Women's access to higher education in Tanzania

Abstract

This study focused on eight rural female first-generation undergraduate students at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. First-generation can be defined as students whose parents did not attend any college or university. Often, first-generation students are at a disadvantage in understanding how to gain access to higher education. Moreover, women’s access to higher education is not equal to that of their male peers. Both first-generation students and women are educationally disadvantaged. The purpose of this study was to reveal the ways in which first-generation women in Tanzania explained their success in pursuing a university education despite cultural and social obstacles. Such obstacles include social policies, socio-cultural factors, and academic factors. A review of the literature revealed that issues such as patriarchy, proximity to schools, teenage pregnancy, domestic roles, religion, and initiation rituals serve as hurdles for women who seek to reach tertiary education. Ethnography was used to capture a deep slice of the women’s background and educational experiences. The researcher spent 10 months in the field learning about Tanzanian culture and mores. This research sought to answer how first-generation female students explain the personal, cultural, social, and policy factors that influenced their ability to pursue a college degree. Additionally, participants were asked to describe the role of family members, teachers, peers, and educational policy as they moved through primary and secondary school. The results of this research reveal that women describe their ability to pursue education by identifying strategies for success, such as avoiding the social pressures of getting pregnant or becoming married while in primary or secondary school. Moreover, the participants shared the strength it took to stay focused on their academics through discipline while balancing their studies with the societal roles they were expected to play in their homes. The women talked extensively about the role of confidence and the importance of being confident as their continued through their education. The women