Girls and Secondary Education in Rural Tanzania

Angebote / Angebote:

For many years in Tanzania girls have been under-represented in secondary schools, despite notable efforts by the government through established educational programmes and reforms. Reports indicate that there are many girls who are not enrolled in secondary schools, and some who manage to enrol but fail to complete their studies, while the majority of those who manage to stay to the end perform poorly in examinations compared to boys. Using the perspectives of people living in a rural community, this study explores the possible reasons for girls' low enrolments, high dropout rates and poor performance in community secondary schools in rural Tanzania. The qualitative research approach using the ethnographic research design was employed to capture the lived experiences of girls and women in one rural village in Tanzania. A total of 28 participants were included in the study, including in-school girls and boys, out-of-school girls, teachers, a headmaster, parents, religious leaders, a Village Executive Officer (VEO) and a District Educational Officer (DEO). The information was collected using observations, interviews, field notes, photographs and document review. African feminisms and Indigenous Standpoint Theory (IST) were used to guide the conduct of the study and the interpretation of the data.