African Educational Research Network

AFRICAN SYMPOSIUM An on-line African Educational Research Journal

The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network  The African Symposium: An Online Journal of African Educational Research Network Volume 4, No. 1, March 2004

Introduction – Milton Ploghoft, Ph.D., Managing Editor THE AFRICAN SYMPOSIUM: an on-line journal is entering its fourth year of publication as a pilot project of The African Educational Research Network (AERN). It seems that the time has come to reflect upon quantitative outcomes of the Journal's short life, the nature of its contents and the sources of its scholarly papers. This is not inclusive of the current issue of the Journal. More than 50 scholars in universities, associations and organizations in 18 nations submitted reports of research and essays that were concerned with developments and issues of African education. Those nations were Namibia , Zambia , Benin , Ghana , South Africa , Botswana , Tanzania , Swaziland , Norway , The Netherlands, Malawi , Uganda , Nigeria , Liberia , The United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and the United States . Reports dealing with the implications of the HIV/AIDS for African Educational systems and institutions were the most numerous of the problems and issues studied, The research project that was supported by the World Bank as an undertaking of the ADEA most likely was a contributing factor to the attention that was directed to the pandemic and its consequences by researchers in Africa, the U.K. and the United States . Higher education, women's issues, distance education and problems in curriculum, teaching and learning were frequent topics of study by the contributors to the Journal. Philosophic questions and a comparative study of drama in post-colonial Nigeria received attention of contributors of papers. The problems and issues presented in Volume 4 Number 1 of THE AFRICAN SYMPOSIUM continue to be as varied as those offered in the first twelve issues of the Journal. Six different nations are represented by the research topics of the papers selected for publication. Student achievement in science education is the focus of the paper presented by Drs. Joshua and Ikuiburo. This study, entitled Self-Concept, Attitude and Achievement of Secondary School Students in Science in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria, investigated the influence of selfconcept and attitude on academic achievement in science of secondary school students in Southern Cross River State of Nigeria. Selection of the sample (530 SS3 students) was done by simple and stratified random sampling techniques A 40-item objective test in chemistry and physics and a 60-item questionnaire measuring attitude and self-concept, pilot-tested/validated, were the instruments used for data collection. Dr. Sabo Indabawa, Department of Adult and Community Services of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, in his paper, On Some Socio-Cultural Determinants of Girls' Involvement in Education in Nigeria, investigates the factors that inhibit educational pursuit by the girl child. A second section of the paper deals with remedial measures to be taken. Professor Indabawa is currently serving as a Visiting Fellow at the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg.

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Volume 4, No. 1, March 2004

The African Symposium (ISSN# TX 6-342-323)

The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

Dr. P.C. Manchishi, School of Education at the University of Zambia, provides a comprehensive treatment of the languages and their use in schools from the colonial period to the present day in his study, The Status of Indigenous Languages in Institutions of Learning In Zambia. Drs. Okeke and Ume have added an excellent piece to the philosophical analysis of knowledge acquisition. Their paper, Some Epistemological Issues in the Conduct of Social and Behavioural Studies in the Faculty of Education of Nigerian Universities explored the historical antecedents leading to the development of the various research methodologies and the roles of the 18th and 19th centuries' philosophical debates to this development. The article explored this development in relation to the conduct of research within the faculty of education of selected Nigerian Universities. Dr. D.I. Denga and Dr. (Mrs) Hannah Denga of the Faculty of Education and The Institute of Education, respectively, at the University of Calabar , have reported on a study that involved 1000 Nigerian students. Sexual Harassment: Students' Views from a Nigerian University examined the contrasts of western views of sexual harassment with Nigerian student views, seeking implications for counseling. Dr. Grace W. Bunyi, Educational Planning and Curriculum Development at Kenyatta University, reports on an exhaustive study of Gender Disparities on Higher Education in Kenya: Nature, Extent and the Way Forward. Dr, Bunyi had presented a lead paper at the conference on Tertiary Education in Africa in Ghana in May of 2003 and was recommended by Journal Editor, Professor Barnabas Otaala as a possible contributor to the Journal. Dr. Tarnue Johnson of Jobs for Youth Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, has written on The Evaluation of Educational Reform in sub-Sahara Africa : The Impact of Structural Adjustment Theory. Dr. Johnson was an earlier contributor to the journal with a paper on educational change in Liberia . Dr. Andrew F. Uduigwomen, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, at the University of Calabar , examines the perceived decline in traditional values and the factors that have contributed to the decline. He identifies the advent of technology and the school curriculum. Dr. Uduigwomen recognizes that the topic is controversial and open to alternate hypotheses. He invites comments and questions to his paper, Strategies for Values Education in Nigeria . Special appreciation is due to Professors Cisco Magagula and David Adewuyi as recent members of the editorial team of THE AFRICAN SYMPOSIUM. Professor Magagula is acting vice-chancellor at the University of Swaziland Dr. David Adewuyi is associate professor of education at Albany State University . MEP

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Volume 4, No. 1, March 2004

The African Symposium (ISSN# TX 6-342-323)

The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

Self-Concept, Attitude and Achievement of Secondary School Students in Science in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria Idorenyin M. Akubuiro Monday T. Joshua University Of Calabar Calabar-Nigeria

PLEASE CONTACT THE AERN WEB EDITOR FOR A COPY OF THIS ARTICLE

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On Some Socio-cultural Determinants of Girls’ Involvement in Education in Nigeria Sabo A. Indabawa Bayero University Introduction This paper is divided into two main parts. The first section deals with an appraisal of ten (10) widely recognized retarding socio-cultural factors that inhibit the pursuit of modem education by the girl child especially. The second section proposes possible remedial measures that one hopes will help to promote girl child education in Nigeria. On the limiting factors It is no longer a matter of debate that females constitute more than fifty percent (50%) of world's active population (UNESCO, 2003). Nor is it in doubt that although they make immense contribution to national development, they still face a number of inequitable difficulties that limit their potentials in promoting personal and collective development (Assimang, 1990). A key area of concern in this regard is that of their education, which can only at best be described as dwindling and less than equal to that of their male counterparts(Indabawa, 1998, 1999,Obanya, 2003). A number of factors have been identified to explain this state of affairs (Kelly, 1978; Williams, 1987; Sanyal and Collins, 1988; Doyle, 1991; Mangvwat; Kolo and Indabawa, 1998; Sweetman, 1998, Indabawa, 1999, Obanya, 2003, UNESCO;). In this paper, the focus will be on the appraisal of ten such salient socio-cultural factors, bearing iii mind their nature and essence. But the list is by no means in any definite order. Early marriage The marriage institution is vital in any society. It legitimates the reproductive process and ensures the meaningful perpetuation of the social norms of society. Yet the timing and the resultant impact of early marriage is a source of concern for many who cherish the equitable participation of females in modem education. When girls are married at ages 10 to 14, their educational careers are disrupted especially if an avenue for second chance learning is not provided. Once girls are left behind in this process, they add to the' burden of development of society and their positive roles and contributions are limited early. Pitiably, this practice is most rampant in communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America, to a greater degree than is the case in other parts of the world. In part, this accounts for underdevelopment and human waste of talents and efforts. The question then is: Is it impossible to allow girls to marry at ages of maturity, when they must have had opportunities for the attainment of basic education? Girls hawking practices It is a common practice in traditional societies to find girl children hawking wares throughout the day. This is an economic practice done mainly at the instance of parents and guardians. The purpose is to generate income for families. While this goes on and when it is restricted mainly to the girl child, a situation is created in which such girls miss the opportunity for education since

