Factors affecting participation of females in secondary schools in Mbarara district
09/U/13956/EXT
Asingwire Evas
Dissertation submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of common wealth diploma in youth s in development work of Makerere University
September, 2011
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Declaration
I ASINGWIRE EVAS Declare that this dissertation is my own original work and has not been submitted by any student or University for any award.
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Date……………………………………….
Approval
This is to certify that this dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of common wealth diploma in youth in development work with my approval as a University Supervisor.
Name…………………………
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Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to my dear sisters, Atuhire Irene, Bareba Mary, Asimwe Julius and my brothers Arinaitwe Joseph, Kangire Stephen for their encouragement.
Acknowledgement
Glory and honor to God for his help and guidance during the time of writing this research report and my University supervisor Kalule Ducan for the time he rendered to me.
I also wish to thank Osinde Steven for his time, finance assistance and encouragement.
I thank Natamba Be for the pure hope she had on my side. May the Almighty God bless those mentioned and unmentioned?
Table of contents
Declaration
Approval
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of contents
List of tables
Abstract
CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Statement of the problem
Objectives of the study
Research questions
Scope of the study
The significance of the study
Definition of terms
Limitations of the study
CHAPTER TWO:LITERATURE REVIEW
Historical background of the Female Education
The nature of female education in developing countries
Factors affecting participation of females in secondary schools
School- Related Factors
Distance to School.
Teachers’ Treatment
Lack guidance and Counseling Service
Absence or Shortage of School Facilities
Repetition
Absenteeism
Out – of- School factors
CHAPTER THREE:METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Research design
Population of the study
Sample selection method and size
Section of schools
Selection of respondents
Research Instruments
Written documents
Questionnaires
Interview guide
Observation
Sampling procedure
Data analysis method
CHAPTER FOUR:PRESENTATIONS ANALYSIS OF THE DATA AND DISCUSSIONS
Description of the Respondents
Background of Female Ex-students’ Respondents
Major Factors Affecting Participation of Female Students in Secondary Schools
School Related Factors
Shortage of School Facilities
Lack of School guidance and Counseling
Teachers’ Treatment on Female Students
CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary and conclusions
Recommendations
List of tables
Table 1: Characteristics of female ex-students' respondents of the interview questions.
Table 2: The ex-female students' respondents’ age background
Table 3: The sample schools directors’ educational background and service years
Table 4: Female school leavers' respondents whether they reached at school on time or not during their presence in the school.
Table 5: Teachers’ response on the arrival of female students from home to school
Table 6: Female ex-students state the table given below the degree of the problems from the heaviest ones to the easiest.
Table 7: Female school leavers’ response about the availability of school facilities
Table 8: Teachers’ response on lack of school facilities to secondary schools' learners
Table 9: Teachers’ response on the influence of the absence of guidance and counseling for educational participation of female in secondary schools
Table 10: School-administrators, teachers and female ex-students' responses about teachers’ treatment on schoolgirls during teaching- learning process
Table 11: Responses of the directors about the reasons that the schools do not have special or compulsory classes for girls
Table 12: the directors’ responses on females’ participation in different clubs
Table 13: Teachers’ evaluation or identification of tasks by which they are mostly done
Table 14: Female ex-students response regarding the subjects.
Table 15: Teachers’ observation on the academic performance of female school leavers in high schools
Table 16: Parents responses of the grade levels that their daughters repeated
Table 17: Sample teachers’ evaluation on female students’ response in the teaching -learning process
Table 18: Female school leavers' response regarding on their absenteeism in the last grade they attended during their presence in the school
Table 19: Parents’ overview about their daughters' absenteeism form school
Table 20: Parents’ suggestions regarding the reasons of their daughters’ absence from schools
Table 21: Female Ex-students’ responses about families and their structure
Table 22: Educational Background of the interviewed girls’ parents
Table 23: Parents’ occupational background
Table 24; Female ex-students, parents and directors’ responses for the questions about school age-girls' marriage and pregnancy before completing their secondary schools
Table 25: Sample female students' marital status
Table 26: Parents’ responses on their daughters’ marital status
Table 27: Teachers’ evaluation about the influence of marriage and pregnancy on female students
Table 28: Sample female ex- students’ response on their out of School activities
Table 29: Female ex-students' and their parents’ responses on girls’ working hours per a day in home activities than educational activities.
Table 30: Female- students’ response regarding their parent’s monthly income
Table 31: Female ex-students response concerning their parents’ feeling due to their giving up of education
Table 32: Parents’ responses on number their daughters as well as their opinion towards their daughters' educational situation.
Table 33: Parents' preference to send their children to school.
