Okang: Historical Background

Ester N. Okang, NURS 7455

Introduction

Although there has been much research done about girls and women in developing countries, there is still more research that needs to be done to close the gap between men and women in developing nations. The rate of poverty keeps on increasing; the health of children in most of these the developing nations is still alarming.  There is a saying that goes “educate a man and you educate an individual, but you educate a woman and you educate a whole nation”.  Within the African culture, a woman’s responsibility is to be a care taker in the home and also to raise her children, but my questions is, can there be more expectation from these women in Africa than just reproducing?  A brief literature review outlines how educating girls in Africa will contribute to more positive reproductive health behaviors.

Wilson, F. R. (2009). Girls’ education movement (GEM): Study of program implementation and partnerships for education development in Cape Town, South Africa. (Order No. 3374565, The Pennsylvania State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses,, 228-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304984070?accountid=14677. (304984070).

According to Wilson and Renee (2009), there is a lack of research related to seeking and investigating the efficacy of girls’ education in Africa. Wilson and Renee (2009) seemed to identify different types of opportunities and challenges among schools that had a higher educational environment with boys. Using a qualitative  research design method, the researchers were able to determine that there is an awareness and knowledge that differs from district to district and that there is lack of collaboration among organizations and government agencies to promote the education of girls.

The results of the study are important to future researchers because they show that there are many concerns in building partnerships for education development. For example, the article outlines that there is a social and cultural responsibility in the translation of “Girls Education Movement” (GEM), there was a disconnect between what the program or people valued for and activities that promoted empowerment with girls. The study was limited in the sense that the policy was overlooked and also there is the need to invest more time into a program development and a need to nurture the program and its participants.

Agogbuo, S. U. (2006). Girls schooling in Africa and the dilemma of reproductive health care among sub-Saharan African women in the United States. (Order No. 3250205, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 173-173 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305329616?accountid=14677. (305329616).

According to a literature review by Anderson (2005), ‘women represent 74% of all non-schooled people in Benin (Africa). The purposes of the study are to interrogate the efficacy of the major paradigmatic understandings within which African women’s and girls’ educational experiences are generally theorized, and contribute specifically to the limited literature available on girls’ education in Benin. By means of a qualitative  research design method, the researchers were able to determine that there is a knowledge base about educating girls and the benefits that could come from it.

The result of this study is important for future researchers because it shows that in many African countries like Benin, efforts to bring about educational reform focus heavily on teaching teacher practice. How do you get a teacher to be fully engaged in their teaching to invite both girls and boys? Also, there is more to change than the behavior of teachers. The cultural and social determinants of any society should be incorporated into the programs. For example, the article outlined that the limit of the sample to teachers and that only 36 district received additional information. Moving past the common or basic knowledge of information and creating and a well versed program should be the focus for future research. Future research should be focused on and partner with other education stakeholders to improve access to and completion of primary education. While a wide range of studies have reported that in Africa, school enrollment rate retention differs substantially along gender lines. One of the breaks in this area is having more girls stay home and do house care chores and become care takers. Another gap is having a cultural or belief system that only values the educated man. This is a brief literature review that outlines why the gap keeps increasing and how current research can be used and applied to future research to reduce the gap.

Bakarr, F. K. (1999). Factors that affect girls’ access to basic education in the rural areas of the Gambia. (Order No. 9939459, Columbia University Teachers College). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 250-250 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304501054?accountid=14677. (304501054).

One of the gaps that still exists today is the enrollment of girls in urban areas are still increasing while the on the rural areas those numbers continue to decrease. According to Bakarr, Frances, Koma (1999), there is a lack of education related to the information received for both parents in the rural area and also in the urban area. Using both an experimental and quasi-experimental method, the researchers were able to reveal human behavior as it unfolded in its natural environment while also being sensitive to the values and cultures of the people (Bakarr, Frances, Koma, 1999).

The results from this study are important for future researchers because they show that there is a huge disparity among urban and rural education of girls.  Also, with social, cultural and family interaction playing a major role when deciding what school to go to. Although there has been enough research done about girls and women in developing countries, there is still more research that needs to be done to close the gap between men and women in developing nations.

While a wide range of studies has reported that in Africa, school enrollment rate retention differ substantially along gender lines. One of the breaks in this area is having more girls stay home and do house care chores and become care takers. Another gap is having a cultural or belief system that only values the educated man. This is a brief literature review that outlines why they gap keeps increasing and how current research can be used to and applied to future research to close down the gap. Even though many researchers have tried to close the gap and the barriers among educating girls in Africa, it is still there.

Limoncelli, M. A. (2010). Barriers to girls’ secondary schooling in sub-saharan africa, focusing on nigeria and uganda. (Order No. 1487357, The American University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 120. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/822457297?accountid=14677. (822457297).

In a review by Limoncelli (2009), there is a lack of research related to the specific barriers and the specific interventions used to close out those barriers. There is also lack of information that is readily available to use, the communication between the government and local leaders ,and inadequate to have an effective intervention that address the social and cultural differences.

The results from this study are important for future researchers because they show that girls are their own success and that even though there are barriers that affect girls in enrolling in schools, the issue can be well addressed if negotiated well with the government. The study was very limited in the sense that rather than addressing just one country, it addressed two which made it really difficult to access or pin-point the real issues.

Kilo, M. H. (1994). Family support for education: Explaining differences in academic performance in Cameroon. (Order No. 9429952, Stanford University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 260-260 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304131049?accountid=14677. (304131049).

Current research done by Kilo (1994) examines the need for  family support for education. Even though other researchers see that area growing, there are still many gaps in that research. One of the gaps is in the area of having a member support that idea that it is okay to send a girl to school and educate her to become someone in the future. More specifically, providing parents with the adequate information that they need to support their girl’s decision to go to school which is extremely influenced by the statement between the older generation and the more current generation. A brief literature review outlines how current research can be applied to future to tie the gaps in research for this population. Using a qualitative  research design method, the researchers were able to determine that there is a there is little influence of western culture  through religion, education, colonial administration and the economy that affects the decision to put girls into school ( Kilo, Margaret Hilda, 1994). This research was limited in so many ways. One area that the researchers urged attention for was girls were found to be the main source of help for their parents’ farms.

Conclusion

These five articles have given me an opportunity to re-examine some of the challenges that girls and women in developing nations are facing. It has also given me an opportunity to be very attentive to research in this population. There are several challenges that are associated with researching in this field. It is important to know how to make use of your best resources when researching in a different country where the cultures, belief systems and government structures are different. It is also important to understand the target population in terms of being able to relate to them because trust plays an important role when it comes to researching with this population.

Finally, having local leaders and government agencies be involved and working directly with these populations helps with your research. There are so many things I have learned and hope to apply as I move forward with the population of interest.