01658348

Component

Transportation infrastructure has been expected as a potential vehicle of inclusive development particularly in rural areas where people often slip out from countries’ development mainstreams. This study aims to examine how improving the conditions of rural roads impacts the accessibility of children to school in Cambodia. Local population in the studied areas originally experienced difficulties in sending their children to school, mainly due to impassable roads and poor ownership of travel modes. Thus, to examine the effects of road improvements, the study focuses on ownership of bi-wheeled modes, as they greatly increased after road improvements regardless of income levels. In terms of results, changes in the ownership of motorbikes positively affected school attendance at a significant level, as these modes alleviated time burdens for children and their household members if escorting, and eventually reduced physical fatigue. However, road improvements did not necessarily enhance the attendance of children in low-income households. One possible reason is represented by the financial burdens to purchase items for attending class and for private tutoring to achieve smooth promotion. Another reason could be that these children did not have time to study at home, as they had to contribute to their household’s income generation activities. Furthermore, unexpectedly, some students left schools before completing basic education (primary and lower secondary education), because they wanted to participate immediately in their enhanced local economies following their household members. Identifying the dynamics behind children’s schooling in rural Cambodia is expected to help the government frame education policies for future generations

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD20 Standing Committee on Social and Economic Factors of Transportation.

18-02118

English

15p

2018

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Accessibility; Case studies; Commuting; Developing countries; Development; Improvements; Roads; Rural areas; School children; School trips

Cambodia

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-02118

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 8 2018 10:31AM