Robert A. LeVine

Maternal Literacy and Child Health in Less-Developed Countries: Evidence, Processes, and Limitations

It is often asserted in international health policy discussions that a womans school attainment protects her childrens health and survival chances, particularly in the less-developed countries (LDCs) of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific, however questions concerning the processe

How Does Schooling Influence Maternal Health Practices? Evidence from Nepal

Women’s schooling is associated with much of the world’s improvement in child survival and maternal and child health since 1960. Evidence for these associations is widely interpreted as representing a causal influence of formal education on health. The relationships of variations in female school attendance at the levels of individuals, populations, and historical periods to reproductive health outcomes raise new questions for comparative educational research concerning the process involved. This article reports the results of a survey designed to test a theoretical model positing that literacy skills acquired by girls in school are retained into their adult years, facilitating their exposure to public health messages in the media, which in turn influence the health knowledge affecting their health behavior as mothers. This survey was conducted in Nepal, a low-income country in which both mass schooling and demographic transition are recent developments, using direct assessment of literacy skills instead of the self-reports or imputation from school attainment levels often used in demographic and health surveys. After a brief review of the relevant studies to provide an empirical basis for

Anti-European violence in Africa: a comparative analysis

of anti-European rioting: in the Belgian Congo, January, 1959; in South Africa and Nyasaland in 1953; in Nigeria in 1950; and in the Gold Coast in 1948. Considering the intensity of anticolonial feeling and the amount of nationalist activity, this is a phenomenal record of non-violence. It is particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that African tribal and regional groups have often engaged in violence against each other, both traditionally and in the past fifteen years. Since it has been common for Africans to inhibit their strong aggressive feelings against Europeans, it is all the more im-

Child Care and Culture: Lessons from Africa.

Foreword List of tables and figures Preface Part I. African Infancy: Frameworks For Understanding: 1. The comparative study of child care 2. Infant care in subsaharan Africa Part II. Parenthood Among The Gusii of Kenya: 3. Gusii culture: A person-centered perspective 4. Gusii fertility, marriage, and family 5. Pregnancy and birth: Part III. Infant Care and Development in a Gusii Community: 6. Infant care: Cultural norms and interpersonal environment 7. Survival and health: The priorities of parents 8. Communication and social learning during infancy 9. Variations in infant interaction: Illustrative cases: Part IV. Interpretations: 10. Early child development in an African context: Comparative lessons Appendices References.