Recalibrating educational opportunity for underprivileged communities in Pakistan

Context plays a key role in the design and development of educational opportunities, particularly for underprivileged communities—and in this study, out-of-school children (OOSC). Several contextual factors, notably access and equity, differentiate school education in developing countries from that in developed countries, and a deep understanding of their underpinning sociocultural and economic factors is required. This article probes how such underpinning contextual factors lead to underprivileged school-aged children in Pakistan being out of school. Framed by an analysis of the macro-environment, it includes qualitative research involving interviews with parents of OOSC and is situated within a transformative research paradigm. Drawing on actor-network theory, it identifies four primary factors influencing the outcomes for OOSC: global initiatives; educational technology potential; Pakistan’s education system; and findings from interviews with OOSC’s parents, which highlighted (1) living standards, (2) importance of education, (3) factors behind OOSC, and (4) interest in accessing education. Finally, possible solutions and directions are identified.