Partnerships with Girls in Rural Schools in China: A Case Study.

A case study of the impact of modest scholarships on the education of poor, rural Chinese girls found a "bonus effect"--an increase in the value placed on female scholarship recipients by their village. In mountainous Shaanxi Province, poor economic conditions led to many girls dropping out of school by grade 4. In one village, the All-China Women's Federation awarded small scholarships in 2000 and 2001 to help female dropouts return to school. Recipients included 14 elementary students and 6 secondary students, 5 of whom attended boarding school. All the girls were chosen due to severe financial difficulties in their family. Additional information on 12 families and interviews with some of the girls revealed no surplus resources or assets in the family. Nevertheless, all the girls persisted in their school attendance on only a minimal scholarship. Some fathers made extraordinary efforts and borrowed money well beyond their means, actions that fly in the face of logic about "long-term return on investment." Given the poor economic conditions of the village, school did not promise a return on investment for these girls, and their devotion to schooling appeared to be to schooling per se. It is suggested that traditional Confucian values regarding education combined with a modern disposition allowing girls a new flexibility of role or identity. The scholarships increased this flexibility of attitude on the part of fathers, and they responded to their daughters' passion for schooling with compassion and parental support. An appendix presents data on the recipients. (SV)