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Gender Issues in Society and Education in Ghana: Socio-Economic and Political Context

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Gender Issues in Society and Education in Ghana: Socio-Economic and Political Context THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL Gender Inequality in Secondary Education in Ghana Being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull By Florence Naah Bamora B‟ ED (Social Studies) (Honours) March 2010 i Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... i Lists of Tables and Figures ............................................................................................... v Abstract ............................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Gender and Education ................................................................................. 10 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 10 2.2 The Construction of Gender .................................................................................. 10 2.3 Understandings of gender, cultural practices and development............................ 12 2.4 Femininity and Masculinity .................................................................................. 16 2.5 Gender Inequality .................................................................................................. 17 2.6 Understanding Gender Inequality in Education .................................................... 19 2.7 Discriminatory Socio-cultural and Religious Practices ........................................ 20 2.8 Socio-economic factors ......................................................................................... 22 2.9 Young people‟s work roles and schooling in Africa ............................................. 24 2.10 Urban-Rural Residence and Distance to School ................................................. 26 2.11 Gender violence and child abuse......................................................................... 27 2.12 Pregnancy and Sex education ............................................................................. 30 2.13 The Role of Education in Addressing Gender Inequality ................................... 33 2.14 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: Gender Issues in Society and Education in Ghana: Socio-Economic and Political Context .............................................................................................................. 38 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 38 i 3.2 Ghana: Geographical Background ........................................................................ 38 3.3 Ghana: Socio-economic, Cultural, and Gender Issues .......................................... 40 3.4 Women and Politics .............................................................................................. 46 3.5 Women‟s Health Situation .................................................................................... 49 3.6 Prevalence and Impacts of HIV/AIDS in Ghana .................................................. 52 3.7 Legislation, Violence and Women‟s Rights.......................................................... 53 3.8 Ghanaian education and reforms since independence .......................................... 58 3.9 The Education System in Ghana ........................................................................... 65 3.10 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 4: The Research Methodology.......................................................................... 72 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 72 4.2 The Rationale for a Qualitative Approach ............................................................ 73 4.3 Methodological Position and Identity of the Researcher ...................................... 77 4.4 The Field and the Fieldwork ................................................................................. 80 4.5 The Research Methods and Approaches to data collection .................................. 82 4.6 Interviewing .......................................................................................................... 85 4.7 Teachers‟ Interviews ............................................................................................. 87 4.8 Students‟ Interviews .............................................................................................. 88 4.9 Parents‟ Interviews ................................................................................................ 91 4.10 Educational Officials‟ Interviews ....................................................................... 92 4.11 Life History Interviews with School dropouts .................................................... 92 4.12 Observation ......................................................................................................... 93 4.13 Confidentiality and Informed Consent ................................................................ 96 4.14 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 98 4.15 Limitations of the study ...................................................................................... 99 4.16 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 100 ii Chapter 5: Gender Inequality: Schoolgirl‟s Experiences of Home ............................... 101 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 101 5.2 Socio-economic background of students and parents ......................................... 102 5.3 Parents‟ and students‟ perceptions of gender roles and girls‟ education ............ 104 5.4 Impact of Social norms and Traditions on Girls‟ Education ............................... 113 4.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 125 Chapter 6: Schoolgirls‟ Experiences of the School Environment ................................. 127 6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 127 6.2 Gender Inequality and Schooling: Inadequate School Facilities ........................ 127 6.3 Teachers and daily school practices .................................................................... 132 6.4 Gendered School Environment ........................................................................... 134 6.5 Teachers‟ expectations of students‟ behaviour ................................................... 139 6.6 Reward, Punishment and School Based Gender Violence.................................. 142 6.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 151 Chapter 7: Gender Discrimination in the Teaching-Learning Process ......................... 153 7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 153 7.2 Unequal attention in the classroom ..................................................................... 153 7.3 The influence of gender on students‟ choices of subjects ................................... 160 7.4 Gender and occupational aspirations .................................................................. 169 7.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 172 Chapter 8: Factors Affecting Female Dropout Rates in School ................................... 173 8.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 173 8.2 Gender, poverty and school dropout ................................................................... 174 8.3 Pregnancy, poverty and school dropout .............................................................. 177 8.4 Poor Academic Performance and Dropout ......................................................... 181 8.5 Family Break up, Death and Dropout ................................................................. 184 iii 8.6 Present occupation of dropouts and their future Career Aspirations .................. 186 8.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 190 Chapter 9: The Role of Government in Promoting Girls‟ Education in Ghana ............ 192 9.1Introduction .......................................................................................................... 192 9.2 The role of Girls‟ Education Unit ....................................................................... 192 9.3 School Lunches and Free Monthly Dry Food Take-Home Ration ..................... 194 9.4 The Free, Compulsory and Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and the Capitation Grant Scheme (CGS) ............................................................................... 199 9.5 Conclusion
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