Women's Schooling, Patterns of Fertility, and Child Survival

Evidence that women's schooling is associated with lower fertility and child mortality has moved some population specialists to advocate expanding female school enrollment to reduce birth and child death rates in countries where they are high. Consistent findings relating years of school attendance to reproductive rates, however, are not matched by an understanding of educational processes. This article provides an overview of the demographic evidence, a framework for analyzing how schooling affects maternal behavior and population change, and a report of findings from a study in Mexico. Problems for further educational research are identified.