Table 34: Female ex-students and their parent’s response on the main reasons for females’ giving up the education
Table 35: Teachers’ responses about the reasons that parents do not support or motivate their daughters
Abstract
The major Objectives of this study were to investigate the factors affecting participation of females in secondary schools of Mbarara district. To achieve this, the descriptive survey method was used in secondary schools five in number of the district were the selected used convenient sampling method ,questionnaires for teachers, students, and structured interview form for students, parents and school personnel were used as data collection instruments. The study included a total of 80 female- secondary leavers, 73 parents 80 secondary teachers and 5 secondary school personnel. In reporting and analyzing the results percentages, distributors. The major findings revealed that school related factors such as distance from home to school, un-programmed pregnancy, marriages, family’s educational and economic academic performances, burden in domestic activities etc negatively affected the participation of female students in secondary schools. Thus, it is recommended that community leaders, nongovernmental administrators, governments and specially education officers, women’s Association Affairs of Sector Bureau and other responsible authorities should be involved in advocacy and arrange speak programs in order to change the old traditional and cultural barriers to education of girls in the district.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
It has time and gain been declared that education plays an important role in nation building. In other words, it is the most important tool that promotes the welfare of given society. In general, education is an important means of economic, social and cultural development of a nation and requires due attention in all aspects of its features.
Thus, equal opportunity of education for both men and women is categorical. Without enlightening and empowerment of women; national endeavor can easily be emasculated. This is because 50% of not more, of the labour force belongs to women (MOE, 1985), investing in schooling has also been considered as investment labour productivity and there-by contribute markedly the economic growth and development of a nation (Shultz, 1992).
Secondary education should be given more emphasis since it is the foundation of further system of education. Its main purposes are to produce intellectuals and numerate population that could deal with problems encountered at work and to serve as a foundation on which further education it built. Then, to provide this, the instruction of children at the secondary level is that basic foundation of further education.
The development of national manpower resources, however, cannot be thought of without the proper consideration of women. This is an attitude that needs to be become in the minds of policy makers, managers and other authorities who are directly or indirectly involved in the social sectors.
As Semagn (1986) like other developing countries, the overall majority of the population in Uganda is based on the substance farming of which family labour is the chief feature. Apart from food and taking care of children, women participate virtually in all aspects of agricultural activities and yet their contributions are much less valued as to the men’s however, nearly everywhere in the world, females are given where in the world, females are given less education than men are in the entire globe. This implies that the majority of the illiterates are women.
Beyond pedagogy, Yelfign (1990) said that there subtle classroom management actions that effect girls’ participation in education such as; sexual harassment of girls who were made to feel uncomfortable. Subject teachers might also ignore girls because they assumed that they are more quitters than boys are; teachers might use derogatory comments based on their wrong decision that girls’ answers are more discursive than boys are.
According to Ministry of Education (1999-2000) has shown, among the number of students in secondary schools the respect of girls is greater than that of boys too.
Despite all these facts, efforts were made to increase the participation of females in education after private schools were opened in Uganda. Fewer girls have shown that though relatively fewer girls enroll in school, higher preparations of them leave secondary school before completing A level.
Therefore, based on these facts, investigating the magnitude of the factors that the participation of females in different secondary schools of Mbarara district is extremely important to seek certain possible solution to alleviate the problem. Besides this, due to the gender gap in school, participation and dropout rates (Genet, 1991), the study examined the causes of in-school and out-of-school factors that affect educational participation of girls in secondary schools.
In short, the study focuses at collecting information to investigate the problem of female participation in the secondary of Mbarara district.
Statement of the problem
It is well documented that all pupils admitted to the given grade of educational cycles do not complete those cycles with in a prescribed minimum period (Wanna & Tsion, 1994). Some of them dropout before the end of the cycles and some of them repeat one or more grades before completing the last grade of the cycles successfully.
In fact the cause of these incidents can be various factors such as the existing situation of the district, distance from school, parents, poor economic background, and early marriage and so on.
Inspite of the continuing effort that has been made up to now, studies show that Uganda has not managed to provide secondary education for all of its children in particular for girls.
Education is above all, a matter of socialization. The number of girls who repeat in the same grade is relatively greater than that of boys.
Then, it seems that practically little has been done to find out the main causes that affect the participation of girls in secondary schools in case of Mbarara district.
Thus, the researcher feels that there is a need to investigate closely beyond the quantitative data in order to find out the root cases that affect the participation of girls in secondary education of Mbarara district hence this study will focus on surveying and explaining the factors that affect it participation of females in secondary schools of Mbarara district.
Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study is to investigate a better understanding of school and home factors that affect or hinder girls’ participation in the secondary schools.
Specific objectives
1) Provide information based on the situation of the historical girls’ participation and persistence at secondary level in Mbarara district
2) Provide information to nature of female education in Mbarara distrct
3) Provide information that affects education based on repetition and withdraw rate of them in Mbarara district.
Research questions
1) What hinders school age- girls from participating in secondary education in Mbarara district?
2) What are the major factors (school related) for withdraw of females in secondary schools in Mbrara district?
3) What are the main out-of-school factors that affect the participation of female in secondary schools in Mbarara district?
Scope of the study
The study was carried out in both government and private secondary schools of Mbarara district with the aim of investigating a better understanding of school and home factors that affect or hinder girls’ participation in the secondary schools, information based on the situation of girls participation and persistence, nature of female education, effects of education based on repetition at secondary level with a period of 5 months that is to say from May to December.
The significance of the study
The finding from the study will be interested to the educational decision-makers at various levels, parents, teachers, school personnel and female students themselves.
The knowledge that will be gained from this study is useful for designing strategies that might help to
i) Increase the participation and persistence of school age girls ins secondary education and
ii) Make some corrective measures towards improving the scholastic achievements of females who were able to attend secondary education.
The study finding shown that investing in girls’ education is the single most important investment that developing countries like Uganda can make in order to improve the quality of life of their people.
The study may also be interest to all those who concern with the promotion of female education like some non-governmental organizations and other funding agencies working both within schools and within Mbarara district.
Definition of terms
Certain terns were involved in the study with special emphasis.
- Dropout- a student who leaves the school before completing the final academic year o f the cycle in which she / he is enrolled.
- Factors: refers to variables that influence or affect females’ participation in secondary schools.
- Female students’ marriage: the marriage of girls before completing their secondary education
- Female students’ marriage: The marriage of girls before completing their secondary education.
- Female students school levels: These are female students who left their secondary education due to certain problems before completing secondary schools cycle.
- Participation refers to the in and out students of females in secondary schools
- Repeater: Is a student who doesn’t pass in to the next grade level in secondary schools.
- Sample female students: Refers to the female ex- students of secondary schools who were asked in an interview in the study.
- Sample parents: The who are the parents of sample female students in the stud
- School personnel: Refers to principles or school administrators or directors of the five sample secondary schools of the study
- Un-programmed pregnancy; Refers, the pregnancy of female students without completing their secondary education.
- Secondary school: The second stage of schooling structure in Uganda
Limitations of the study
It is rue to say that any type of researcher requires a definite period of time in order to get available information for his / her research.
1) Has used limited data
2) Didn’t assess all factors affecting female education in general rather than it is attempting on major the factors affecting their participation of education in secondary schools.
3) Stressed on the participation of female students in their education secondary schools.
4) Analysed in and out of school factors that influence the participation of female students in their secondary education.
5) Didn’t include male secondary schools. Students in this study and
6) Didn’t include the actual students of the secondary schools of Mbarara district.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Historical background of the Female Education
Many studies have shown that the cornerstone for the development of education is religious-worship (Pankhurst, 1968). The church organisations taught their followers both males & females the basic education, particularly how to read and write the bible. Reading a bible therefore was one of the first schools for girls’ education. The themes of their education were many and were related to their domestic role with an emphasis on housewifery and other domestic subjects so that they would become good maids and mothers (UNICEF, 1982 and Deghe, 1985). These imply that women were not involved in all types of educational program and course of study in earliest period of times
Furthermore, female’s education was influenced by macro and micro-level of determinants including societal and school characteristics as well as family’s background (UNESCO, 1970). Due to this, educational opportunities for girls remain distinctly below those open to boys. The UNESCO’s Report (1970) added that this is true not only in qualitative terms, but also in quantitative terms of education. According to the UNESCO’s report, girls haven’t enjoyed all educational opportunities. Early everywhere in the world, school age-girls are given less educational opportunities than that of boys. Without exception, the majority of illiterates are females.
Disparities in education between females and males have been prevalent in almost all societies and all times; such disparities existed even in those societies that placed a high value on learning including Classical Athens (Coombs, 1985). Every culture establishes psychological standards of behavior for both sexes.
However, after a long period of time, gender inequalities, particularly in the respect of education, has been given serious attention in the world especially in developing countries.
For instance, in recent decades, Sanabary (1989), the Middle East and North American countries have much progress in the area of female education. This progress is in fact seen by phenomenal growth of enrollment of students at all levels of the diversification of curriculum at the post-primary level and the increased opportunities of education in rural areas. As a result of these changes, the gender gap in education has narrowed.