Effect of educational attainment on the preferred number of children among women in Kenya: Evidence from the 2022 Kenya demographic health survey dataset

This research paper discusses how educational attainment influences the desired number of children in Kenyan women using the recent Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2022) data. The theory applied in this study was the Human Capital Theory (HCT). The research design was a cross-sectional research design because the authors examined the data of 32,152 women aged 15-49 years and 42,022 households in Kenya. Validated questionnaires were used to collect data, which was pre-tested and reviewed by experts. The analysis was conducted by univariate (descriptive), bivariate (correlation), and multivariate (multiple linear regression) analysis, factoring in variables like age, wealth, and use of contraceptives. Findings of the regression model have shown that increasing educational attainment leads to a significant decrease in the preferred number of children of 0.15 children per school year of education (P<.001), even with the controlled variables. Univariate analysis revealed that the sample had a mean of 2.41 children, 8.7 years of schooling, and a mean age of 29 years. Bivariate analysis revealed that educational attainment and the number of children had a significant negative relationship (r = -0.438, p < .001), and age and marital status had a positive relationship with fertility. Even after controlling for the confounders, it was confirmed that higher education was a significant source of the preferred number of children decreasing by 0.15 per additional year (β = -0.2679, p = 0.001). Diagnostic tests proved that the statistical assumptions held. These results are in line with the international evidence that education enables women to become strong, enabling them to have more reproductive health knowledge and have low fertility preferences. The article highlights the importance of education in the development of preferences of family size and the facilitation of informed reproductive decisions. It suggests that more funding should be devoted to the education of women to contribute to sustainable population development and gender equity in Kenya.