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THE EFFECTS OF FAMILY BACKGROUND ON PUPILS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE

ELIZABETH ROBINSON

Department of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.

Abstract - This paper analyses the effects of family background on the academic achievement of secondary school pupils in Mozambique and uses measures of family background that are broader than some previous studies. Data on family background and academic achievement were collected from 829 Grade 6-11 pupils in six secondary schools in 1986. The findings suggest that class-based subcultures were becoming established in Mozambique and that family lifestyles, especially the use of Portuguese in the home, had a significant influence on academic achievement, though failure rates were also unusually high among elite children. Though the Mozambican school system has changed since 1986, these data provide a basis for further study.

INTRODUCTION

There is considerable evidence of the asso- ciation between academic achievement and social class background, as represented by parental educational and occupational position (Coleman et al., 1966; Bourdieu, 1973; Toomey, 1976; Jencks et al., 1979; Biraimah, 1987). While Heyneman’s work in Uganda (1975) suggested that school and teacher variables are more important than non-school factors, including family, in explaining academic performance at secondary level, Schiefelbein and Simmons (1981) found that social class significantly helped predict student achieve- ment in 28 out of 37 Third World studies. While there is disagreement about the presence of distinct social classes in Africa, access to and performance in education have been found to reflect the same background factors as studies elsewhere (Blakemore and Cooksey, 1981).

Some authors have argued that studies of the effects of family background on student achievement in Third World settings would be improved by the inclusion of a broader range of family background indicators and more culturally valid indicators of social and material background (Lockheed et al., 1989). In this study, parents’ occupational status and educational attainment were the main criteria by which social class was defined. Language spoken at home, type of housing and living conditions were also used as indicators of family background. These social

class and family background variables are clearly interrelated.

THE STUDY

This study provides some information on how the educational system reflects and reinforces social class structure. It investigates the extent to which Mozambican secondary pupils’ socio-economic and cultural environ- ment determines their academic achievement, though it was not possible to examine the relative importance of family background versus school factors. Any study of secondary students in Africa deals with a very small proportion of the age group; in Mozambique, over 90% of pupils are in primary school (Johnston et al., 1987, p. 5). However, achievement and background differences are clearer in the more highly selective secondary schools.

At independence in 1975, the Mozambican government was confronted with a staggering 93% illiteracy rate. Since then, all levels of education have been expanded, a clear sign that education is regarded as a valuable acquisition (CNP, 1985). The 1980 census showed that around a quarter of all Mozam- bicans over 5 years of age participated in education (CNP, 1983). As has frequently happened elsewhere, academic quality (meas- ured by the examination system) has fallen, learning quality is low and the dropout and failure rates are high (Deble, 1986). Secondary

289

290 ELIZABETH ROBINSON

education has been divided into separate lower, middle and upper secondary schools. A large majority offer fifth and sixth grades, a small number seventh to ninth and a few tenth and eleventh grades. In 1986, there were 113,948 pupils in fifth and sixth grades, compared with only 2220 in tenth and eleventh grades. Between 1977 and 1980, tenth and eleventh grades were closed, owing to a shortage of pupils as well as teachers (CNP, 1987).

Mozambique is one of the few countries in Africa to have officially adopted socialism as its model of development. Government policies seek to extend general education to the proletariat and organized peasantry, so that basic knowledge does not become a monopoly of the elites (Frelimo, 1983). This still applies to the state sector. Pupils are selected for admission to lower and middle secondary school on the basis of examination results, social class origin (children of peasants and manual workers are given priority) and age (younger pupils get priority). The Fourth Congress Party Education Directives pro- claimed, ‘In general education, by defining selection and orientation criteria, we must ensure a correct social (class) composition of the student population at each level and for each (subsystem) of education’ (Frelimo, 1983,

P. 9). These criteria can often be contradictory,

especially age and examination results as against social class; children of peasants remain disadvantaged because they start late and fail often (Johnston, 1986). Portuguese, adopted as the national language, and the examination system give advantages to children in towns over rural residents and better-off children over the poor. Those who get advanced secondary education are likely to secure wage employment in the modern sector; many will join the elites. There is some consensus in Mozambique on the problem of school failure, but its causes have not been studied in detail and no national data exist to relate social class to academic achievement (personal communication, Vice-Minister of Education and Ministry of Education, 1986).

