Changing perceptions of the value of girls’ secondary education among the parents in rural Tanzania

Abstract

Parents are the key people in the family when it comes to determining the extent and type of education for their children. Within the theoretical frameworks of African feminisms, human capital theory, and the liminality theory, this paper examines the parental perceptions of the girls’ secondary education in Tanzania’s rural communities. Moreover, it determines the effects of those perceptions on the girls’ secondary schooling in rural Tanzania. Using the ethnographic research design, this qualitative study found that, although some parents perceived girls’ secondary education negatively, there were some glimmers of hope and changing attitudes among parents. The findings further indicate that there are tensions and conflicting perspectives, as some of the parents struggled to reconcile emerging beliefs about girls’ education with the existing largely conservative cultural and familial practices. This changing perception on the girls’ secondary education signals a favourable disposition towards the improvement of girls’ secondary schooling, particularly in the largely conservative rural communities.