lecture 16

Question 1

Substantive focus

Answer 1

To explore the global evolution of education over the
past 75 years and link that evolution to key
demographic, economic, and social trends

Question 2

Research method: use of official statistics

Answer 2

 Collected by national governments.
 Compiled by UN agencies.
 Available through the “Our World in Data” portal
housed at the University of Oxford

Question 3

Limitations of official statistics

Answer 3

 All countries to not measure variables the same way.
 Some countries have more accurate statistics.
 Available data do not always perfectly reflect the
concepts that one wants to measure.

Question 4

Description of the growth of participation in formal
education.
 Explanation of that growth:

Answer 4

expansion and
intensification of capitalist relations of production.

Question 5

Explanation of educational expansion

Answer 5

1. In Asia and Africa, there
   has been a massive
   movement of people
   from rural to urban
   areas, and from
   livelihood strategies
   based on the small-scale
   production of food to
   those based on selling
   one’s labour to others
2. In Europe and the
   Americas, has been a
   massive integration of
   women, who had
   previously worked in the
   domestic sphere, into
   wage labour markets.

Question 6

Conclusions: the research

Answer 6

Massive expansion of formal education globally,
particularly among women and girls.
 Driving force: capitalism.

Question 7

Conclusions: quantitative analysis

Answer 7

Quantitative research is about describing or
explaining the patterns of social life.
 Data analysis should focus on providing evidence for
one’s description or explanation of social life.
This example shows how (without any fancy statistics),
quantitative analysis can be used to both describe and
explain patterns in social life.

Question 8

Conclusions: descriptive statistics

Answer 8

This lecture has been exclusively focused on
descriptive statistics

Question 9

1970 avergae years of school

Answer 9

8 years

Question 10

2014 average years of school

Answer 10

12 years

Question 11

describe and explain

Answer 11

descriptive = population of data