Book Manuscript: Education, Citizenship, and Democracy in Mali
Primary school enrollment has increased dramatically in sub Saharan Africa since democratization in the 1990s. A large theoretical literature in political science identifies education as a tool for democracy and state-building. This project forecasts the effect of expanded access to schooling and the liberalization of educational sectors by analyzing the relationship between parents and students' educational experiences and their participation in politics. In a landscape of the declining quality of public education and a multitude of accredited private providers, including Islamic, Arabic- language schools, does schooling contribute to citizens’ political knowledge and participation? Are all educational institutions equally capable of forming democratic citizens?
I address this question in Mali, where primary enrollment has more than doubled since democratization and non-state providers educate nearly 40% of all primary students. I find that all types of education, including informal and Islamic schooling, heighten political knowledge. I find positive relationship between formal education and difficult political participation. I argue that formal education, especially at higher levels, empowers citizens to participate in more difficult political activities by increasing internal efficacy and French language skills. However, state schooling does appear to have a positive effect on the electoral participation of parents. Parents whose children attend/attended public school are more likely to report campaigning or voting than other citizens. Conversely, parents who send their children to madrassas are less likely to report voting than other citizens.
Introduction: Education and Citizenship in Africa
I locate my work within a tradition of literature on the role of education in democratization and state-building.
This literature suggests that dramatic increases in primary school enrollment will be beneficial to democratic deepening in Africa. In response to liberalization of the education sector, I raise alternative theoretical predictions that non-state schools could impede democratic citizenship. I introduce my research design, which includes 1000 surveys of Malian citizens, 200 interviews with university students, 50 interviews with educators and government officials, 450 exit polls, and sub-national government data on voting and education.
Chapter 2: Politiki ni Fanga Mali (Power and Politics in Mali)
This chapter introduces the reader to Mali – a poor, predominantly Muslim, country in West Africa. This chapter explores the roots of skepticism about multiparty democracy and it introduces the tension and separation between Western, secular authority and religious/traditional authority.
Chapter 3: Mali’s Evolving Educational Landscape
It outlines Mali’s democratic evolution and offers a historical view of the education sector and the different types of schools: public, private, Christian, Koranic, madrassas, and community schools. The Chapter also includes parental justifications for school enrollment in different types of schools.
Chapter 4: Can Education Empower Citizens?
How do citizens’ educational experiences affect their levels of political knowledge and political participation? This chapter tests assumptions that greater education leads to greater knowledge of politics and higher levels of participation. I compare education at different types of schools, both secular and religious, using a statistical analysis of my surveys. I complement the quantitative analysis with citizens’ justifications for responses, interviews with university students, as well as data on elected officials' education profiles. I argue that all forms of education, state, private, and religious, provide empower citizens to learn about politics and increases their internal efficacy.
Education, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, empowers citizens with French language skills to participate in the most difficult forms of politics: campaigning, running for office, and contacting a government official.
Chapter 5: Schooling and Allegiance to the State: Getting Parents to Participate
I examine the relationship between parents, different types of education providers, and the state.
Does greater social service provision by the state foster political knowledge and participation? Can non-state providers precipitate exit out of formal channels of political participation? I introduce survey data on school choice, political knowledge, trust, and participation to address these questions. I find that parents who send their children to state schools are more likely to report voting in the 2007 presidential elections than other types of parents. I find that parents who send their children to Islamic schools are less likely to report voting than other citizens, but just as likely to participate in other forms of politics.
Chapter 6: Educational Expansion and Democratization in Africa
I discuss the findings in light of the recent coup d'etat in Mali and theorize implications for democratization across the continent including the barriers literacy poses to imagined citizenship, the role of Islam and democratization in Africa, the importance of internal efficacy, and the tradeoffs between educational access and quality. I propose hypotheses to test theories generated from my data on Mali as well as important avenues for future research.
Primary school enrollment has increased dramatically in sub Saharan Africa since democratization in the 1990s. A large theoretical literature in political science identifies education as a tool for democracy and state-building. This project forecasts the effect of expanded access to schooling and the liberalization of educational sectors by analyzing the relationship between parents and students' educational experiences and their participation in politics. In a landscape of the declining quality of public education and a multitude of accredited private providers, including Islamic, Arabic- language schools, does schooling contribute to citizens’ political knowledge and participation? Are all educational institutions equally capable of forming democratic citizens?
I address this question in Mali, where primary enrollment has more than doubled since democratization and non-state providers educate nearly 40% of all primary students. I find that all types of education, including informal and Islamic schooling, heighten political knowledge. I find positive relationship between formal education and difficult political participation. I argue that formal education, especially at higher levels, empowers citizens to participate in more difficult political activities by increasing internal efficacy and French language skills. However, state schooling does appear to have a positive effect on the electoral participation of parents. Parents whose children attend/attended public school are more likely to report campaigning or voting than other citizens. Conversely, parents who send their children to madrassas are less likely to report voting than other citizens.
Introduction: Education and Citizenship in Africa
I locate my work within a tradition of literature on the role of education in democratization and state-building.
This literature suggests that dramatic increases in primary school enrollment will be beneficial to democratic deepening in Africa. In response to liberalization of the education sector, I raise alternative theoretical predictions that non-state schools could impede democratic citizenship. I introduce my research design, which includes 1000 surveys of Malian citizens, 200 interviews with university students, 50 interviews with educators and government officials, 450 exit polls, and sub-national government data on voting and education.
Chapter 2: Politiki ni Fanga Mali (Power and Politics in Mali)
This chapter introduces the reader to Mali – a poor, predominantly Muslim, country in West Africa. This chapter explores the roots of skepticism about multiparty democracy and it introduces the tension and separation between Western, secular authority and religious/traditional authority.
Chapter 3: Mali’s Evolving Educational Landscape
It outlines Mali’s democratic evolution and offers a historical view of the education sector and the different types of schools: public, private, Christian, Koranic, madrassas, and community schools. The Chapter also includes parental justifications for school enrollment in different types of schools.
Chapter 4: Can Education Empower Citizens?
How do citizens’ educational experiences affect their levels of political knowledge and political participation? This chapter tests assumptions that greater education leads to greater knowledge of politics and higher levels of participation. I compare education at different types of schools, both secular and religious, using a statistical analysis of my surveys. I complement the quantitative analysis with citizens’ justifications for responses, interviews with university students, as well as data on elected officials' education profiles. I argue that all forms of education, state, private, and religious, provide empower citizens to learn about politics and increases their internal efficacy.
Education, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, empowers citizens with French language skills to participate in the most difficult forms of politics: campaigning, running for office, and contacting a government official.
Chapter 5: Schooling and Allegiance to the State: Getting Parents to Participate
I examine the relationship between parents, different types of education providers, and the state.
Does greater social service provision by the state foster political knowledge and participation? Can non-state providers precipitate exit out of formal channels of political participation? I introduce survey data on school choice, political knowledge, trust, and participation to address these questions. I find that parents who send their children to state schools are more likely to report voting in the 2007 presidential elections than other types of parents. I find that parents who send their children to Islamic schools are less likely to report voting than other citizens, but just as likely to participate in other forms of politics.
Chapter 6: Educational Expansion and Democratization in Africa
I discuss the findings in light of the recent coup d'etat in Mali and theorize implications for democratization across the continent including the barriers literacy poses to imagined citizenship, the role of Islam and democratization in Africa, the importance of internal efficacy, and the tradeoffs between educational access and quality. I propose hypotheses to test theories generated from my data on Mali as well as important avenues for future research.
