Literacy and gender-focused school management in Northern Tanzania and Northern Nigeria
| Authors | Type | Stream | Full Paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Ingram, Dunstan Kishekya, Andrew Mamedu | Open call | Quality |  en |
Aim of Research
The Transforming Education for Girls in Nigerian and Tanzania (TEGINT) project is working with 132 schools across Northern Nigeria and Northern Tanzania. The project is implemented by Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP) in Nigeria and Maarifa ni Ufunguo in Tanzania, with support from ActionAid in both countries and at the international level. The project aims to build evidence-based practice in tackling some of the gendered barriers that prevent girls from enrolling in and succeeding in school and protecting themselves from HIV/AIDS.
At the start of the project, a baseline study collected data from project schools in Northern Nigeria and Northern Tanzania. The research was guided by Professor Elaine Unterhalter and Jo Heslop at the Institute of Education, London, working with BERE at the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and IDR at Amadhu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. The baseline aimed to uncover the reasons for the current gendered patterns in enrolment, attendance and progression, deepen understanding of the quality of provision and map out forms of mobilisation by communities. It also assessed the obstacles girls faced through focus group interviews with girls, teachers, school management bodies and local level administrative leadership.
The paper draws on the baseline data to explore the links between women’s literacy, participation in school management and potential for political activism in the project schools.
Participants or Sample Strategy
Ninety-five primary schools and 38 secondary/junior secondary schools are included in the TEGINT project.
Tanzania
Twenty-five enumerators worked under the direction of Professor Galabawa at BERE, supported by staff from Maarifa ni Ufunguo. Data was collected from 57 schools in six districts. In each district, 2 secondary schools were surveyed, although administrative data was not collected in the secondary schools. In total, 1001 stakeholders were interviewed.
Nigeria
Enumerators worked under the direction of Dr Bonat and Kezie-Nwoha supported by staff from CAPP. Data was collected in 72 schools – 36 primary schools and 36 junior secondary schools – in six states. Data on enrolment and attendance was only collected from primary schools. The total number of respondents surveyed was 1,735.
Methodology
The baseline study involved both a quantitative data collection (e.g. administrative data from schools and other sources) and a qualitative component including interviews with stakeholders and detailed studies into key areas such as poverty, etc. Stakeholders were interviewed either individually or in focus groups and included teachers, older girls, Principals, SBMC/PTA and Village Heads in each region. The instruments were tested and refined by local research teams, Maarifa and CAPP with the support of IoE.
Limitations
Although instruments were developed to collect background information that would help provide contextual information, little of this data could be collected due to limited government data and a small research literature in both countries. Additionally, inconsistency or lack of school level data meant teams were unable to collect all of the information in Nigeria.
Research Findings
Research findings were wide ranging, reflecting the breadth of the study. For this paper we choose to concentrate of findings related to school management, literacy and girls’ articulation of the problems they face.
Summary measures and banded ‘scores’ for different schools were created to facilitate analysis.
School Gender Profiles: A series of key variables was grouped together and transformed into an overarching school ‘score’ on gender and education. Variables included gender parity on enrolment, retention and progression and exam success.
School Management Profile: Data was brought together to create a summary variable for school management performance on girls education. This includes training and information for teachers, parents and pupils on issues such as gender, HIV/ AIDS, reproductive health and educational management; involvement with political campaigning organisations; outreach activities to help the most disadvantaged and socially excluded families; and the mobilisation of pupils and staff in order to promote community development.
- Schools with above average gender profiles and above average teacher training levels were also those where girls were more articulate about the barriers they face in accessing education
- High poverty levels in the community were not correlated with weaker gender management profiles. Higher literacy levels in the wider community were correlated with stronger gender management profiles
- Higher proportions of girls cited ‘poverty’ as a barrier in areas with better income level, notably Arusha in Tanzania and Plateau/Nasarawa in Nigeria.
- More ‘political’ solutions for overcoming barriers to education were cited by girls in Kaduna and Plateau/Nasarawa states (Nigeria) and Moshi and Hai districts (Tanzania), all of which had higher literacy levels than other areas in the study. They also had better outcomes for gender and women’s representation on most measures in the study and are in contrast to other states where literacy levels are lower.
The data shows that where women’s literacy levels are higher, and where schools have stronger gender management profiles and more qualified teachers, women and girls have been able to analyse and frame barriers to education in a more politicised way. This reflects Stromquist’s (2006) emphasis the importance of literacy in developing ‘social and cultural transformation in the conception of gender’
We also highlight the potential implications for practice. Our data shows that schools and communities may benefit from support to develop a more politicised analysis of gender analysis and we offer suggestions for how this may be accomplished. Our findings also present implications for government policy on literacy in areas with poor outcomes for girls’ education.