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

education, like economic activities is time specific. It is for the latter reasons that this practice is seen as largely discriminatory and inequitable. It is a key inhibiting socio-cultural interruption of girls' education in Nigeria. Apart from loss of time for schooling, one wonders whether families ever contemplate the huge moral losses of such a practice. For instance, unwanted pregnancies are more likely to occur as a by-product of this unwholesome practice. The poverty level of families The indictor of prevailing poverty among the poor, rural and urban populace that the world receives from the UNDP annually is a clear evidence of lack of equitable distribution of wealth in society. As a result, several families live below the poverty line," living on less than I US$ per day (that is less than N150 per day). We know for a fact that most of the families in Africa are extended, especially with devastating impact of diseases including malnutrition, and HIV-AIDS. Consequently, families are less able to cater for the educational needs of their wards. When choices are made on who goes to school, it the males that are treated preferentially, thereby leaving the girl child largely not catered for. This means that poverty's impact on child education is felt more by the girl child. The question is: Why must this be the case? Poor parental support for girls' education As indicated earlier, when parents are faced with the choice of sending a girl or a boy to school, chances are that in 80% of cases, boys will be preferred. Apart from the possible correlation between parent's education and support for child education, there is also the issue of parent's uncertain feeling and apprehension about the values of modem education. That's why parents fear that the formal system of education is capable of instilling 'strange attitudes, values and beliefs that could make the girls' child noncompliant in her character disposition. Given this, parental support remains less than expected. However, there are evidences that show that: "... some western educated women have more stable marriages than do uneducated ones; and the case of immorality is one in a hundred..." (Trevor, 1975, 212). Misunderstanding of the position of Islam on girls' education Largely due to lack of sufficient knowledge of Islam, many parents think that formal learning is not meant for Muslim girls. This is erroneous. They equate it with Christianity or westernisatoion or both. Perhaps this belief is anchored on the historical origin of western education in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, it was used by the church as a tool of evangelisation. But things are no longer in that mould. Indeed Islam demands that all adherents seek for knowledge even if it means going to as far as China. There is also no firm indicator as to what type of knowledge or level one must pass through, although moral education is the base that goes hand-in-hand with temporal education. Muslims are urged to search for knowledge except where it will go contrary to 'amr bil ma'aruf wa nahyi anil mukar' (i.e. encouraging the good and forbidding the wrong).

Society's poor attitude to girl child education 5

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Generally, the society itself is not wholly supportive of girls' child education. Elders, parents and guardians largely disapprove of it. They hold suspicious believes and apprehension about the system. This is most widespread among the uneducated or the less educated. The reasons for this are legion. But this attitude persists because there has not been a sustained effort at making people aware of the cherishable normative and instrumental values of modem education. Community mobilisation has been less than adequate. Irrelevance of the curriculum What school teaches remains perpetually irrelevant to the real life expectations of the people, especially the needs and yearnings of parents, families and the girls themselves. This leaves a wide gulp between aspirations of role players and stakeholders and the assumed expectations of providers of education. As a result, a call for renewal is ever felt. Poor females' participation in studying the sciences There is a lingering but largely unproved feeling that females cannot cope with studies in the Sciences, Technology and Mathematics. Females themselves seem to believe that they cannot do as well as their male counterparts. Yet there is no scientific evidence to back up this gender stereotype. One of the many negative results of this belief is that less females are found to be involved professional careers of engineering and medicine, etc. Thus females remain under-represented in these important nationally desired corps of female experts. Muslim societies in particular face the dilemma in medical institutions when it comes to attending to their female members. Females' poor self-concept There are instances where the females themselves bear on themselves poor self-concept of being unable to cope with challenges of modem learning. They are unduly influenced by the negative impressions society place on them. This then becomes a very serious impediment to their learning and educational pursuits. Poor link between education and employment There is a popular belief in society that modem education only emphasises instrumental goals, that is that it is mainly employment-oriented. Therefore when learners complete an educational programme without commensurate assurance for modem sector jobs, society sees a mismatch and lack of synergy. This discourages participation, given that no serious meaning is ever attached to learning itself. Similarly, schools do not teach skills that may help learners to become self-reliant and gain self-employment from their formal training.

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

On the remedial measures In order to ameliorate the effects of the 10 socio-cultural factors examined above, it is proposed that all persons involved in the system should undertake to take and or promote the adoption and effective implementation of some remedial measures in Nigeria. The measures proposed hereunder are in a grid form to indicate actors, targets and possible time frame for them as follows: Box 1: Schemata on remedial measures to improve girls‟ participation in education Proposed Measure Stop early marriage via legislation and education. Eradicate girl child hawking practices through legislation and education. Reduce poverty through job creation, free schooling and scholarships grants. Mobilise against poor parental support via sensitization on the values of modern education Create better understnading of the position of Islam on modern education via awareness campaign Change society‟s poor attitude to girls education via mobilisation of communities and groups Renew curriculum via stakeholder involvement in content reform and renewal efforts Improve poor participation in the sciences via scholarship grants, better funding, more female science schools and mobilization of community support. Transform female‟s poor selfconcept via education

Responsible Actors Government, NGO‟s, CBOs.

Link education to work via job creation and vocationalisation of curriculum

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF,

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Government, Women NGOs, UNICEF

Target/Time Frame Until popular awareness is achieved. Hawking stopped by 2015

Governments, Banks, NGOs, UNICEF

Poverty reduced to less than 20% by 2015.

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF, Religious bodies

Awarenesss on values of education achieved by 2015.

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF, Religious bodies

Increased awareness and higher girls enrolment achieved by 2005 an on.

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF,

Positive attitude expressed in greater girls enrolment in schools curriculum, including occupations by 2015 Key female needs reflected in school curriculum, including occupations by 2015.

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF,

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF,

More female enrolled, more funds provided, more schools established by 2015.

Governments, NGOs,UNICEF,

Positive females self-concept created gradually and expressed in involvement in sciences and professions. More jobs created fro females by 2015.

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The African Symposium (ISSN# TX 6-342-323)

The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

Conclusion In this paper, an attempt has been made to examine ten socio-cultural factors militating against girl's child education in Nigeria. Ten alternative remedial measures were also proposed as a basis for action in order to make the future situation better. There is hardly any legitimate excuse for excluding the girl child and females from taking full advantage of education in Nigeria. As there is need for equity, so there is a concomitant need for the rectification of past disadvantages. In the word of one female activist Theresa Kouh Moukory: “My idea of how to make up for the backwardness of females can be summed up in one word – Education”. References Akande, J.O. (1985) "Inequality and Infringement of Rights of Nigerian Women" A paper resented at the national workshop on Nigerian Women and Development, Institute of African Studies, University of lbadan, June. Assimang, M: (1990) "Women in Ghana: Their integration in socio-economic development" in Research Review, vol.6, no.1. Doyle, S.U. (1991) "Increasing Women's Participation in Technical Fields: A Pilot Project in Africa" in International Labour Review vol. 130, no.4, pp. 427- 444. Indabawa, S.A. (1994) "Women In Development: A Comparative Study of Access to Western Education in Kano and Oyo States of Nigeria, 1976-1991". An unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan. Indabawa, S.A. (1998) "Sixteen theses on women and education" in Omolewa, M. et al eds. Retrospect and Renewal: The State of Adult Education Research in Africa. Dakar: UNESCO-BREDA. Indabawa, S.A. (1999) "Factors hindering the participation of females in education: A Nigerian experience" in Otaala, B. ed. Issues in Education Windhoek: John Meinert, pp. 33-50. Kelly, G.P.(1978) "Research on the education of women in the third world: Problems and Prospects" in Women Studies International Quarterly vol. 1, no.4, pp. 365-372. Kolo, I.A. and Indabawa, S.A. (1998) Towards a National Policy on Women's Advancement in Nigeria: A Baseline Report lbadan : Development Policy Centre (DPC). Mangvwat, J. (1993) "Gender and Access to Education: The Nigerian Situation" in AALAE Journal, vol.7, no.2, pp.33-38. Obanya, Pai (2003) "Girls and women's education: A perspective on the challenges in Nigeria" in Fagbulu, I. and Aderinoye, R. eds. Nigerian Private Sector and Girls Education. Abuja: UNESCO- Nigeria, pp.31- 48. Sanyal, B.C. and Collins, J.E. (1998) Women, Education and Employment in Developing Countries Paris: UNESCO. Sweetman, C. )1998) Gender, Education and Training. Oxford: Oxfarm. Trevor, J. (1975) "Western education and the Muslim Fulani l Hausa Women in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria" in Brown, G.N. and Hiskett, M. eds. Conflict and Harmony in Education in Tropical Africa London: George Allen and Unwin. UNESCO (2003) Gender and Education For All: The Leaf to Quality. Paris: UNESCO: Williams, A.G. (1987) "On promoting female participation in science, technology and mathematics education" in Education Today vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 9-22.

