Partnerships Abstract and Research Project

Abstract
Factors Influencing Education Outcomes Among Adolescents in Northeast-Peru

According to the UNICEF Report on the Situation of Children in Peru, only 57% of all adolescents in Peru between the ages of 17 and 19 years complete secondary education (UNICEF 2012). In Loreto, a state in northeastern Peru, the rate of secondary education completion is only 38%. (Kallpa Iquitos 2006). This study was conducted in four low-income, urban, neighborhoods in a region of the state’s capital. The goal of this project is to provide local planners with education assessment data for programs to increase school completion. This study has two specific aims: 1. To generate a descriptive educational profile of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 25; 2. To understand high school graduation rates in relationship to household income and parental education. The combined Peruvian-U.S. team administered a 20-question survey for a total of 182 completed surveys. The participant sample was divided into three educational categories—continuing education, completed high school, and dropped out of high school. The parents of most high school graduates were classified into the high education category. Surprisingly, most of the adolescents who completed high school were in the low household income level. A chi square analysis was used to determine the strength of the correlation between participant education level and parental education or household income. A significant correlation was found between parental education and participant education level (p=0.0392), but not between household income and participant education level (p=0.389). These results suggest that parental education, but not household income may be key to increasing high school graduation rate in this region; results will be shared with our local partners.


Project Description
Factors Influencing Education Outcomes Among Adolescents in Northeast Peru
Introduction

PURPOSE
The goal of this project is to provide local planners with education assessment data for programs to increase school completion. This study has two specific aims:
1.    To generate a descriptive educational profile of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 25.
2.    To understand high school graduation rates in relationship to household income and parental education.

SETTING
The state of Loreto is located in northeast Peru. Iquitos, Loreto’s capital, is located in the Amazon Basin and is only accessible only by plane or boat. Pampachica is an impoverished peri-urban community consisting of nine diverse neighborhoods, located on the outskirts of Iquitos. High poverty rates, limited resources, and the transitory nature of the population that characterizes this region suggest that the population of Pampachica is more marginalized than other communities in the same state.

Organizational Affiliation and Community Partnership
GlobeMed is a student organization that promotes global health equity and social justice by connecting American Universities in one-to-one partnerships with grassroots organizations around the world. Since its founding in 2007, GlobeMed has expanded to include over 1,500 undergraduates at 50 university-based chapters throughout the U.S.
GlobeMed at the University of Rochester was founded in 2010. Its partner organization in Iquitos is  called Kallpa, Peruvian youth-empowerment NGO committed to promoting civic participation, environmental responsibility, and healthy behaviors among adolescents in Pampachica.

Background
Kallpa, Iquitos works extensively with the community of Pampachica. Program directors observed that many local adolescents were not attending or graduating from high school. High school graduation rates in Loreto are reported to be as low as 38% (Kallpa, Iquitos 2006) as compared to the national rate of 57% (UNICEF 2012), but graduation rates in Pampachica had not yet been specifically documented. 

METHODS

Data Collection
A team of five students and two local youth travelled door to door in four Pampachica neighborhoods, orally administering a 20 question survey to individuals between the ages of 12 and 25 in their homes. An infrastructure of strong relationships with community members and local residents greatly facilitated this process. In total, 188 students were surveyed. 6 surveys were excluded from analysis due to errors in data collection or entry. Sample sizes were determined in each of the four neighborhoods based on population statistics collected by Kallpa Iquitos in 2012.
Data Analysis
Students were classified into three educational categories—high school drop out, high school graduate, or continuing student—based on their answers to three survey questions:
1. Are you currently studying?
2. At what level are you currently studying?
3. Did you graduate from high school?
Parental education was measured as a composite score of maternal and paternal education scores. Each parent was given a score between 0 and 6 based on their highest level of education completed, with 0 being no education and 6 being completion of higher education. The composite score was calculated as the sum of maternal and paternal education scores. Composite parental education was classified into three levels—low (scores of 0-3), moderate (scores of 4-6), or high (scores of 7+). Family income was also categorized as low (less than 400 soles per month), moderate (between 400 and 700 soles per month), and high (greater than 700 soles per month).
Chi square analysis was used to assess the relationship between participant education level and parental education or household income.

RESULTS
Results: Specific Aim I
A descriptive educational profile of adolescents ages 12-25
Participants were classified into three categories—high school drop out, high school graduate, and continuing student. In Table 1, participants are organized by neighborhood, age, gender, household income, and parental education.





Results: Specific Aim II
Parental Education and High School Graduation
*The calculated expected values are reported in parentheses
p = 0.0392      

Household Income Level and High School Graduation
*The calculated expected values are reported in parentheses.
p = 0.389

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that parental education, but not household income, is a significant factor influencing a student’s successful completion of high school education in Pampachica. Further research into the factors affecting successful completion of high school education in Pampachica, including a more comprehensive analysis of all nine neighborhoods, represent next steps in understanding the educational profile of the community’s adolescent population. We plan to share our findings with Kallpa Iquitos, the community of Pampachica, and the regional government of Loreto, Peru in hopes that formal documentation of the nature of barriers to education in the expansive peri-urban zones of Iquitos will both encourage the government to take responsibility for improving educational resources and also help Kallpa Iquitos develop more effective educational programs at the community level to promote the valuing of education as well as access to it.

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