The relationship between the presence of female teachers and girls’ enrolment and retention in northern Nigeria: A mixed-methods study

• In Event: The Equity Initiative: Creating an Environment for Gender Equity

Proposal

In order to promote improved opportunity for girls in northern Nigeria through education, DFID and UNICEF Nigeria supported the Government of Nigeria in launching the Girls’ Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3). Cultural barriers to educating girls are well known and prevalent throughout northern Nigeria. It is hypothesized that if adolescents have female role models in the classroom, it will improve parents’ willingness to send their girls to school, as well as students’, and particularly girls’, educational outcomes. This UNICEF-commissioned study, carried out by FHI 360, provides comprehensive evidence on the effect of female teachers on girls’ educational outcomes in northern Nigeria. The overall objectives of the study are to provide evidence for the relationship between the presence of female teachers and girls’ enrollment and retention in five states of northern Nigeria. In so doing, the study will shed light on factors that impede the deployment of qualified female teachers in rural schools, as well as the mechanisms by which the presence of female teachers leads girls to aspire for greater education, career and life opportunities. The key research questions are thus: 1. To what extent, and how, does the presence of female teachers influence enrollment and retention of girls in the targeted states? 2. What barriers contribute to the under-representation of qualified female teachers in rural schools in the target states? These research questions, as well as a series of sub-questions listed in the following section, will be investigated with particular reference to the states where GEP3 is currently being implemented. As a result of our analysis, we will be able to provide actionable policy recommendations to the Government of Nigeria and its partners, for more effectively attracting and retaining qualified female teachers in rural schools.

Author

• Anne Smiley, FHI 360