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

Brief on author Sabo A. Indabawa: B.A.Ed. (BUK), M.Ed., Ph.D. (Ibadan), Fellow, UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg, Germany, is an academic staff of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria for twenty years. He was an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Adult and Nonformal Education, University of Namibia, Windhoek. He has served the National Development Project (NDP), an Abuja-based policy research organization as Director: Policy & Coordination from 2001 to 2003. He has returned to Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria as Associate Professor of Adult Education. Indabawa has published more than 80 scholarly works in forms of books, chapters in books, articles in journals and technical reports. His e-mail address is: [email protected]

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

The Status of the Indigenous Languages in Institutions of Learning in Zambia: Past, Present and Future. P.C. Manchisi University of Zambia INTRODUCTION During the colonial period, missionaries came and settled in various parts of the country. They opened churches, hospitals and schools. What one can state without any fear of contradiction is that the drive for evangelisation proved extremely successful because the missionaries used local languages. The bible and other Christian literature were translated into the local languages. People chanted hymns in the language they understood best ie. Their own local languages, and even in the school s the medium of instruction was in their own local language at least up to the 4th grade. Because of this, there was a wealth of literature in the local languages. At independence, the Ministry of Education made a ruling that English would be the medium of instruction form Grade one onwards. Furthermore the only local languages which received government recognition were Cibemba, Kikaonde, Silozi, Lunda, Luvale, Cinyanja and Citonga. Only these languages could be taught in schools according to the map of the language zones. The effect of this policy is that while literature in Zambian languages has flourished in the seven official languages, literature previously available in the other languages has now completely disappeared and with it all the written legends and lores. Writing new books in Lenje, Namwanga, Tumbuka, Mambwe, Ila, Mbunda etc… has not been possible because the publishers would not be assured of any steady market since these languages are not taught in schools. The status of a Zambian Language in the education system has been eroded by the low rating accorded to it by the public at large. Very few tertiary institutions accept Language as an entry qualification, except in very special circumstances. Educator are now putting forward a case to have children taught in their mother tongue or in the prevalent local language of the area for the first four grades. It is argued that children can only learn best in the language that they understand best and after that they can be in a better position to learn in another language. This obviously means that the training of teachers for lower primary schools the writing of curriculum materials for lower primary schools and the posting of teachers would have to take account the language map of the country. The Missionaries The first western type of school was established in this country in the present Western Province by a Brethren Missionary called Frederick Arnot in 1883. What followed after, was the "Scramble" for the sphere of influence by the Missionaries.

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

When a mission station was established, the first thing the Missionaries did was to study and write the dominant language in that area. The next phase was to begin teaching the local people the skills of reading and writing in the language chosen. The common features of almost all the mission stations were; a church, school and hospital. Even today, these features are still there. In mission schools, local languages were taught as subjects and also used as media of instruction, especially, in the lower primary school (Sub Standard A to Standard Four). English language was not propagated by the Missionaries as such, it was only used starting from the upper primary school. This was so, because they rightly believed that a local language was a powerful linguistic instrument one could use to impart knowledge to a local community. Missionaries are on record as people who have done quite a lot in promoting local languages. The following quotation confirms the assertion (Snelson 1974): Missionaries did a great deal to study the languages of the people of Northern Rhodesia, and to produce materials in them. Members of the Missionary societies continue to be among the most knowledgeable about the structure of Zambian languages. The British South African Company (B.S.A.C.) As a result of an agreement between the then Litunga (chief) of Barotseland and the company, the Barotse National School was established in 1907 at Kanyonyo. This was the only school built by the Company for Africans and remained the only Government school up to 1929. What this means is that the Missionaries were the sole "suppliers" of education to Africans all over the country. The company followed the Missionaries‟ language policy. From Sub A to Standard Four, Silozi was used as the medium of instruction. English slowly became the medium of instruction from standard Five. Silozi was also taught as a subject. One notes again here, the promotion of local languages especially in the lower primary classes. The Colonial Government The British South African Company relinquished its powers over Northern Rhodesia on April 1, 1924. The administration of the country, fell under the British government. When the Colonial Office took over the running of Northern Rhodesia, there was only one Government school for Africans - the Barotse National School, the rest were under the Missionaries. Coincidentally, when Northern Rhodesia became under the rule of the Colonial Office, there was a commission - the Phelps - Stokes Commission set up by the colonial office in London to examine the educational system in its colonies and advise how it could be improved and at this time, it was visiting East and Central Africa. "The Phelps - Stokes Commission was charged with a three fold task; to investigate the educational needs of the people in light of their religious, social, hygienic and economic conditions; to ascertain the extent to which their needs

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were being met; and to assist in the formulation of plans to meet the educational needs of the native races. (Snelson 1974) It is not within the scope of this paper to delve into the various recommendations of the Commission. However, suffice to note, that on Language, the Commission recommended English to become the official language in education and government business. The local languages were to be used for national values preservation and self-identity on the part of the African: The Commission in general expresses its concern for the teaching of both African and European languages, finding that both have a contribution to make of greater significance than that of the mere transfer of knowledge. It emphasizes the great importance of the indigenous language as a chief means to preserving what ever is good in African customs, ideals and above all for preserving the self-respect of Africans. It believes the African mind can be reached, African character developed and interest in agriculture and industry aroused. (Snelson 1974) In 1928, as a result of the Commission's recommendations, Four main local languages were selected to serve as official languages in African schools, these were; Cibemba, Cinyanja, Citonga and Silozi. These languages were to be used in government schools as media of instruction for the first four years of primary education In 1930, because there was no Lingua franca in the country, the Advisory Board for Native Education found it necessary to introduce English in African Schools but this could only begin after the skills of reading and writing had been taught in the local languages. In 1943, it was recommended by the British Government that during the first few years of a child's learning should be occupied by vernacular teaching. English, on the other hand, was to be taught as a subject in the fourth year in the primary school and to be used as a medium of instruction in some subjects thereafter. By 1950, the language policy in African schools was that the mother tongue was to be used as medium of instruction during the first two years of primary education and a dominant vernacular to be used up to standard Five and thereafter English was to replace the local languages. The Federal Era From 1953 to 1963 Northern Rhodesia, was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. During this period, education in Northern Rhodesia, was divided; African education came under the territorial Government and the education for other races was under the federal Government. By 1956, English was slowly being introduced in the early primary school (two thirty - minutes periods in the second year of primary). By 1962, English was finally introduced in the first year of primary.

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In 1963, the Northern Rhodesia Government asked UNESCO to study the educational system and find ways of improving it. In its report on language, it recommended that: Despite the obvious difficulties both administrative and pedagogic, English should be adopted as the sole medium of instruction from the commencement of primary school. This, according to the Report, was going to bring about: -

an improvement in the quality of spoken and written language. possession by all of a language of wide communication. an improvement in the general education development of children because there is more literature. greater ease in learning at the upper-end of the primary and in secondary schools. the advantage of transferring the reading and writing skills to vernacular which are phonetically written.

The Nationalist Government In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became independent. It was now up to the new Government to take a decision regarding the UNESCO's recommendation mentioned above (the Radford Report). Consequently, through the 1966 Education Act, and the statutory instrument No. 312, 2nd November 1966, the Government implemented the Radford recommendation. English became the official medium of instruction from Grade One to University level. It should also be noted that this decision was equally influenced by the success of the New Peak scheme for English medium which was piloted in the country in 1965. The scheme had proved successful in Kenya previously. Some of the linguistic reasons for having taken this decision were: -

-

-

an improvement in the standard of English spoken and written by pupils in primary schools would follow. the school children would be freed from emotional disturbance which often occurs under the traditional method when English replaces the vernacular as the medium of instruction after the fourth year of primary schooling. the school children would be helped to develop in English a more flexible command of sentences structures and vocabulary which is quite adequate for their needs in and out of school. learning English at upper primary level and in the secondary schools would be facilitated. an improvement in the general educational development of pupils would be expected because they would be introduced to a much wider range of reading materials at an earlier age than is possible under the traditional method.

