The impact of levels of the women’s education towards their reproduction behaviors: A study in Gampaha Municipal Council area

Abstract

The educational level of women in Sri Lanka is in a very high standard when compared to other developing countries of the world. Even though women’s fertility and reproductive behaviors are essentially biological phenomena, socio economic factors such as education , employment opportunity, etc, has changed their reproductive behaviors. This Study investigates the relationship between women’s education level and reproductive behavior. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of women’s education on their reproductive behavior. The necessary information and data for the study were obtained from 30 married women with babies in the Gampaha Municipal Council area. They were selected by using simple random sampling method. A questionnaire with open interviews and observations were used as methods of data collection. The study forcuses on the factors such as age at marriage, minimum number of children in the family, the use of contraceptives and time period between children. Under the factor of women’s education, the survey concentrates on the number of years devoted for education, vocational education, literacy rate, and sources of informal education. In addition, the nature of employment, attitudes and values related to having children were also studied. The findings suggest that female education has a greater capacity to introduce novel reproductive ideas and behaviors and thereby transform the demographic structures in Sri Lanka.