Incentives for the participation [of] Guatemalan indigenous girls in primary education : final evaluation of the Eduque a la Nina pilot project

The project tested combinations of interventions in 36 communities in six departments of the country (Alta Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Quiche, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, and Suchitepequez) where the gap between girls' and boys' primary school enrollment is greatest. Four intervention packages (combinations of educational actions) were tested: (1) small scholarships of Q25 (or about $4.00) per month (this was consistent with Guatemalan and international research that suggests that small economic incentives motivate families to send their daughters to school); (2) community outreach workers (Mayan women) assigned to help organize parents' committees and provide academic tutoring and moral support to the girls; (3) parent committees, which (a) selected the scholarship recipients and monitor the activities of the program in the community and (b) actively participated in school activities under "package two"; and (4) educational materials for students and teachers, including a teachers' manual, two posters, a flipchart program, four reading books, and a collection of children's literature and music focused on the education of girls (written in Spanish and the four major Mayan languages). Conclusions at the program level were as follows: (1) The scholarship package is the most effective of the Eduque incentives for keeping girls in school and competing in the primary grades. (2) The greatest impact of the scholarship package was on girls in the first three grades, especially first grade, where for rural schools as a whole over 40% of girls drop out. (3) The scholarship program is the most cost-effective of the incentives packages and appears to have the potential to lower cost sufficiently to pay for itself in terms of greater efficiency. (4) The materials package has some potential for keeping girls in school but is unlikely to motivate them to complete primary school. (5) Outreach in the form of occasional visits by outreach personnel to work with parent committees on the importance of keeping girls in school is not an effective incentive. Conclusions at the classroom level were as follows: (1) The Eduque packages have not affected girls' classroom participation patterns. (2) Female teachers are an incentive for the active participation of girls in the classroom.