It is worthy noting here that , when the Nationalist Government accepted and implemented the Radford recommendation, it did not however, abandon the teaching of local languages. They were merely, to be taught as subjects.

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Between 1975 and 1977, the English and Zambian Languages departments of the Curriculum Development Centre, (Ministry of Education) had proposed a return to the earlier practice where by, local languages, were used as media of instruction in the first four years of primary school. The proposal was rejected and instead, the 1977 “Educational Reform” re-affirmed the use of English as the medium of instruction from Grade One to University level. However, the Reform advised teachers to explain concepts which could not be easily understood in one of the seven official Zambian languages provided the majority of the pupils in that class understand the language. The Reform went further to say that the teaching of Zambian languages as subjects in schools and colleges should be made more effective and language study should have equal status with other important subjects. The University of Zambia was also requested to intensify and expand its activities in Zambian languages so that these could be studied as subjects as opposed to merely using them in linguistic studies. At its second meeting on 17th April, 1985, the Social and Cultural Affairs Sub-Committee of the United Independence Party (UNIP) Central Committee (the party in power then), directed that research be carried out on local languages to form a basis for the formulation of a national language policy. A committee was constituted but died a natural death. In 1992, the Ministry of Education published a policy document entitled “Focus on Learning” which replaced the 1977 Education Reform and on local languages, it had this to say: The importance of local languages should be highlighted by ensuring that they contribute meaningfully to grade eight (8) selection decisions. In 1994, the Curriculum Development Centre in the Ministry of Education prepared a paper on the primary school curriculum entitled “The Structure of the New School Curriculum” in which it was again recommended that mother tongues/dominant local languages be used as media of instruction during the first four years of primary education. The recommendation was not implemented and hence, died a natural death. In 1996 the Ministry published another policy document; entitled “Educating Our Future”. This is the latest official document which replaced “Focus on Learning”. On language, it recommended the following: All pupils will be given an opportunity to learn initial basic skills of reading and writing in a local language. Where as English will continue to remain as the official medium of instruction. In 1997, a new curriculum for the whole school system in the country was proposed. In this document, the study of a local language, was to be compulsory in Basic Schools (Grades 1 – 9) and optional in the High Schools (Grades 10 – 12). The contents of the document as usual, were never implemented. In 2000, the Curriculum Development Centre of the Ministry of Education, produced yet another document on primary school curriculum entitled „The Basic School Curriculum

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Framework‟ and recommended the following on language: In grade one literacy shall be taught in a familiar language, and English as well as Zambian languages are additional language subjects. From grade 2 literacy shall be taught in English, while Zambian language literacy skills continue to be enhanced. Children will continue to develop their reading and writing skills in both Zambian languages and English in each subsequent grade up to and including grade 7. Current Position Zambia has a total of seventy three ethnic groups speaking different languages. Seven of them namely: Kikaonde, Lunda, Luvale, Cinyanja, Cibemba Citonga and Silozi have been recognised as official languages. They are the only ones taught or used as subjects in schools, on radio and television, in vernacular newspapers, political crircles and courts of law. Primary Schools The seven official languages are the only ones that are taught. It should, however, be noted that not all the schools offer these languages. School authorities in each institution decide independently whether to teach them or not. In 1999, the Ministry of Education launched a programme known as the “Primary Reading Programme (PRP)” in which a local language (Cibemba) was used to teach initial skills in reading and writing. The programme was piloted in the Northern Province of the country (Kasama). The project proved a success and has since been extended to other schools in the country under a new name “The New Breakthrough to Literacy (NBTL)”. Currently the situation is that in Grade One, pupils will learn to read and write in a local language. In Grade Two, they will transfer these skills inot English through the “StepIn To Englsih Reading Course”. The programme is supposed to be extended to all the primary schools by the end of the year 2003. In spite of this commendable effort which in any case, is long over due, the Ministry of Education has maintained English as the official medium of instruction in the early years of primary education as the quotation below confirms; As language of instruction, English will continue to be used as the official medium of instruction but teachers are encouraged where necessary and relevant to use the familiar language for explanations questions and answers (Ministry of Education 1996). At Secondary School: The seven official local languages are again the only ones recommended for teaching at this level. In practice only a few schools offer local languages most of them do not. The

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situation at this level regarding the teaching of local languages is confused to say the least. In fact, the truth of the matter is that unlike at primary school, pupils who wish to study local languages at this level, do so, more or less privately with very little help from the school. Primary Teacher Training Colleges There are ten in all under the Ministry of Education. Each College, has a Zambian Languages Section and all the students are trained in the teaching of local languages although most of them end up not teaching them. Secondary Teacher – Training Colleges Out of the number of the colleges which prepare secondary school teachers, only one, Nkrumah Teachers‟ College, offers local languages as a choice. University Level The University of Zambia offers a degree programme in African (Zambian) languages in the Department of Literature and languages, school of Humanities and Social Sciences for those who wish to become teachers and those who simply want to study local languages. It is regrettable that in terms of research, very little is being done at the University to expand the study of local languages local. They are simply being used as mere referral languages in linguistic studies. There are no definite measures being taken to improve the availability of literature and other materials which would facilitate teaching and learning of Zambian languages more effectively. DISCUSSION From the foregoing, it is evident that during the colonial period, the language policy was titled towards the local languages. After independence, there was a change in the policy. Emphasis shifted from local languages to English. As at now the local languages situation in schools is confused to say the least. In fact, there are "dying out" and the payment for this has been that most Zambians today, have become illiterate in their own languages and have lost their cultural heritage. It should be emphasized in passing that Zambia is among the very few Anglophone African countries, which are still using English as medium of instruction in the early years of primary school. This situation should not be left to continue. Hence, in order to correct it, it is being proposed that there be a return to the old system where local languages were used as media of instruction during the first four years of primary education. This will facilitate the comprehension of certain concepts which pupils at this stage find difficult to grasp when English is used as a medium of instruction. In this way, teaching/learning will be facilitated.

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Contrary to the reasons advanced for adopting English as the sole medium of instruction, Sharma (1973), McAdam and Africa (1980) (quoted in Ministry of Education 1975) all confirmed in their findings that, the use of English as a medium of instruction had affected reading and Arithmetic Skills. Contributing on the same (use of English as medium of instruction), Kelly (1991) points out‟: "Pedagogically it is unlikely to support good learning especially in the critical early primary grades. Socially, it orientates the entire school process in a direction that only a small percentage of pupils will follow. Culturally it under cuts the local languages and the values they embody". Denying a community the use of its language particularly through institutions such as schools, is killing its culture. We can not fairly claim to be educating Zambian children if we neglect their cultural background and heritage. We want, in education, to awaken the feelings and the heart as well as the reason and the mind, to understand and not simply to know, to interpret and not simply to record, to love and not simply to reason. The language that can reach these deeper levels of our existence cannot be a foreign language. It should be noted that vernacular languages have a richness and facility of expression, and adaptability to new demands, as well as an ability to adopt and coin new words, which more than justify their existence as an adequate means of expression. Moreover, enshrined in them and largely inseparable from them, there is a culture and wealth of literature of folklore, songs, riddles proverbs and wise sayings. The world and Zambia in particular will be poor if this is lost; the mental and cultural background of the people of whom this is the heritage will be impoverished. It should therefore be our concern to foster the development and survival of the vernacular in schools. We cannot fairly claim to be educating a Zambian child if we neglect all this cultural background and heritage. In this vein, the objectives for teaching local languages should be: -

to develop in the pupils a right attitude of respect for and love of their language. to teach them to use it competently, clearly and effectively in both written and oral forms. to enable them to begin to appreciate its qualities as a means of expression. to help them absorb and enjoy some of the culture that is enshrined in its songs, poetry, legend, folklore, customs, proverbs etc.

