| Project/Area Number |
23K18868
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
:Education and related fields
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-08-31 – 2025-03-31
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| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
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| Keywords | School-to-work / Transition / Rural area / Higher education / Madagascar / School to work / Family involvement / Decent work |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
This research examines young people's pathways from education to work in sub-Saharan Africa using Madagascar as a case study. It explores their strategies in finding the best way to decent employment using narrative inquiry within the context of family, community, and broader structural realities.
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of this study is to investigate how young people in sub-Saharan Africa make their way to transition from education to work, taking the case of Madagascar.
For the first year, FY 2023, we aimed to collect data through document analysis and interviews. Due to the unavailability of some documents and key informants, research question 3 is addressed first. Fieldwork was conducted in February and March 2024 in the urban and rural areas of Madagascar, exploring how high school leavers adapt to their environment in order to succeed in their transition to work, using semi-structured interviews.
Preliminary findings revealed that all participants pursued training or higher education to prepare for work. Those with financial resources attend higher education exhibitions and preparatory courses in the capital city. Public universities are preferred for their free tuition and scholarships, but high living costs, only partially covered by scholarships, pose challenges. Additionally, the demanding study schedule limits part-time work opportunities. Some students supplement their income through small-scale reselling businesses by leveraging trust and customer networks in their home villages. Financially able students prefer private universities for their stability and proximity, while wealthier ones use them to secure family business roles quickly. Those who fail public university entrance exams and cannot afford private ones or wait another year, opt for shorter, job-oriented courses. Family significantly influence decisions, particularly for wealthier participants.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
While most documents and data from participants were collected as planned, due to administrative procedures, interviews with some key informants could not be conducted and some documents could not be collected during the first fieldwork. Nevertheless, the collected data is enough to look at the issue from the participants’ point of view. Missing documents and data from key informants will be addressed during the next fieldwork, which will enable us to look at the policy perspective.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
For the current fiscal year, more analysis will be conducted on the data collected in February and March 2024. The results will be presented at academic conferences and after brushing up, they will be published in an academic journal.
The second fieldwork will be conducted in the summer of 2024. Adding to follow-up interviews with the participants, including more investigation on their families and communities, the interviews with the key informants will be conducted. Remaining policy documents and legislative texts will be collected as well. A second publication should be expected by the end of the fiscal year, based on the data collected during the second fieldwork.
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