IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v56y2017icp1-10.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Time to learn? Time allocations among children in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Posel, Dorrit
  • Grapsa, Erofili

Abstract

We investigate the time allocations of children (10–17 years) in South Africa using nationally representative time-diary data. We show that racial variation in time allocations mirrors well-documented findings of racially differentiated schooling outcomes. African children spend significantly less time on learning activities than other children, particularly outside school hours. They also spend significantly more time on household and production work and on school-related travel. We use regression analysis to investigate whether these race differences persist among children in households with similar socio-economic characteristics; and we explore whether children’s subjective time evaluations reveal evidence of greater time pressure among African children.

Suggested Citation

  • Posel, Dorrit & Grapsa, Erofili, 2017. "Time to learn? Time allocations among children in South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-10.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:56:y:2017:i:c:p:1-10
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.07.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059317301396
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.07.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 1999. "School Inputs and Educational Outcomes in South Africa," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 1047-1084.
    2. Yamano, Takashi & Jayne, T S, 2005. "Working-Age Adult Mortality and Primary School Attendance in Rural Kenya," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 619-653, April.
    3. Jens Bonke, 2010. "Children’s housework – Are girls more active than boys?," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Ersado, Lire, 2005. "Child Labor and Schooling Decisions in Urban and Rural Areas: Comparative Evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 455-480, March.
    5. Gabrielle Wills, 2016. "Principal leadership changes in South Africa: Investigating their consequences for school performance," Working Papers 01/2016, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    6. Hosegood, Victoria & Preston-Whyte, Eleanor & Busza, Joanna & Moitse, Sindile & Timaeus, Ian M., 2007. "Revealing the full extent of households' experiences of HIV and AIDS in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 1249-1259, September.
    7. Servaas van der Berg, 2006. "How effective are poor schools? Poverty and educational outcomes in South Africa," Working Papers 06/2006, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    8. Martin Wittenberg, 2009. "The Intra-Household Allocation of Work and Leisure in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 159-164, August.
    9. Murray Leibbrandt & Ingrid Woolard & Arden Finn & Jonathan Argent, 2010. "Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty since the Fall of Apartheid," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101, OECD Publishing.
    10. Lam, David & Ardington, Cally & Leibbrandt, Murray, 2011. "Schooling as a lottery: Racial differences in school advancement in urban South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 121-136, July.
    11. Zapata, Daniela & Contreras, Dante & Kruger, Diana, 2011. "Child Labor and Schooling in Bolivia: Who's Falling Behind? The Roles of Domestic Work, Gender, and Ethnicity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 588-599, April.
    12. Martin Gustafsson, 2011. "The when and how of leaving school: The policy implications of new evidence on secondary schooling in South Africa," Working Papers 09/2011, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    13. Servaas van der Berg, 2007. "Apartheid's Enduring Legacy: Inequalities in Education-super- 1," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 16(5), pages 849-880, November.
    14. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2005. "Race, equity, and public schools in post-Apartheid South Africa: Equal opportunity for all kids," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 213-233, April.
    15. Wills, Gabrielle, 2016. "Principal leadership changes and their consequences for school performance in South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 108-124.
    16. Martin Wittenberg, 2009. "Lazy Rotten Sons? Relatedness, gender and the intra-household allocation of work and leisure in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 28, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    17. Nicola Branson & David Lam & Linda Zuze, 2012. "Education: Analysis of the NIDS Wave 1 and 2 Datasets," SALDRU Working Papers 81, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    18. Haroon Bhorat & Morne Oosthuizen, 2009. "Determinants of Grade 12 Pass Rates in the Post-Apartheid South African Schooling System," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(4), pages 634-666, August.
    19. Ragui Assaad & Deborah Levison & Nadia Zibani, 2010. "The Effect of Domestic Work on Girls' Schooling: Evidence from Egypt," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 79-128.
    20. Ian M. Timæus & Sandile Simelane & Thabo Letsoalo, 2013. "Poverty, Race, and Children's Progress at School in South Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(2), pages 270-284, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lam, David & Ardington, Cally & Branson, Nicola & Leibbrandt, Murray, 2013. "Credit constraints and the racial gap in post-secondary education in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 111, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    2. Nicola Branson & Julia Garlick & David Lam & Murray Leibbrandt, 2012. "Education and Inequality: The South African Case," SALDRU Working Papers 75, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    3. Fabrice Murtin & Thomas Laurent & Geoff Barnard & Dean Janse van Rensburg & Vijay Reddy & George Frempong & Lolita Winnaar, 2015. "Policy Determinants of School Outcomes under Model Uncertainty: Evidence from South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 83(3), pages 317-334, September.
    4. Debra Shepherd, 2013. "A question of efficiency: decomposing South African reading test scores using PIRLS 2006," Working Papers 20/2013, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    5. Ito, Takahiro & Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2018. "Abolishing user fees, fertility choice, and educational attainment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 33-44.
    6. Asmus Zoch, 2017. "The effect of neighbourhoods and school quality on education and labour market outcomes in South Africa," Working Papers 08/2017, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    7. Olivier Bargain & Prudence Kwenda & Miracle Ntuli, 2017. "Gender bias and the intrahousehold distribution of resources: Evidence from African nuclear households in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 071, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Nicola Branson & Clare Hofmeyr & David Lam, 2014. "Progress through school and the determinants of school dropout in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 106-126, January.
    9. Eyal, Katherine & Woolard, Ingrid, 2013. "School Enrolment and the Child Support Grant: Evidence from South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 125, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    10. Martin Gustafsson, 2007. "Using The Hierarchical Linear Model To Understand School Production In South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 75(1), pages 84-98, March.
    11. Marisa Coetzee, 2014. "School quality and the performance of disadvantaged learners in South Africa," Working Papers 22/2014, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    12. Lam, David & Ardington, Cally & Leibbrandt, Murray, 2011. "Schooling as a lottery: Racial differences in school advancement in urban South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 121-136, July.
    13. Olivier Bargain & Prudence Kwenda & Miracle Ntuli, 2017. "Gender bias and the intrahousehold distribution of resources: Evidence from African nuclear households in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-71, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Robert Hill, 2019. "Does IEB make the grade? Alternative testing methods and Educational outcomes: The case of the IEB in South Africa," Working Papers 201904, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    15. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2011. "School quality, clustering and government subsidy in post-apartheid South Africa," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 146-156, February.
    16. repec:ilo:ilowps:485483 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Stephen A. Coetzee & Astrid Schmulian & Rholé Coetzee, 2018. "Web conferencing-based tutorials: student perceptions thereof and the effect on academic performance in accounting education," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5), pages 531-546, September.
    18. Robert Cameron & Brian Levy, 2016. "The potential and limits of performance management: Improving basic education in the Western Cape," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-062-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    19. Derek Yu, 2012. "Youths in the South African labour market since the transition: A study of changes between 1995 and 2011," Working Papers 18/2012, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    20. Jeremy Seekings, 2014. "The Social and Political Implications of Demographic Change in Post-Apartheid South Africa," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 652(1), pages 70-86, March.
    21. Duncan Pieterse, 2015. "Childhood Maltreatment and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from South Africa," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(7), pages 876-894, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:56:y:2017:i:c:p:1-10. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.