The University of Zambia (UNZA) has a big role to play in the task of promotion and preservation of local languages. It is regrettable that in terms of research, very little is being done at UNZA to expand the study of local languages. Currently local languages are only being used as referral languages for linguistic studies: UNZA is strongly being urged to create a Bureau (a department) of Zambian languages Research similar to the one at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam (the Institute of Swahili Research). There is need to change the attitudes of the Zambians towards their own languages. Currently local languages are being shunned and rated inferior to English which should not be the case. Local languages are part of the Zambian values and cultural heritage. In other words, language is a tool used for the preservation of cultural heritage of the tribe and with it, the clan, the family and the individual.

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Conclusion In conclusion, the use of English as a medium of instruction in the lower primary school, is a sure way of killing African personality and culture (Zambian personality and culture). Further, it has now been acknowledged world wide that, a child should receive education in his/her mother tongue. Why are we denying the Zambian pupil this privilege? No greater injustice can be committed against a people than to deprive them of their language. Since the fundamental assumption in educational theory and practice is the adjustment of the child to the life and culture of his society, it is hardly possible to take away a child‟s first language without adverse consequences. (Awoniyi, 1982) Bibliography Awoniyi T.A. (982) The Teaching of African Languages. Ibadan. Nigeria Publishers. Kashoki (M) et al (1978) Language in Zambia, London International African Institute. Kashoki (M) (1989) Language in Zambia. The lost battle on the front line (a Seminar paper). Kashoki (M) (1990) The Factor of Language in Zambia, Lusaka Zambia Publishing House. Kelly (M.J.) (1991) Education in Declining Economy. The Case of Zambia 1975-1985. Washington The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. Moody (J) (1981) An Investigation into the Teaching of Zambian Languages in Zambian Secondary Schools, Research Paper, Department of Literature and Languages, University of Zambia. Mwanakatwe (J) (1974) The Growth of Education in Zambia since Independence, Nairobi, Oxford University Press. Snelson (P.D.) Educational Development in Northern Rhodesia 1883-1845 Lusaka, National Educational Company of Zambia. Ministry of Education (2000) The Basic School Curriculum Framework. Lusaka Ministry of Education ____________________ (1996) Educating Our Future, National Policy on Education. Lusaka, M.O.E (1992) Focus on Learning. Lusaka, Ministry of Education (1989) Language Policy in Zambia. Lusaka, Ministry of Education (1977) The Educational Reform. Lusaka M.O.E. (1975) The Impact of English medium on children's learning. Lusaka, MOE/CDC National Archives ED/8/1 Teaching African vernaculars. NTZ/288 The Educational Policy Genera

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Some epistemological issues in the conduct of social and behavioural studies in the faculty of education of Nigerian Universities C.O. Okeke and T. A. Ume University of Nigeria - Nsukka Abstract This article has explored the historical antecedents leading to the development of the various research methodologies and the roles of the 18th and 19th centuries‟ philosophical debates to this development. The article explored this development in relation to the conduct of research within the faculty of education of Nigerian Universities. It seeks an understanding of the extent to which research orientation within this side of the globe is influenced by this self-evidence paradigm shift. In line with this, a documentary approach was used to review some of the doctoral theses in some selected Nigerian Universities. Analytic induction and grounded theorizing were adopted in the analysis of data elected through this secondary source. The findings of this exercise were presented as „emerging issues‟ in this article. Key Words: Research conduct, Doctoral theses, documentary approach, analytic induction, grounded theorizing and emerging issues. Introduction The history of the debates on research methodology is a very long one dating back to the 18th and 19th century philosophy of science (Hammersley, 1989). These debates center on what is supposed to be the source and nature of scientific knowledge. The major philosophical currents of these periods include that of positivism, historicism, neo-kantianism and the American pragmatism. For many theorists, this development is a case between two competing paradigms. But for many others, it is a matter of differential research methods with varying degrees of benefits and disadvantages suited for conducting particular kinds of social enquiry. These epistemological variance into which research is being conceived, have long been reduced into “two polar extremes, each reposing upon different fundamental philosophical assumptions about the way we acquire knowledge about our environment” (Worsley, 1985: 74). Today researchers speak in terms of positivism versus humanism; determinism versus interpretivism; hypothetico-deductivist versus inductivist; and of course quantitative versus qualitative approaches. For sure these philosophical orientations of the 18th and 19th centuries laid a very strong foundation for the polarization of research understanding and enterprise of the later centuries. How was this made possible? The positivists retained from the 18th and 19th century philosophy of science, the idea of the natural laws with the conception that the central aim for the study of society is to discover universal laws. They equally retained from this philosophical traditional the idea that science is the only true source of knowledge (Hammersley, 1989). This conception of knowledge led the positivist researchers into the idea of the application of methods similar to those used in the natural sciences. It is from this tradition also that the idea of quantitative and statistical

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representations of the empirical social world began. For instance to get on with research, the positivist will argue that what the researcher requires “is a knowledge of previous research and of statistics” (Mennell, 1974:1). This tradition as already mentioned operates within the hypothetico-deductive framework and was very influential in the conduct of research well into the 1950s and 1960s. A period marking the beginning of the introduction of organized formal higher education into Nigeria. On the other hand humanists inherited from historicism the idea of verstehen, conceptualized as “human self understanding” (Hammersley, 1989:25). As a philosophical ideology, historicism treats the positivists‟ mode of enquiry as speculative and seeks the historical understanding of social phenomena. Generally, historicists argue that the mode of enquiries into the behavioural sciences differ fundamentally from that of the natural sciences. Such historicists as Wilhelm Dilthey, Friedrich Meinecke and Ernest Troeltsch (Haack, 1995) argue that differential reasons inform both the qualitative and quantitative modes of enquiry. While the former seeks an empathetic or intuitive understanding of particular lived experience, the latter is concerned with the establishment of explanatory generalizations of uniformities in behaviour. Neo – Kantianism was first a movement that arose for the re-appraisal of the writings of Kant. But as a philosophical movement, it represents an anti -speculative movement against positivism. Neo-Kantians such as Wilhelm Dilthey, Otto Liebmann, Alois Riehl and Hermann Cohen (Gwinn, Noyton and Goetz, 1987), were interested in analyzing the conditions under which knowledge is produced. To these philosophers and to all those who thought like them, no one method can claim to apprehend the one and only reality. In fact these philosophers rejected the idea of natural sciences as the only source of legitimate knowledge and therefore argue that observers operating within the social and physical world can only do so through different values. What was later to be known and elaborated as the importance of the researcher subjectivity was already recognized in this philosophical ideology. But the greatest influence received by the humanist came from the American pragmatism. As a school of thought, pragmatism is more of a method of enquiry than an ideological or philosophical movement. Its proponents included thinkers like William James, John Dewey and George Herbert Mead (Gwinn, Notyon and Goetz, 1987). Pragmatism is a combination of two main tendencies. The first is “the belief that experience is the starting point and terminus for all knowledge and (second)… the idea that human must be understood as part of the natural world” (Hammersley, 1989:45). In studying the phenomenal world of man therefore, attention must be paid to the distinctive character of human beings in order for the researcher to understand the humanity of man. Jointly, the humanists reject the positivists‟ claims to value-free research enterprise. To them, “the question of value-free social sciences does not arise at all, for a value-free social science does not exist at all” (Obikeze, 1990:7). Contrary to the positivists‟ claims, humanists believe that there is no reality waiting out there to be captured by the researcher. The humanists thus criticize the positivist research approaches and in particular the use of statistical tools in the representation of findings coming from the empirical social world of man.

