Volume 2, Issue 2
General Issue

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to the Journal of Education for International Development (JEID). JEID is very pleased to publish articles that bring relevant and timely information to education professionals working in developing countries around the world.

Many developing countries today are striving to meet international education targets set by the Education for All Conferences and the Millennium Development Goals and to achieve their own national education goals. As countries worldwide move toward universal access to quality education, they face many challenges. These include financial constraints, inadequately trained education professionals, lack of reliable and accurate data, and policy limitations. Information to help overcome these challenges is essential. The goal of JEID is to make available information on all issues relevant to the improvement of quality education at all levels. All JEID issues are published online, free of charge.

I encourage you to consider contributing your articles to JEID and to register as a peer reviewer. By working together, we can put our knowledge in the service of sustainable development worldwide

Deborah Glassman, Editor

Reaching Out-of-School Children: Sub-Regional Disparities

Annababette Wils, Education Policy and Data Center, Academy for Educational Development
Ash Hartwell and Yijie Zhao and University of Massachusetts, Center for International Education

Citation
Hartwell, Ash, Wils, Annababette, Zhao, Yijie, (2006). Reaching out-of-school Children: Sub-regional Disparities. Journal of Education for International Development, 2.2. Retrieved from Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/3/ReachingChildren.pdf on [insert month] [insert day], [insert year].

Abstract
The international discussion about EFA focuses largely on national policies to get children into school. Many studies have shown that out-of-school children are disproportionately girls from poor rural areas and households. The regional disparities in education equality have been largely overlooked, however. This study examines the data from 30 countries and suggests the importance of the sub-national inequalities in education distribution, particularly for designing education policies. Its results indicate that countries with low national attendance rates show great regional disparity and that low attendance rates within sub-national regions usually correlate with low overall development. The most notable exception to this is Bangladesh, where most children are in school, even in the least developed regions. Bangladesh should therefore be studied as a model for good practice for bringing all children into school.

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Influencing Education Policy Using Participatory Research and Informed Dialogue: Lessons from El Salvador

Kristin Rosekrans, USAID/El Salvador

Citation
Rosekrans, Kristin (2006). Influencing Education Policy Using Participatory Research and Informed Dialogue: Lessons from El Salvador. Journal of Education in International Development 2:2. Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/3/InfluencingPolicy.pdf on [insert month] [insert day], [insert year].

Abstract
From 2002-2005, the United States Agency for International Development in El Salvador worked with the Ministry of Education of El Salvador and other key stakeholders to support a series of participatory assessments and studies that led to changes in education policy. This was carried out as El Salvador was redefining its national education agenda. Different approaches were used in informing the policy formulation process. These included having international researchers persuade policy makers to analyze new policy options to collaborations between researchers and policy makers to construct new knowledge. This paper discusses several approaches to informing education policy dialogue using participatory research, drawing on several experiences from El Salvador, and shares lessons learned from these experiences.

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The Girls' Stipend Program in Bangladesh

Janet Raynor, University of London Institute of Education
Kate Wesson, Open University, Milton Keynes

Citation
Raynor, Janet, Wesson, Kate (2006). The Girls' Stipend Program in Bangladesh. Journal of Education for International Development 2:2. Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/3/Bangladesh.pdf on [insert month] [insert day], [insert year].

Abstract
The Female Stipend Program (FSP) was created in 1982 in Bangladesh to help increase the enrolment and retention of girls in secondary schools. Implemented initially in 6 areas only, the program was so successful that it was extended in 1994. This paper, based on a desk study of the FSP for the Bangladesh office of the Department for International Development to evaluate the program's effects, is particularly pertinent for other developing countries seeking to support girls' education as part of the effort to meet EFA and Millennium Development Goals.

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Home-Based Schooling: Access to Quality Education for Afghan Girls

Jackie Kirk and Rebecca Winthrop, International Rescue Committee

Citation
Kirk, Jackie, Winthrop, Rebecca (2006). Home-based Schooling: Access to Quality Education for Afghan Girls. Journal of Education for International Development 2:2. Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/3/HomeBasedSchooling.pdf on [insert month] [insert day], [insert year].

Abstract
Girls' education in Afghanistan has begun to recover from the devastating Taliban regime. In March 2003, at the beginning of the school year, over 1,200,000 girls enrolled in primary school. A year later, almost 1,400 000 girls enrolled. Yet nearly 60% of school-age Afghan girls remain out of school and those who are in school are not assured of completing sixth grade. This paper describes a home-based schooling program that provides primary education for children in Kabul, Paktia, Logar and Nangahar Provinces. The program is particularly interesting in a country wracked by decades of war that is redefining its education policies and education system. Can the contributions of international NGOs serve to support this new Afghanistan education system, and especially to support the provision of quality education for girls?

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The Long Term Association of Early Childhood Diarrhea with School Success: A Case Study from Pakistan

Jonathan Mitchell, RTI International

Citation
Mitchell, Jonathan (2006). The Long Term Association of Early Childhood Diarrhea with School Success: A Case Study from Pakistan. Journal of Education for International Development 2:2. Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/JEID/articles/3/EarlyChildhoodDiarrhea.pdf on [insert month] [insert day], [insert year].

Abstract
Diarrhea is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among children in many places, yet its long-term effects on child development and school success are poorly understood. This paper uses multiple linear regressions on a group of 107 children in Pakistan to analyze the associations between diarrhea and infant malnutrition history, parental income, and education with school test results in math, English and Urdu. Controlling for parental education and income, malnutrition, and diarrhea data from birth to age five, long-term diarrhea before age two is associated with lower Z-scores in math; diarrhea after age two is associated with lower Z-scores in English. Diarrhea was less significantly associated with Urdu Z-scores. This study suggests that long-term early childhood diarrhea is an important risk factor for poorer school performance.

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The opinions and findings presented in this publication are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.