It is difficult to undertake class analysis in Mozambique, as clearly defined classes have not yet formed. The government prefers ‘aspirants to the bourgeoisie’ (Frelimo, 1983). These are mainly families who were privileged

during the colonial period, including Portu- guese who remained in the country after independence, Asians, Coloureds (mixed race) and a few blacks who had ‘assimilado’ status (official standing equal to white citizens). The mass exodus of Portuguese at independence meant that there were hardly any members of the elites left in the country. Mozambicans with some education took over the jobs left vacant. Education played a central role in ‘aspirants’, including Party workers, gaining high status positions, and life style and the guarantee of education and jobs for their children (Hanlon, 1984, p. 198). The Mozam- bican elite life style included many privileges, justified by the late President Samora Machel’s view that prestige should be given to those in responsible positions (Machel, 1979; Wuyts, 1982).

The research was based on a self-completion questionnaire and examination of school records of 829 sixth to eleventh grade pupils (431 boys and 398 girls) from six secondary schools in Maputo in 1986. The questionnaire was pre-tested on a sample of 100 pupils from other schools; Grade 5 pupils were excluded from the survey because they had problems answering the questionnaire. The sampled schools were chosen by the Ministry of Education and the grades were selected by the headteacher in each school. There were no apparent biases, but the numbers in tenth and eleventh grades were necessarily small; a much larger sample of these would have been preferred.

The definition of school success is that used by the Mozambican school system (i.e. the regular progression from one level of schooling to the next by passing an examination at the end of each year). The number of grades pupils had repeated in secondary school could be verified through school records. Question- naires asked for information about parents’ education and occupation, language spoken at home, material conditions (family ownership of television, record and cassette players, motorbike or car as luxury items and sewing machine, bicycle, radio, furniture, cooker, iron and refrigerator), the number of rooms used by the household and parents’ demands for child labour. The presence of consumer items in the home reflects economic advantage (Tedesco, 1988: Lockheed et al., 1989). Parents’ educa- tion was divided into little or no schooling.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE 291

fourth to sixth grades completed and more than sixth grade. Their occupations were classified into four categories: unskilled or semiskilled (low manual), skilled (high manual), lower professional (low non-manual) and higher professional or government official (high non- manual). Pupils were asked to specify which language they spoke at home from a list which included Portuguese and five indigenous langu- ages: Changane, Chope, Magonda, Ronga and Shona.

RESULTS

Many studies (e.g. Niles, 1981) have stressed the importance of parental education as a determinant of school performance. Table 1 demonstrates that repeating grades is especi- ally a problem of pupils whose fathers had no more than third grade; almost all had failed at least once. However, nearly a third of those whose fathers had gone beyond sixth grade had also failed every year and only .a fifth had never failed. Pupils whose fathers had 4-6 years of schooling were more similar to the advantaged children than to those whose fathers were virtually illiterate. Similar relationships were found between failure and mothers’ education.

Table 1. Grades failed in secondary school and fathers’ education (percentages)

Failed (k3 grade 4-6 grade More

None 4 11 13

Some 38 50 48

All 58 38 30

Total 100 100 100

N 162 429 230

African perceptions of the occupation hierarchy conform closely to Western patterns, since the colonial elite provided the model. As very few educated people remained in Mozam- bique after independence, secondary schooling guaranteed a high status job. Table 2 shows the relationship between occupational background and pupil performance. The major difference was between pupils from high non-manual backgrounds and the others, but again a high status background was no guarantee of passing.

