Determinants of Household Choice of Pre-Tertiary Education in Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26437/ajar.v11i1.876Keywords:
Financial Inclusion. household choice. private. public. schoolAbstract
Purpose: This research examined the factors influencing household decisions between public and private pre-tertiary education in Ghana, focusing on the relationship between socioeconomic household variables and school characteristics.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employed data from the Ghana Living Standard Survey Round 7 (GLSS7), which comprised a sample of 15,000 households drawn from 1,000 enumeration areas. It employed an explanatory research design and used a binary logistic regression technique for analysis.
Findings: The research found that though higher spending on pre-tertiary education decreases the likelihood of choosing private schools, higher school fees, transportation costs, and proximity to schools increase the likelihood of opting for private schools. It also revealed significant disparities between urban and rural households, with rural families less inclined to choose private schools due to lower income levels and limited access to private schools. Financial inclusion, reflected by households' bank accounts, was a key factor enabling private school choices.
Research Limitation: Although credible, the use of secondary data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GLSS 7) suffers from the usual problem of not asking all the questions that the research would have asked.
Social Implication: This research has the potential to inform the policies of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to implement strategies that enhance the accessibility and affordability of quality education nationwide.
Practical Implication: This includes expanding transportation infrastructure in rural areas to reduce distance barriers and improve access to public and private schools. Additionally, efforts to expand financial inclusion should be intensified to empower parents to make school choices for their children.
Originality/ Value: This research focused on socio-economic and school-related factors affecting school choice in Ghana, analysing how financial inclusion and regional disparities influence household educational decisions.
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