roles in absenteeism all cases. Males are more likely to be absent without authorization than females, particularly in Kosovo. Although PISA results in other countries show corresponding poorer performance among males, higher levels of absenteeism do not consistently correlate with education progression to tertiary education along gender lines in the three cases studied. Females are less likely to be absent in each case, but in Georgia, they are more likely to be enrolled in tertiary education, while in Tajikistan, females are less likely to be enrolled in tertiary. While absenteeism occurs more often among older youth in Kosovo and Georgia, younger youth are more often involved in Tajikistan, where youth responsibilities for seasonal agricultural work is a contributing factor. • Between 5 and 7 per cent of youth surveyed in each case report having permanently dropped out of school before completing secondary education. In Tajikistan, when youth who claim to have temporarily suspended their education are included, the proportion reaches 17 per cent of the sample drawn. Their reasons are diverse, but dropouts most often say they left school mainly due to: lack of financial means/ poverty and the need to work (Kosovo); early marriage and lack of financial means (Georgia); lack of parental and/or spousal support and lack of interest in school (Tajikistan). Nearly all subgroups are equally
Demand for Education Innovation: Adolescent and youth perspectives on education quality in the CEECIS Region
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