Actors Affecting Girl-Child Education among the Kambari of Niger State, Nigeria: A Sociological Perspective

Abstract

This study examined factors that adversely affect girl-child education among the Kambari. Marx Weber’s social action theory, patriarchy and sex role theories provided the theoretical framework. Empirical data were drawn from a household survey among 1,598 respondents, comprising a pair of adult males (385) and their sons (385) and adult females (414) and their daughters (414). A multi-staged sampling technic was employed to select sample units. Two structured questionnaires were employed for the household survey. Twelve case-studies of girl-children, fourteen in-depth interviews and fifteen FGDs were also conducted among different groups. The data were subjected to descriptive, logistic regression and content analyses. The burden of domestic work, unintended teenage pregnancy, poor academic performance, parental ignorance, child-betrothal and early marriage, son preference adversely affected the girl-child’s access to education. The logistic regression shows that the odds of exhibiting discriminatory practice towards girl-child education are about 6 times higher among adult males compared to the females, 4.2 times higher among participants with no formal education, 4 times higher among adherents of traditional religion and 3 times among Muslims. Further, respondents with rigid conception of gender role are more likely to exhibit discriminatory gender practices as well as those with negative childhood experience, those from homes where men dominate in decision-making and those from homes with non-valuation of women’s participation in decision-making. A holistic approach should be adopted at all levels of government, religious and traditional institutions to address the marginalization of Kambari girl-children in accessing formal education.