Open AccessWhat Determines Learning among K inh and Ethnic Minority Students in V ietnam? An Analysis of the Round 2 Young Lives Data
Author(s) -
Glewwe Paul,
Chen Qihui,
Katare Bhagyashree
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
asia and the pacific policy studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.529
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2050-2680
DOI - 10.1002/app5.102
Subject(s) - vietnamese , cohort , ethnic group , demography , test (biology) , psychology , poverty , medicine , developmental psychology , sociology , economic growth , economics , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , biology , anthropology
An analysis of the Young Lives data collected in 2006, involving a younger cohort (aged 5) and an older cohort (aged 12), yields three important findings regarding the Kinh–ethnic minority gaps in mathematics and reading skills in V ietnam. First, large disparities exist even before children start primary school. Second, language may play an important role: Vietnamese‐speaking ethnic minority children scored much higher than their non‐Vietnamese‐speaking counterparts, even though tests could be taken in any language the child chooses. Third, Bl inder– O axaca decompositions indicate that higher parental education among K inh children explains about one third of the gap for both cohorts. For the older cohort, K inh households' higher income explains 0.2–0.3 standard deviations ( SDs ) of the gap (1.3–1.5 SDs ). More time in school, less time spent working, and better nutritional status each explain about 0.1 SDs of the mathematics score gap; Kinh children's more years of schooling explains about 0.3 SDs of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test score gap.