Analysis of Sociocultural Factors for Schools Drop Out Among Girls in Tanzania: A Case Study of Junior Secondary School
Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies,
Page 15-29
DOI:
10.9734/ajess/2022/v33i4711
Abstract
School dropout among girls is a serious worldwide problem, especially in developing countries like Tanzania, which still faces the problem of girls dropping out despite international, national, and regional initiatives and steps to advance girls' rights. Like achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, as stated in SDG goal number 5. This study explores the sociocultural factors leading to high dropout among girls at junior secondary school in the mara region, Tanzania. A qualitative analysis was conducted to investigate the extent to which the social-cultural factors led to the high number of girls failing to complete their junior secondary studies in the Mara region by using a semi-structured interview and documentary review. With the semi-structured interview, the author interviewed fifteen parents and guardians, ten teachers (including school directors), and twenty dropout girls who participated in the study's discussions. This brought the overall number of research participants to 45. The interviewees, both women, and men were purposefully selected to be relevant to the current study. The study found that early marriage, female genital mutilation, household activities, social attitude against educating girls, and low levels of education among parents lead girls to drop out of school. It is suggested that the stakeholders should emphasize girls' education to avoid gender disparity. The government and NGOs should educate society and ensure that education in the Mara region should be prioritized for both boys and girls. To provide girls who are the victims of FGM with a safe place to run to, the government should prioritize creating rescue centers inside the districts with the help of local administration and other child activists.
Keywords:
- Free education
- dropout
- sociocultural factors
- right to education
- Tanzania
How to Cite
Msafiri, M., & Lianyu, C. (2022). Analysis of Sociocultural Factors for Schools Drop Out Among Girls in Tanzania: A Case Study of Junior Secondary School. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 33(4), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2022/v33i4711
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2. MoEVT. Curriculum for diploma in teacher education programmes in Tanzania. Information & communication technology (ICT) Policy for basic Education:ICT for improved Education. Dar Es Salaam; 2007.
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5. UNESCO UIS. Gender equality in education. UNESCO UIS; 2022.
Available:http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/gender-equality-education.
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8. Chikoko V, Mthembu P. Financing primary and secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of literature. S Afr J Educ. 2020;40(4):1-9.
Available:http://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n4a2046
9. Kim JY. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim’s remarks at ”let girls” learn. Spring meetings event. Washington, DC; 2016.
10. Evans DK, Akmal M, Jakiela P. Gender gaps in education: the long view 1. IZA J Dev Migr. 2021;12(1).
Available: http://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2021-0001
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12. Halvorsrud K. Student dropout in upper secondary education in Norway: A challenge to the principles of the welfare state? Lond Rev Educ. 2017.
Available: http://doi.org/10.18546/LRE.15.2.12
13. UNICEF. Adolescence – an age of opportunity. 2011; 2011. State of the world’s children.
14. Iddy H. Changing perceptions of the value of girls’ secondary education among the parents in rural Tanzania. Int J Qual Stud Educ. 2021:1-21.
Available: http://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.1982048.
15. URT. Education sector development plan. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. 2018;246.
Available: https://www.globalpartnership.org/sites/default/files/2019-04-gpe-tanzania-esp.pdf.
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17. Ouma DH, Ting Z, Pesha JC. Analysis of the socio-economic factors that contribute to children school dropout in artisanal small-scale gold mining communities of Tanzania. J Educ Pract. 2017;8(14):71-8.
18. John F, Francisco A, Moliner L. Girls, the latest. A study of female dropout in Central Kibosho (Tanzania). Prof Rev Currículum Form Prof. 2015;19(3): 264-78.
19. Iddy H. Girls and secondary education in rural Tanzania: perceptions, obstacles, and future possibilities. Newcastle University; 2018.
20. Rumberger RW, Lim SA. Why students drop out of school: a review of 25 years of research. Russell J Bertrand Russell Arch. 2008.
21. Rumberger RW. The economics of high school dropouts. The Econ Educ Compr Overview. 2020:(149-58).
Available:http://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815391-8.00012-4
22. UNESCO. Schooling for Millions of Children Jeopardized by Reductions in Aid; 2013.
23. McFarland J. Trends in high school dropout and completion rates in the United States. Vol. 2019; 2019. Washington DC. Retrieved from. Available from: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch This should be checked (in the text).
24. UNICEF. Gender equality in Education Benefits Every Child; 2020.
25. World B. Government of Tanzania on Equal Access to education for pregnant girls and young mothers; 2021.
26. Chugh S. Dropout in secondary education: A study of children living in slums of Delhi. New Delhi; 2011.
27. UNESCO. Inclusive education: the way of the future. International Conference on Education. 2008;48(3):3-31.
28. Lugonzo HM, Chege F, Wawire V. Factors contributing to the high drop out of girls in the secondary schools around Lake Victoria: A case study of Nyangoma division in Siaya County, Kenya. Greener J Educ Res. 2017;7(4): 049-60.
