Characteristics of grade 6 pupils, their homes and learning environments

In this paper, the author examines the characteristics of Grade 6 pupils, their homes and learning environments in 15 African schools systems (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe). The data for this study were collected in 2000 and 2007 as part of the major SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III Projects, respectively. The SACMEQ projects sought to examine the quality of education offered in primary schools in these countries. (SACMEQ is an acronym for the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality.) The results revealed large variations in characteristics of Grade 6 pupils among these school systems in terms of their personal characteristics (age, days absent, grade repetition, and preschool attendance), home environment (socioeconomic background, parents alive, and speaking the language of instruction at home) and learning environment (possession of textbooks and basic learning materials, such as exercise books, pencils and erasers).