In this paper, the author examines the characteristics of Grade 6 pupils, their homes and learning
environments in 15 African schools systems (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar
and Zimbabwe). The data for this study were collected in 2000 and 2007 as part of the major
SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III Projects, respectively. The SACMEQ projects sought to examine
the quality of education offered in primary schools in these countries. (SACMEQ is an acronym for
the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality.)
The results revealed large variations in characteristics of Grade 6 pupils among these school
systems in terms of their personal characteristics (age, days absent, grade repetition, and preschool
attendance), home environment (socioeconomic background, parents alive, and speaking the
language of instruction at home) and learning environment (possession of textbooks and basic
learning materials, such as exercise books, pencils and erasers).