How does household and community female education affect school participation in a post conflict state? The case of Sierra Leone.

In West Africa, there is a lack of understanding regarding the impact of female education on children’s schooling. This is particularly the case in post-conflict states where there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the determinants of school attendance. The current paper uses two indicators, maternal and community female education, to investigate the relationship between school attendance and female education. Multilevel techniques are applied to the 2008 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey to undertake the analysis. Findings suggest that there is a positive association between school attendance and women’s education; the relationship is stronger at the community level than at the household level. The incremental effect of community female education is amplified among older children, children in rural and poorer communities. Both the household and community effects of women’s education did not vary between households and communities respectively, suggesting a consistent positive effect of female education on children’s school participation.