Repeating was more common among pupils from manual backgrounds. Girls were more likely than boys to either fail all or no grades; half of the boys in all four occupational categories failed at least one examination compared with only about two-fifths of the girls. While girls of low paternal background were most likely to fail, those whose father had a high non-manual occupation were least likely to fail - nearly half had passed every year compared with only a quarter of the similarly advantaged boys. High status parents probably give greater support to their daughters’ schooling, while parents who are poorly educated manual workers generally hold more traditional attitudes concerning women’s posi- tion, despite the government’s attempts to encourage female education.

The mother’s occupation is generally related to that of the father, though only a third of the mothers had salaried jobs. The results for those whose mothers had low non-manual jobs (mainly clerical or teaching) are almost identical to those of boys with high non-manual fathers (a much smaller number); mother’s help with schoolwork is an obvious advantage, but mothers in high non-manual jobs may not have as much time to help their children.

Over 90% of tenth graders (of both manual and non-manual backgrounds) had failed at least once, but none had failed every year; such children do not reach the top of the system. By the time they reach tenth grade, the proportion of manual to non-manual backgrounds has improved somewhat; 35% of Grade 6 pupils come from non-manual backgrounds, com- pared with 29% of Grade 10 pupils. This suggests that advantaged parents withdraw their children from school if they are unsuc- cessful, since they can find adequate jobs for them. The few parents with manual occupa- tions whose children seem to be progressing, sacrifice to keep them in school - their only chance to advance.

The fact that a fifth to a quarter of pupils from high non-manual backgrounds fail every year and about two-fifths have some failures suggests that there is something seriously wrong with the system. Failures reflect the type of school attended, in that high status children in a low quality school appear to do little better than the low status children, who are clustered in these schools. The overcrowded and understaffed lower secondary schools probably

292 ELIZABETH ROBINSON

Table 2. Grades failed by fathers’ and mothers’ occupation and gender (percentages)

Occupation and gender None

Fathers’ occupation (males)

High non-manual 27

Low non-manual 14

High manual 12

Low manual 6

Fathers’ occupation (females)

High non-manual 46

Low non-manual 20

High manual 9

Low manual 4

Mothers’ occupation*

High non-manual 33

Low non-manual 28

High manual 8

Low manual 4

*Mothers in paid employment only.

Some All Total N

53 20 100 15

49 37 100 125

54 34 100 148

49 4s 100 128

32 22 100 37

38 42 100 113

53 36 100 13x

38 60 100 91

43 24 100 70

54 18 100 76

47 45 100 53

44 52 100 27

offset the advantages of family background for elite children. It is also possible that less able children of elite families are sent to lower quality schools. No evidence is available on tutoring of children outside schools hours, as happens in many countries.

There is a significant relationship between the items available in pupils’ houses and their academic achievement. Those with four or more luxury items are less likely to repeat a grade than those pupils with no luxury items. The number of rooms in the house and the availability of electricity are also significantly related to failure rates. Pupils were also asked about their daily diet. One of the explanations put forward by the Ministry of Education for the low pass rates among pupils at primary and secondary level was the lack of a proper diet (CNP, 1983). Johnston (1986, p. 43) points out that in rural areas, ‘diet is poor and in bad times pupils are likely to arrive at school hungry, even undernourished. The situation is not much better in towns, where food shortages persist and wages are quite low.’ The results confirm that diet is significantly related to academic progress, as is parental demand for their children’s help with looking after

young children, shopping, cooking, cleaning and washing. All of these items are related to parental education and occupation, so the close results for boys and girls is not unexpected.

