Parents’ Perspectives on Quality of Schooling in Andhra Pradesh, India

The Post-Millenium Development Goals development agenda recognises that simply getting children enrolled in school does not equate with better learning outcomes for children. Globally, there is an ‘education, learning and skills crisis’ with vast numbers of children unable to read or do basic maths after several years of schooling. A focus on improving the quality of schooling is essential, but little is known about what parents perceive as a good school. As they are the key decision-makers when selecting schools for their children, it is important to know what they define as quality in schools.

This paper is based on analysis of in-depth interviews with parents of children aged 9-10 years in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), India, as part of research for Young Lives, a fifteen-year study of childhood poverty being carried out with 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India (in the State of Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam. The study aims to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of childhood poverty and the role of policies in improving children’s life chances, in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.