Effect of Child-Friendly Learning Environment on Dropout Rate and Quality of Education at Primary Level in Punjab

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effect of a child-friendly learning environment of school on the dropout rate and quality of education at the primary level. In this study, Child friendly environment refers to the physical infrastructure, health and hygienic factors, students’ involvement in co-curricular activities, parents and community involvement, and student enrollment in school. The design of the research was casual-comparative. The population was consisted of the teachers working in child-friendly and non-child-friendly schools at the primary level in six districts (Rahim Yar Khan, Mianwali, Sargodha, Sadiqabad (RajanPur), Kasur and Sheikhupura) of Punjab. Five child-friendly and five non-child-friendly schools from each section were selected through stratified random sampling technique. Two questionnaires on five points Likert scale were developed; First for the teachers and the other for parents of respective students. Students’ dropout rate was calculated by data taken from the school record. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. It was concluded that child-friendly schools have positive effect on dropout and quality of education as compared to the non-friendly schools.

Keywords: Child-friendly Schools, Non-child-friendly Schools, Dropout, School Record