Portuguese is the first language for Mozam- bicans of Portuguese descent and for some urban Africans; there are no data on the use of Portuguese by the population as a whole, but competence in Portuguese has a strong effect on children’s progress in school. Children who learn Portuguese as a second language in primary school are restricted to less cognitively complex functions than those for whom it is a first language (INDE, 1982). To learn, to think, solve problems, discriminate relation- ships and order experiences, one must know and understand the language. In this study, 90% of pupils said they spoke Portuguese at home, but in many cases this probably means that some Portuguese is used rather than that it is the first language of the home. Urban parents try to use Portuguese with their children even when their own competence is very limited because of the status it confers; it is widely perceived as giving access to state jobs (INDE. 1982; Louzada, 1986). Neverthe-

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE

Table 3. Per cent failing by home language and fathers’ education and occupation

293

Portuguese

Education: secondary or more

primary or less

Occupation: non-manual

manual

Indigenous language:

Education: secondary or more

primary or less

Occupation: non-manual

manual

None Some All Total N

23 49 28 100 280

10 52 38 100 211

26 43 31 100 221

12 54 34 100 256

6 49 45 100 91

7 41 52 100 238

7 40 53 100 69

7 43 50 100 248

less, 83% of pupils with fathers who had completed secondary education said they spoke Portuguese at home, compared with 43% of those whose fathers had not completed primary school. The advantages of Portuguese use at home accrue primarily to children from high non-manual backgrounds, where it is associated with other elite characteristics.

Table 3 shows a large difference between home speakers of Portuguese and of indigenous languages, even when fathers’ education and occupation are controlled; in all cases, Portu- guese speakers do better. Educated fathers with a non-manual occupation harm their children’s education by not speaking Portu- guese at home, and those with low qualifi- cations give their children a considerable advantage if they can use Portuguese.

DISCUSSION

As in many other studies, parental education, occupational status and language use are good predictors of academic success in secondary pupils in Mozambique. Differences in family possessions, standard of living and demand for children’s labour point in the same direction. However, the high failure rates of advantaged children need further explanation; cultural capital is not enough to succeed academically in Mozambique. Further detailed studies are

needed to determine whether this is due mainly to deteriorating school quality or whether other factors are involved. In any case, the high failure rates represent an economic and developmental loss to the country. Extra years of schooling must be provided and able children lose their chance to be upwardly mobile through education, as has happened in many other African countries. The schools would be much less crowded if children spent only 1 year in each grade.

In 1990, the Mozambique government allowed the reintroduction of private educa- tion. It provided for the creation of new schools because there were no places for more than 40% of the children of school age. Private schools must teach the same syllabus as state schools and cannot refuse pupils on the grounds of race, colour, religion, or ethnic or social origin. However, it seems likely that these schools will attract elite children, further disadvantaging the children of manual workers and peasants and reinforcing class formation.

Improved educational access in Mozambique attacks the roots of social inequality, but educational policymakers need to accom- modate schooling to the local realities of family and class. This raises the question of language use. Speaking Portuguese at home clearly affects pupils’ performance, while other home variables have no measurable independent

294 ELIZABETH ROBINSON

effect. A 1982 UNESCO report was indirectly Comissao National do Piano (CNP) (1987) Informacao

critical of language policies in Mozambique Estatistica, 1986. CNP, Maputo.

and recommended the development of indi- Cooksey, B. (1986) Policy and practice in Tanzanian

genous languages and their use in education to secondary education since 1967. International Journal of

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Deble, I. (1986) Politique Educative au Mozambique:

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of Mozambican languages to subordinant Frelimo (1983) Relatorio do Comite Central no Quatro

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Hanlon. J. (1984) Mozambiaue: The Revolution Under language of high prestige (MEC, 1980; Yai, Fire. Zed Press: London. ’ 1982). However, Tanzania has demonstrated Heyneman, S. (1975) Influences on academic achievement

that primary education in Swahili severely in Uganda: a Coleman report from a non-industrial-

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Grades 6-9 to aliow them to demonstrate their Johnston. A. (lY86) Educacao em Mocambique 197%

ability. Further expansion of the system may provide better opportunities for pupils who at present fail in such large numbers. However, the causes of failure among elite children must also be investigated. While this study is now out of date, it provides indicators to follow up in new research.

Acknowledgements - I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their assistance in revising this paper for publication.

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