School Attendance and Grade Progression in Nigeria: Is Gender or Socioeconomic Status more Important?

C. Shannon Stokes, Pennsylvania State University
Aramide Kazeem, Pennsylvania State University
Leif Jensen, Pennsylvania State University

Nigerian 2004 DHS data are analyzed to determine the relative impact of gender and socioeconomic status on school attendance and grade progression. Logistic regression models show that both gender and socioeconomic status are important determinants of school attendance, although mother's education and household wealth are more strongly related than gender. Children whose parents were more highly educated, wealthier, Christian, and who had more egalitarian attitudes toward gender equality were more likely to be attending school. Gender was not related to school progression. Mother's education was positively related to children staying on-track and was more important than father's education. Although Christian children were more likely to attend school, they were not more likely to be on-track in grade progression than Muslim children.