ABSTRACT
Narrowing societal and intragroup differences in educational attainment has been a major goal of most developing countries and international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Gaps in education between countries or between boys and girls have been shaped by a myriad of factors that range from differential government expenditures on education to gender-specific stratification processes in particular societies (Hyde 1993; Lloyd and Blanc 1996; Sibanda 2004). In line with the body of research that has investigated gaps in various aspects of educational achievement, our objectives in this chapter are very modest. We provide a descriptive analysis of gender, race, and regional gaps in school enrollment and attainment in South Africa. Specifically, we address the following questions: Is there a female disadvantage in education across and within racial groups? How large is the African disadvantage vis-á-Vis Whites, Coloreds, and Indians/Asians? Are there marked regional inequalities in school enrollment and attainment?
