Interrelation between Mother's Empowerment and Children's Schooling : A Case Study of SC, OBC, and General Households of a Developing Region

Abstract

Empowerment can be described as a process of enhancing the choice-making capacity of individuals or groups, total freedom to choose from available options and thereafter, transforming the chosen options into desired actions and outcomes. It is a process of awareness and awaking of capacity building, which is possible through greater participation and greater effective decision-making power. Education facilitates all these and hence, it is recognized in literature as one of the most important means to empower women. Literature also supports the view that educated mothers can give better education to their children, can take better decisions within family, and can make better decisions regarding their children's educational attainments. However, the direction of causation between mothers' education and children's education is still a matter of debate. The present study is based on primary data, which was generated through a household survey conducted in Karimganj District of Assam. The objectives of the study were to find out the level of empowerment of mothers, to find out the average schooling of their children, to find out the correlation between mothers' empowerment and children's education, and lastly, to make a comparison between mothers' empowerment and children's educational attainments among different castes, that is, Gen and SC, Gen and OBC, and SC and OBC households. The results established the connection between mothers' empowerment and education of their children.