“Dropout” is a label used around the world to systematically track educational progress of students, schools, and education systems. This label not only wrongly assumes that most youth leave school by choice, but it negatively impacts youths’ perceptions of themselves and their futures. Drawing on longitudinal research spanning over fifteen years and her own experiences as an educator in Zanzibar, a semiautonomous archipelago in Tanzania, Markovich Morris shares the stories of girls and boys doing all they can to stay in school. She identifies the main family, school, and community forces that push boys and girls out of school across Zanzibar, and how these forces are often misunderstood or misconstrued by international development efforts. The findings challenge gendered stereotypes and lays out solutions for how decision makers, educators, and international development institutions can support youth in achieving their aspirations and their quest for the “good life.”

Zoom: Our hope is that most people will attend in-person, but fully realize that some of you will need to attend via Zoom (passcode is Morris1)