What do we mean by school entry age? Conceptual ambiguity and its implications: the example of Indonesia

Barakat, Bilal and Bengtsson, Stephanie (2018) What do we mean by school entry age? Conceptual ambiguity and its implications: the example of Indonesia. Comparative Education, 54 (2). pp. 203-224. ISSN 0305-0068

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Abstract

The age pattern of school entry reflects a complex social and empirical reality that is inadequately captured by a single number. Recognising these complexities in national and international research and policy discourse raises important but neglected questions around the identification of vulnerable groups, the relative value of pre-primary and primary education, as well as the normative powers and responsibilities of governments vis-à-vis parents, and the international educational community vis-à-vis both. This is illustrated by the example of Indonesia, where the official age norm for primary school entry is widely disregarded in practice, with a majority of children starting school one or even two years earlier. Crucially, it is the compliant children entering at the statutory age who tend to be from more disadvantaged households, and enjoy no benefit in educational outcomes from their greater maturity.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [grant Z171-G11].
Divisions:	Departments > Sozioökonomie > Sozialpolitik > Demographie > Wittgenstein Centre
Version of the Document:	Published
Depositing User:	Gertraud Novotny
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2018 14:08
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2018 14:09
Related URLs:	Publisher https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1420-4405 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6476-8495
URI:	https://epub.wu.ac.at/id/eprint/6738

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