Demand-Side Determinants of Educational Inequalities in Northern Ghana

Abstract:

Educational inequalities remain a persistent challenge in many low- and middle-income countries despite substantial investments in expanding access to schooling. Even though existing research has primarily attributed these disparities to differences in school quality and resources, less attention has been paid to how households respond to perceived variations in educational quality and how such responses shape educational outcomes. Drawing on Human Capital, Household Production, and Social Reproduction theories, this study examined the roles of school substitution and complementary educational investments in explaining academic achievement and educational inequality in Northern Ghana. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and collected data from parents and guardians of basic school children across five regions of Northern Ghana. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to analyse the relationships among perceived public basic-school quality, socio-economic status, household educational investment behaviours, academic outcomes, and educational inequality. The findings indicate that perceptions of public basic-school quality are significantly associated with household educational decisions, particularly investments in private tutoring, supplementary learning resources, parental academic support, and decisions to substitute public schooling with private schooling. Contrary to expectations, socio-economic status did not significantly predict either substitution behaviour or complementary educational investments. Complementary investments significantly predicted students' academic outcomes, whereas school substitution alone had no significant effect on academic performance. Academic achievement mediated the relationship between complementary educational investments and educational inequality, suggesting that disparities in household support mechanisms reinforce unequal educational outcomes. The study contributes to scholarship by integrating supply-side and demand-side explanations of educational inequality within a single analytical framework and demonstrating that household investment strategies constitute a critical mechanism through which educational advantages are accumulated and reproduced. The findings highlight the need for policies that address disparities in households' capacity to support children's learning alongside improvements in school quality.