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Thus what began as a collection of individual opinions through the positivist, historicist, neokantian and pragmatist ideas of the 18th and 19th centuries gradually conflated into major methodological epistemologies from which researchers can no longer make any escape. These epistemologies have been dichotomized wittingly or unwittingly within contemporary research traditions. Today researchers speak in terms of quantitative or qualitative, with each of these research traditions claiming to offer something unique through its peculiar principles toward a better understanding of the empirical social world of man. That notwithstanding, it is worthy of note from what historical parallelism (historical antecedents leading to the establishment of an idea or events of such) has to offer, that the appearance of the qualitative techniques were made possible by the declining potency of the quantitative techniques; the inability of the quantitative traditions to supply answers to questions regarding the distinctive character of the empirical social world of man. These differences are long recognized in Western research traditions. Liebscher (1998:669) has summarized these differences with the following explanations: a quantitative research methodology is appropriate where quantifiable measures of variables of interests are possible, where hypotheses can be formulated and tested and inferences drawn from sample to population. Qualitative methods on the other hand, are appropriate when the phenomena under study are complex, social in nature and do not lend themselves readily to quantification. Qualitative methods are used when understanding the cultural context from which people derive meaning is an important element of a study. Such cultural context is usually not susceptible to quantification and aggregation and is therefore usually ignored in quantitative studies. When sociology was first introduced as a source of researching the social world, it‟s main current as stated earlier was that of positivism in which researchers sought for scientific laws, explaining social phenomena through the collection and quantification of data (Bryant and Becker, 1990). But the development of the naturalistic methods, which found expressions through the qualitative approaches, led to severe and damaging attacks on the orthodoxy of the positivists‟ traditions. Consequently, the positivists‟ quantitative approaches were accused of dehumanizing the human life because their methods of analyses contradict the nature of human social actions (Hammersley, 1989). Emphasis then began to shift, leading to more prominence being given to the humanistic approaches. This article has explored the extent to which research conduct within the Nigerian universities has responded to this paradigm shift. Methodology A documentary research design was adopted in the conduct of this study. Its main source of data was existing documents in the form of thesis. This is often referred to as “secondary sources of data because they do not entail direct contact and interaction with the study subjects…”(Obikeze, 1990:68). This approach is also used when the researcher is not part of the original research project from which data is sought (Heaton, 2001). The study was conducted in five Nigerian Universities selected through the purposive sampling, “a situation in which the researcher simply

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hand picks the sample because to his (or her) judgment they are typical to what he (or she) wants” (Ofo, 1994: 15). These Universities are the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Benin, University of Port Harcourt and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State. These Universities were selected with the idea of generation in mind. In Nigeria universities are grouped according to the period of establishment. This grouping is referred to as „generation‟. Some universities were established before others and this differential is important within the Nigerian universities‟ organizational hierarchy. Universities established within the period between 1960 and 1970 are classified as first generation. The second generation universities are those established between 1970 and 1980, while those established afterwards are currently classified as third generation universities. Following this, the Universities of Nigeria Nsukka and that of Lagos represented the first generation Universities. The University of Benin and that of Port Harcourt represented the second generation Universities while the Nnamdi Azikiwe University represented the third generation Universities. The journey to these Universities began with a request to the researchers‟ University Librarian (which is the University of Nigeria Nsukka) for an authorization note to facilitate easy access to the Libraries of the various Universities. Researchers are often expected to arm themselves with some form of identification/introductory letters. Such documents would contain information regarding the personal identities of researchers including institution of origin, reasons for carrying out the study and possible outcome. These researchers obtained the above-mentioned authority, which enabled them to visit as well as use the selected universities‟ libraries. One advantage gained from the use of the authorization and/or identification letter was that it enabled the researchers gain access to some of the areas in the Universities‟ Libraries where ordinarily access would have been most difficult. At the end of each visit, the researchers ensured that the University Librarian or one of his/her assistants signed a space on the identification letter as confirmation that the researchers actually visited and used the University‟s Library. In qualitative research, this procedure would serve the first test for validity defined as the technique employed by the researcher to indulge a Socratic distaste for self-deception (Wainwright, 1997). The study covers works completed between 1991 and 1999, a period of nine (9) years in seven departments within the Faculty of Education spread across the selected Universities. These departments are: Educational foundations; Adult Education; Curriculum Studies; Educational Psychology; Educational Administration, Vocational Teacher Education and Educational measurement and evaluation. Works reviewed were selected through the purposive sampling. This type of sampling is judgmental and allows the researcher to work in line with relevance. In this case, purposive sampling is defined as a process whereby the researcher simply and judgmentally selects a particular group or objects for study because such objects, materials or persons satisfy the researcher(s)‟ needs. In this case, the researchers simply hand picked from on the shelf, four (4) completed and displayed works from each of the selected Universities. In all twenty (20) works were selected and reviewed by this researcher.

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Being basically secondary source of data collection, data emerged from the twenty these through the nature of the research design of each of the theses, method of data collection, method of data collection, method of data analysis and information on the duration of the study as well as that of the study site. Data that emerged through the above processes were analyzed through the analytic induction and the grounded theorizing. Analytic induction represents “ a process whereby the researcher attempts to develop a or an explanatory model that satisfactorily accounts for some phenomena…that have assumed prominence from information obtained…”(Obikeze, 1990:76). The concept of grounded theorizing emphasizes the generation of theory through data from empirical studies. These researchers were interested in offering an explanatory model on the methodological trends in the unpublished higher degree research within the faculty of education of Nigerian universities. It is for this reason that the analytic induction and the grounded theory approaches were adopted. Within these frameworks, the researchers were able to organize the collected data leading to the issues that „emerged‟ as a result. A Critique on Methodology The study concentrated on studies carried out at the doctoral level within the selected Universities as already noted. Well interest on only doctoral studies is fundamental. The major reason for this is that works at this level must abide by certain conventions. One of these conventions is that doctoral research must be reason-bound and therefore must be ready to make some kind of new contributions to the existing body of knowledge. More so research at the doctoral level must be informed by the fact of prediction, understanding, emancipation and deconstruction (Lather, 1994). But how these conventions will be achieved through a particular research project, depends to a great extent on the methodological orientation informing that study. In the review of the twenty theses, emphasis was placed only on the methods used by the authors of the various studies reviewed. Common issues of general concern in all the papers have been presented in this article under a general sub-title „Emerging Issues‟. But where particular comments or critique became inevitable, these have been done individually in relation to the differential issues as they emerged in the various studies. Thus the first of these papers to be looked at here is this one by Odogwu (1993), which looked at the concept of time among primary school pupils and factors related to its development. The study was intended to cover all primary five and six pupils in Lagos metropolis out of which a total of 206 pupils were sampled for the research. The researcher (Odogwu, 1993) developed a number of instruments, which include: The Integral Time Concept Test; Mathematical Time Concept Test. Socio- economic Background Questionnaire and Questionnaire on Teachers‟ Method of Teaching Time. The researcher in analyzing the various scores obtained from these questionnaires used both the descriptive and inferential statistics. In all, a total of sixty-four (64) statistical tables were constructed and in spite of the enormous work evidenced in the findings, the author of the work under review did not say for how long the study lasted.

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The function of this article is not to discredit any particular approach to investigating the empirical social world of man but it is important to add as well that conventional wisdom holds that the investigation of certain social phenomenon demands a particular kind of fitting approach. Following this, a study which was informed by the desire to understanding the young children‟s understanding of time should have sought for an approach that enables the researcher (Odogwu, 1993) to ascertain the deeper meanings and explanations of the concept of time amongst those children who took part in the study. It is the argument of this article that the unstructured indepth interviewing used effectively would have enabled the author of the work under review to achieve this task. Equally the observational technique may have offered a more useful clue toward the understanding of the young children‟s practice of time because every activity within a school setting is time-guarded. It is therefore the argument of this article that the weaknesses of the various questionnaires developed by Odogwu (1993), lie mainly in their failure to ascertain the deeper underlying meanings and explanations of the concept of time and the various factors related to its development even when the research findings are significant, valid and reliable (Jones, 1997). In addition to the above it is important to add following Collins (1998), that life does not consist of data, it consists of stories and these stories are negotiated during social interaction involving another life. Consequently, to approach the study of the “young children‟s understanding of time” through pre-constructed and structured questionnaire will not only deny life that unique quality but they may also conceal more than they intend to reveal. Furthermore the researcher‟s use of sixty-four (64) statistical tables to represent the test scores, gives one the impression that in spite of the constructed character of these instruments and the potential errors that are built into them, there is a sense in which these statistical techniques are used as if they constitute a machine for transforming information from data into valid conclusions (Hammersley and Gomm, 1997). One is therefore tempted to ask what case these weaknesses make for the quantitative claims to the principle of generalisability, validity and reliability? A second paper to be brought into discussion here is this one carried out by Ewulonu (1991). This was a correlational survey, which aimed at establishing the relationship between stress management ability of secondary school principals and their organizational effectiveness. Of the 462 principals in the then Imo State secondary schools, 115 principals were sampled for the study. The researcher (Ewulonu, 1991) developed the Stress Management and Organisational Effectiveness Questionnaire (SMOEQ) on the basis of the hypotheses. Questionnaire was structured and the author claimed to have used some research assistants in the administration of the questionnaires. In the analysis that followed data collection, both the descriptive and inferential statistics in which the Pearson product moment and the t-statistics featured. Again the author said nothing about the location of the study other than the fact that it was conducted in Imo State of Nigeria. A similar study was conducted in Western Australia to uncover the dilemmas experienced by principals in dealing with the contradictions and pressures of school restructuring. The author of the study (Wildy, 1999) revealed that the aim of her study was to find out what is it about school restructuring that principals find so difficult. The author claimed that she collected data from