Available:http://doi.org/10.15580/gjer.2017.4.061817077
29. Kobia JM. Metaphors on HIV/AIDS discourse among Oluluyia speakers of Western Kenya. Crit Approaches Discourse Anal Across Discip. 2008;2(2):48-66.
30. Buccafurni D. Theorizing feminisms: A reader , edited by Elizabeth Hackett and Sally Haslanger (Oxford University Press, 2006). Int J Feminist Approaches Bioeth. 2008;1(2):184-7.
Available: http://cadaad.org/
31. Sabates R. School drop out: patterns, causes, changes and policies. Paris, France; 2011.
32. Gulbaz AK. Causes of primary school drop out among rural girls in Pakistan; 2011.
33. Weiler et al. Causes of primary school drop out among rural girls in Pakistan. Middle East J Sci Res. 2012;119.
34. Doll JJ, Eslami Z, Walters L. Understanding why students drop out of high school, According to their own reports: are they pushed or pulled, Or do they fall out? a comparative analysis of seven nationally representative studies. SAGE Open. 2013;3(4).
35. UNESCO. 2017. Reducing global poverty through universal primary and secondary education. Global education monitoring report. OECD. Discrimination in the Family; 2022.
Available:https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/4a094246-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/4a094246-en#.
36. Fute AZ, Wan X. Alternative education paths for pregnant girls and young mothers in Tanzania. Sex Gend Policy. 2021;4(1):8-23.
Available:http://doi.org/10.15580/gjer.2017.4.061817077
37. UNESCO. Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children: Tanzania case Mara region case study report; 2018.
38. Raj A, Salazar M, Jackson EC, Wyss N, McClendon KA, Khanna A et al. Students and brides: A qualitative analysis of the relationship between girls’ education and early marriage in Ethiopia and India. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):19.
Available: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6340-6
39. Chimombo J. Changing patterns of access to basic education in Malawi: A story of a mixed bag? Comp Educ. 2009;45(2):297-312.
40. UNICEF, MoET. Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children: Tanzania country; 2013.
41. Arafat A, Ahmad NA, Shaik Ismail SF. Socio-cultural gender norms and economic barriers in the context of rural high school girls’ dropout in Bangladesh: A qualitative study. Malays J Soc Sci Humanit (MJSSH). 2021;6(8):436-47.
Available:10.47405/mjssh.v6i8.962.
42. UNESCO. Education and Gender Equality; 2020.
43. Daily news reporter. 2021. Tanzania to allow students to restart education after giving birth. Reuters. UNICEF. New York Times, Online.
Available:file:///Users/matoyebi/Downloads/UNICEF-Child-Marriage-Brochure-High-Single_246. United Nations Children’s Fund; 2018. A profile of child marriage in the Middle East and North Africa. 1.pdf
44. Amzat J. Faith effect and voice on early marriage in a Nigerian State. SAGE Open. 2020;10(2).
Availablehttp://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v6i8.962
45. Caleb Imbova Mackatiani NIM, MAO. Transition in education: perspectives on girls’ drop- out rates in Secondary Schools in Kenya. London journals press. Vol. 22(1); 2022.
46. Stark L. Early marriage and cultural constructions of adulthood in two slums in Dar es Salaam. Cult Health Sex. 2018;20(8):888-901.
Available:http://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2017.1390162
47. Musa SS, Odey GO, Musa MK, Alhaj SM, Sunday BA, Muhammad SM, et al. Early marriage and teenage pregnancy: the unspoken consequ- ences of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2021;2:100152.
Available:http://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100152
48. UNICEF. United Nations Children’s Fund; 2019. Child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and school dropout in South Asia.
Available:http://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100152
49. Yassin A. Major causes of girls’school dropout from general primary schools and related challenges in south Wollo and Oromia zones in Amahara region, Ethiopia. J Educ Pract. 2020;11.
50. Brand JE, Moore R, Song X, Xie Y. Why does parental divorce lower children’s educational attainment? A causal mediation analysis. Sociol Sci. 2019;6:264-92.
Available: http://doi.org/10.15195/V6.A11
51. Steele F, Sigle-Rushton W, Kravdal Ø. Consequences of family disruption on children’s educational outcomes in Norway. Demography. 2009;46(3): 553-74.
Available:http://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2014.992044
52. Wamoyi J, Wight D, Remes P. The structural influence of family and parenting on young people’s sexual and reproductive health in rural northern Tanzania. Cult Health Sex. 2015;17(6): 718-32.
Available:http://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2014.992044
53. WHO. Female Genital Mutilation. 2020;1-5. Key Facts. WHO [web page], (2018).
54. NOOO. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in Tanzania-assessing policy and practice. Trop Med Int Health. 2011(O).
55. Njogu GN. Female Ge nital Mutilation and its effect in Public Primary Schools participation by the girl child: A Study of Samburu County, Kenya. Int J Sci Eng Res. 2018;7(5):1267-77.
56. Ceka A, Murati R. Parents’ perspectives: the role of parents in the education of their children. J Educ Pract. 2016;7(5):61-4.
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