Children\u27s Life and Schools in Bangladesh--Toward the Construction of an Educational and Anthropological Model

This paper aims at developing an integrated approach to the analysis of children\u27s life and education, using data derived from preliminary fieldwork in Bangladesh in 1994. The Compulsory Primary Education Scheme became effective in January, 1992,with the "Food for Education Program" also started in selected thanas (counties) in order to enhance school attendance of children from the poor social strata who, otherwise, tended to remain illiterate. The conditions of primary and secondary education under the influence of this scheme were reported, along with characteristics of the Bengali family living arrangement, the poverty of landless peasants in rural areas, and the population explosion. The relationships of Islamic ideology to education, to the concept of the child, and to ideas about women were also discussed. An educational anthropological model was constructed for the analyses of possible correlates which might affect children\u27s experience in socialization settings. This model, which emphasizes macro-micro links, had three components at the macro level : life maintenance system, cultural meaning systems, and population increase & assistance from overseas. The relationships of these components with socialization were discussed with special reference to the life and education of children and youth in Bangladesh