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three data sources namely: in-depth interviews with ten (10) principals selected from a group of a 1000 of them and data was also collected from the longitudinal study of one of the principals. The third set of data was the 90 cases generated from her involvement in developing a standard framework for school principals. This comparison becomes necessary in line with an earlier submission that the nature of the phenomenon under investigation determines to a great extent the nature of the research methods that will be adopted in its investigation. Central to these two studies (Ewulonu, 1991 and Wildy, 1999) is the understanding of the organizational dynamics contingent upon effective running of particular school system. It then follows that where emphasis is placed on the understanding of the cultural context from which people derive meanings; and where such phenomena are complex and social in nature, the qualitative methods are deemed fit. In the case of the principals‟ stress management ability, this submission should have applied. The complex nature of stress, a psychosocial phenomenon is such that may not be readily “susceptible to quantification and aggregation” (Liebscher, 1998: 669). Therefore to adopt the quantitative statistical approach in researching such phenomenon would not only hide more than it intended to uncover but pursued in this manner could possibly lead to deceptive, distorted and banal findings, made just for personal gains than for reality‟s sake. These researchers think that one major expectation from research is a more richer understanding of the aspects of our „systems‟ that are considered problematic. This therefore calls for caution in the way that researchers apply research methods in investigating these problematic phenomena within the social system otherwise research could possibly turn away wittingly or unwittingly from its traditional knowledge seeking, knowledge enriching enterprise into a speculative and an endangered species. Yet another study that requires mention here is that carried out at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State of Nigeria. The study investigated the “effectiveness of hazard exposure awareness and moral sensitization techniques in modifying adolescent pre-marital and adult extra-marital sexual attitudes “(Nwankwo, 1998). The author said he adopted the quasiexperimental design because one of the independent variables was manipulated under carefully controlled conditions as the situation permitted. Control in research parlance is a situation in which a person or group of persons are used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a scientific experiment. The skilful operations and workings of this control is what researchers who use it refer to as manipulation. But it appears (from common sense knowledge) that researchers embark upon the study of a particular phenomenon because it has been identified as a social problem, in order to understand the nature of such problem, and consequently attempt some solutions towards eradicating such social problem or adding to what researchers already know about it. In that wise, social research can be seen as an attempt to investigate and discover the historical and cultural context of a social phenomenon with the aim of understanding the dynamics of such phenomenon; through the interactional processes that may occur, meanings and solutions are made manifest. But if one is led into believing that manipulation and control are acceptable fundamental canon within the quantitative research tradition, then, one may equally be forced to agree with the fact that the random sampling and most especially the statistical scoring which occasion such practice

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according to (Wainwright, 1997) may not be immune to the manipulative skills of an unscrupulous quantitative researcher. That not with standing, Nwankwo (1998) carried out her study in the Awka Metropolis of Anambra State, with a population consisting of all the married teachers and unmarried Senior Secondary School Students in the area. From an unknown number of married teachers, 39 male and 81 female teachers were selected. Also from the number of unmarried students, an equal number of 90 males and females were selected. The instrument for the study was the People‟s Attitudes Towards Sex Outside Marriage Questionnaire. Note that this research instrument arguably appears to be a one-sided information-seeking questionnaire. Only those that are married qualify to answer the questions on the questionnaire as according the title of the instrument, it was designed to elicit information on a particular kind of lived experience “sex outside marriage”. Yet part of the participants was unmarried students. But if this argument does not succeed on the grounds that sex outside marriage defines sex with an unmarried partner (single and married persons inclusive), such acceptance may likely open the entire study to a very serious and fundamental problem. This is because it could be possible that from common sense experience, what informs sex in the life of a single person may differ at least on psychological and emotional grounds, from what informs sex in the life of the married persons. Bearing in mind that only one instrument was used in the study; questions are likely to be asked over how the above differences were taken care of by the one instrument. Moreover, the researcher informed us that he trained four (4) counselors „adequately‟ as research assistants for the purpose of the study. But although the researcher did not tell us for how long the training lasted, his claims to adequate training becomes more problematic when one wants to operationalize his notion on the concept, as he failed to tell us what constitutes adequate training for such role in research. Also the researcher was silent over the duration of the study. For the analyses, the researcher adopted the T-test in answering the research questions and the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for the testing of the null hypotheses. In her study, Ogheneakpobo (1997) attempted an investigation of the management strategies of inter-group conflicts in Nigerian Universities. The researcher working from the University of Benin said that the design of the study was an ex-post-facto one because the independent variables such as the university type, location, management and training had occurred. She equally informs us that the targeted population was all the students, staff and members of the non-academic staff who occupied managerial positions in Nigerian Universities as at the 1995-96 academic session. But the sample of the study was made up of 520 participants of whom 143 were students, 138 academic staff, 119 non-academic staff and 120 respondents from the university management offices. This sample was from six universities. To generate data for the study, the researcher designed the „University Administrators Intergroup Conflict Management Strategy Questionnaire‟. The researcher and her trained assistants administered the questionnaire and noted that the process was adopted to avoid the difficulty in collecting data through the mail. Personal contacts enhanced a better understanding of the questionnaire, the researcher claimed.

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Two important issues are prominent here. One is that of conflict and the other is management. If this researcher has been exposed to the qualitative research methodologies such as the unstructured in-depth interviewing, focus group discussions and the use of diaries, and if she has been aware of their usefulness in researching such lived experience as she chose to investigate, and had ignored them all, then something appears to be fundamentally wrong. The word qualitative implies emphasis on process and meanings that are not measured in terms of quantity, amount, intensity or frequency according to Carney, Joiner and Tragou (1997). But the researcher‟s adoption of the „UNICMSQ‟ instrument in the study, gives one the impression that she engaged herself in such measurements in spite of the immeasurable nature of human behaviour. Earlier Chenail (1992) has argued that a very important reason why researchers engage themselves in research activities is for them to be able to know something more of the phenomena from the emic aspects of the research-participant and not through the researcher‟s own pre-constructed instruments that have not been influenced by the nature of the research participants themselves. Ogheneakpobo‟s (1997) study involved the cognitive and affective components of the selected participants of the study. And because conflict and the management of it were both involved, one would suggest that what was required in the study was an understanding of the longitudinal changes that characterize such social phenomenon as Jones (1997) has suggested. It follows therefore that such investigation needed an empathetic understanding of the dynamics of conflicts and of the management of it. Of course such empathetic understanding has remained the key principle of the concept of “verstehen”. Only methods which respect such principle, methods which will not measure the behavioural characteristics from the outside but from the indepth meanings and interpretations that human being attach to their actions would count, anything short of that may likely lead to findings that are banal. Although the researcher claimed to have used some research assistants, she did not tell us how many of them were involved. Equally the researcher did not say anything on the duration of the study. However, the collected data were analyzed using the percentages, Z-test, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Chi-square. The researcher also informed us that the statistical analyses were computer aided through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Before examining some of the issues, which emerged from the survey, let us look at this last paper, this time one conducted at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Ella (1993) carried out a study into the Idoma value systems with an attempt to understand the implications of these for Western education. This was a survey research because according to the researcher, the participants were reached in their natural environment. The study covered four (4) of the six (6) Local Government Areas in Idoma land of Benue State. These included Otukpo, Okpokwu, Ado and Apa, and the population of the study according to the researcher, covered all the literate and non-literate adults and youths living in the districts. The population also included post-primary school heads and the Zonal Education Officers serving in the districts. The researcher used both the simple random and purposive sampling techniques in selecting the participants for the study and it is important that the various numbers of participants used in the

