#BringBackOurGirls: Nigeria, Literacy, and Gender

• In Event: 33.020 - Gender, Ethnicity, and Schooling

Abstract

Nigeria, like many developing nations, faces gender disparities in educational attainment and literacy practices. A mixed methods case study was conducted in Lagos, Nigeria, which included surveys, focus group interviews and ten days of observations, and examined the dynamics of gender and literacy through a post colonial feminist theoretical lens. Findings revealed how the continuing legacy of British colonialism shaped popular culture and favored books among children and shaped language policies. We also argue that the multi-layered identities of Nigerians which include their ethnic affiliation, language, religious affiliation and social class obscured the nation’s attention to and understanding of gender. Boko Haram was a favored target to explain gender disparities.

Authors

• Pamela Jean Bettis, Washington State University

• Jane Kelley, Washington State Univeristy

• Olusola Olalekan Adesope, Washington State University