Broken Silence: A Phenomenological Analysis of Stakeholders' Perspectives on Shortchanging Girls in Ghanaian Schools

• In Event: 41.062 - Bridging the Differences: Equitable Education Opportunities in Barbados, Ghana, New Zealand, and the United States

Abstract

Attention to female education is influenced by empirical studies from many developing countries, which have outlined the benefits of female’s education not only to girls and women but also to the economy of a country, the health of children, democratic participation, and as a means of ending the vicious cycle of poverty in families. Growing evidence and research support the importance of investing in girls’ education (Bellew & King, 1993; Herz & Sperling, 2004; Schultz, 1993; Tanye, 2008; UN Millennium Project, 2005).

The theoretical framework adopted for the study was Ecology of Human Development as defined by Brofenbrenner (2005),
the scientific study of the progressive, mutual accommodation, through the life course, between an active, growing human being and the changing properties of the immediate settings in which the developing person lives, as this process is affected by relations between these settings, and by the larger contexts in which the settings are embedded. (p. 107)

It provides a perspective in understanding the phenomenon of girls’ education in Ghana through a multifaceted approach.

The study adopted a phenomenological approach since it sought to understand girls’ educational experiences in selected communities in Ghana. Hundred and two teachers, community leaders, parents, education officers, and female students from primary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools were purposively sampled. The main sources of data were: focus groups, interviews, and direct observations.

Among the findings, female students reported that their education was inhibited by lack of financial support, workload at home, negative parental attitudes, inadequate school infrastructure, negative teachers’ attitudes and low expectation of girls, sexual maturation, as well as attitudes of male students. The insight from the girls’ perspectives justifies the importance of paying attention to the voices of children in developing programs which affect them. Furthermore, the study found that programs instituted to support female education were characterized by inadequacies, lack of effectiveness, lack of comprehensiveness, and poor quality. The study concluded that girls’ educational problems are complex, intertwined, and multifaceted, situated in the home, school, and community as well as a result of the inadequacies in state-run programs. The efforts should consist of adequate financial support, change in attitude toward girls’ education, improvement in teacher training and incentives, and effective system of monitoring.

Authors

• Francis Ebenezer Godwyll, Ohio University - Athens

• Collins Annin, Ohio University - Athens