Intangible Capital and School Performance in Rural Areas : A Comparative Study of Malagasy High Schools under Public, Private, and Faith-Based Governance

Abstract

In Madagascar, academic success in rural areas depends on educational leadership, cohesive teaching teams and community involvement. However, paradoxes such as overcrowded classrooms, funding delays and inadequate infrastructure exacerbate inequalities between areas and schools. The issue revolves around the following question: how do public, private and religious secondary schools differ in the way they structure, promote and mobilise intangible capital to promote student academic success? The objective is to characterise, using a comparative typology, the strategic methods for mobilising intangible capital and to identify the different levers for sustainable success. The methodological approach is systemic, integrating institutional, educational and social dimensions. The investigation is based on data from the Regional Directorate of Education and a survey of 162 people in 26 rural municipalities in the district of Antananarivo Atsimondrano. Twenty-three variables were used, supported by SWOT and PESTEL grids. Multiple Component Analysis (MCA) identified two classes, validated by Discriminant Factor Analysis (DFA) and then subjected to comparative benchmarking. The results show that public secondary schools appear to be centralised and inflexible, private schools innovative and high-performing, and religious schools’ community-based and holistic. A significant correlation (r = 0.76) links intangible practices to academic success. In a changing educational world, intangible capital is confirmed as a vector of resilience, innovation and equity, offering differentiated levers to sustainably strengthen academic success in rural areas.

JEL Classification: I21

Paper type: Empirical research