Cultural Challenges Facing Girl Child Education Perticipation In Kapune Location; Narok –Trasmara West Subcounty

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Cultural challenges facing girl child education participation in Kapune Location; Narok –Trasmara West Sub-county. The study was guided by the following objectives: to examine socio-economic factors that affect girl’s participation in primary education in Kapune Location; Narok –Trasmara West Sub-county, to examine socio-cultural factors that affect girl’s participation in primary education in Kapune Location; Narok –Trasmara West Sub-county and to establish school based factors that affect girl’s participation in primary education in Kapune Location; Narok –Trasmara West Sub-county. The study utilized descriptive survey design. A sample of 10% (50respondents) of the total population was obtained for the study. The researcher used simple random sampling to select the sample that represented the whole population. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used during data collection from respondents. Data collected was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. After data collection, editing was done, then coding to facilitate data entry into the computer system to facilitate analysis. Excel spread sheet was used to compute the frequencies and percentages. This enabled the generalization of the results. Results were presented using percentages, frequencies, tables and charts. From the summary of the findings, it was found that the majority of the respondents agreed that in many African communities, Male are perceived as final decision makers at home and have dominance over women a risk factor to girl child participation in primary education. The study also found that rigid gender roles, definition of masculinity that are linked to male honor, economic inequality between men and women, and the use of physical force for conflict resolution, weak community and legal sanctions promotes to lack of girl child participation in primary education. The study concluded that most respondents agreed that indeed discriminatory cultural norms influencing increase to lack of girl child participation in primary education where even the church and other religious or spiritual institutions have also contributed to the reinforcement of dominant gender roles. The status of women and children is undermined as a result of entrenching economic inequality, which further exacerbate to low girl child participation in primary education. The study recommends that one of the key activities in addressing low girl child participation in primary education is creating awareness about the issues surrounding it. Gender training, information and communication campaigns are crucial to raise awareness of gender-specific issues in humanitarian settings including access to food, land and other productive resources, health care, social and legal services, education and economic opportunities, as well as participation in decision-making processes.