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study are mentioned here. These numbers included 156 district heads, 118 kindred heads, 118 elderly women, 236 youth leaders of equal number of males and females, 24 officials from the zonal education offices and 92 principals and their deputies. In all 744 individuals participated in the study. The researcher (Ella, 1993) went ahead to develop research questionnaire for data collection in which he claimed to have trained some assistants adequately and also to have translated some of the questions into Idoma native language for those who could neither read nor write properly. Note that part of the population for the study was non-literate Idoma men and women. Note also that the researcher claimed that a major reason for adopting the survey approach was to reach the Idoma people in their natural habitat. Given these reasons, one would suggest that a study that aimed at the improvement of knowledge of this unique type, should have offered it the life history approach made popular through the qualitative research paradigm. This type of study enjoys the emancipatory status of research. It therefore needed an approach that would help capture the historical and cultural context of the social phenomenon. An emancipatory research would aim at making strange things familiar. It would also make open the hidden aspects of the dominant ideologies and in the case of the issue in question, this kind of study would have aimed at exposing the contradictory dominant ideologies that have shackled not only the minds of the people of Idoma land but also (with due respect) that of every citizen of this great nation since imperialism. If these were the aims of this great study, then 744 „subjects‟ may not have been necessary. Ella‟s (1993) study needed an approach which would get beneath the surface of some everyday common sense but also contradictory assumptions embedded in the Idoma tradition and of course, also, in the western values maintained through the pedagogy and in fact sustained through the pedagogic practices. In this way, the author would have been able to arrive at a deeper level of understanding that will not only be of academic interest to the researcher but also in the words of Wainwright (1997), will contribute to the development of critical consciousness amongst all concerned groups. In that wise, a life history approach and/or the focus group discussion methods would have been most desirable. Meanwhile, with the questionnaire administered and data collected, the researcher set out to analyze the result using the means and standard deviation (descriptive statistics) approach. Note that the questionnaire was designed to elicit information regarding the traditional Idoma values, the determinants of these values, effects of western education on the traditional values and the new values in Idoma land, and the role of education in all. To reiterate, it has been established in the current research study by this researcher following evidence from published materials (Jones, 1997 and Wildy, 1999), that the nature of the social phenomenon under study has very important implications for the designs and methods to be used in investigating such phenomenon. It appears that some of the characteristics of the qualitative research which qualify it to be most appropriate for a study of this kind are the following: qualitative research is naturalistic and the researcher of the work under review informed us that he was interested in the natural habitat of the Idoma people. It equally draws upon multiple methods that respect the humanity and the individualities of participants in a particular study. These methods would

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have respected the differential mental and educational characteristics of the chosen participants of the study, such as the researcher experienced with the participants comprising both literate and non-literate indigenes of Idoma land. The table below represents the selected theses showing names of the Universities, the title of the theses, year of publication, research design, methods of data collection and analysis, and information on the duration of each of the studies. (THIS IS THE POSITION OF THE TABLE) The Emerging Issues Now the first major issue which arose from the review of the unpublished doctoral theses, is that of the role of theory to research. It was not quite clear what role theory played in the reviewed theses. What is a theory and how does it influence research? A theory is a statement of verifiable facts that creates awareness of a kind of situation (adverse or otherwise), linking its effects to the cause or causes with an attempt to offer some panacea. Theory provides the analytical concepts and the language to use in describing how we think. It gives us the background for research and also directs the way we conduct our studies. McCotter (2001) says that theory does not direct to one particular place rather theory opens for the researcher, a multi-dimensional approach at the level of explanation. At the level of analysis according to Thio (1989), three types of theory are identifiable. The first is the low level theory in which we find very specific explanations or descriptions. The second type of theory is the middle level in which theories are developed that are broad enough to take in a whole class of events specific enough to be tested through observations and experiments. The third level of theory is that in which the picture of what the society is like, is presented. These three levels taken together are called theoretical perspective. Theories “orient or direct us toward what is assumed to be the real nature of society” (Thio, 1989: 13). At the doctoral level therefore, an awareness of the various functions of theory becomes imperative. Students working at this level are expected to show a link between their works and the established theory or theories in their various areas of specialization and interest. This is called the theoretico-analytical framework from which the researcher will or has derived explanatory power. Any work that does not therefore abide by this convention, may hardly receive academic approval. It will however be difficult to conclude from the reviewed theses, how established this convention is within the faculty of education of Nigerian Universities. Theoretical perspective is the same thing as theoretical framework, which is different from theoretical review-a comprehensive study of related literature or works in a particular area of interest that the researcher has elected to investigate. Theoretical review may also refer to an exercise embarked upon by the researcher in order for him/her to show the existence of theories within a particular chosen field of learning. Showing the existence of theory is not enough. A good research it may be assumed should be able to show how a particular theory has influenced the entire research process from literature review until the research report is written. This explanation is very important because the study upon which this article is based has shown that research students in the faculty of education of the sampled universities, did not show enough understanding of the role of theory to research. The effect of this is not only that these

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works contain evidence of lack of explanatory power but also some of them contain some fundamental mix-up between theoretical frameworks or perspectives and theoretical review, which is another name for literature review. Related to the above is the issue of the history and geographical location of the study site. None of the works reviewed said anything about the history and location of the schools where these studies were conducted. Research has shown that the knowledge of the history and location of a study site can be a source of rich data for the study. In a recent study carried out to identify and investigate the meanings that West Australian high school teachers of English language attribute to critical literacy (CL), the authors (Stewart and O‟Neill, 1999), claim that of great importance to them was the historical and geographical background of the study area. According to them, “the fact that the school was a state institution with a reputation for being in a „rough‟ area provided a context that was also relevant to this study” (Stewart and O‟Neill, 1999:79). In addition to the above, most of the works reviewed said nothing on the duration of their studies. Information on the duration of the study is very vital. A good research should be able to say something about the duration of the study and what the research-student or researcher has done at every stage of the process. By so doing, the researcher not only gives credibility (the canon upon which qualitative research findings are judged) according to Carney, Joiner and Tragou (1997), but also allows the reader to make sense out of what the researcher has done during the entire research process. A third issue raised by this study is that works reviewed, revealed some kind of gender feel. Every thesis reviewed during the study is implicated in this gender play. One needs not check for the full names of the author or researcher before he/she is able to discover whether the reporter was a male or female researcher. The feminine gender predominated the analysis when the reporter is a female and vice versa. This sort of gender play is no longer acceptable in contemporary educational and academic writings. Related to the above is the issue of dated materials used by the researchers of the reviewed works. Works reviewed were carried out between 1991 and 1999, and surprisingly some of these works (if not all) made use of materials published between 1950 and 1975. One impression that could be drawn from this kind of dated feel is that these researchers might be out of touch with certain changes and realities within the academic grounds. Over reliance on old and outdated materials does not only hinder the growth of knowledge within a given research institution but also gives the critical reader the impression that the researcher has not done enough to merit the publication of such work. One supposes that research is simply conducted so that the researcher and the general public could have a richer understanding of some aspects of our experience, culture and the environment. To achieve this, the researcher must be aware of the changes that have taken place overtime within his/her area of interest. The fourth and perhaps most important issue raised by this study is that of what Kanpol (1997) calls intellectual cynicism. Kanpol argues that some educational theorists have carried some air of cynicism, not only to the works of others but even to their own works and into the entire body of knowledge, doubting and rejecting every idea they have fallen out of favour with. But the

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cynicism being discussed here arising from the reviewed works, grew out of the impression that rigorous research is one that is statistically interpreted and that anything short of that is a mere activity. This sort of conclusion appears to be nothing other than a display of extreme skepticism and may not be very healthy for the growth of knowledge. The effect of this impression according to evidence from the reviewed works is that there is great emphasis on statistical representation of fieldwork data rather than on the need for in-depth search for the discovering of new knowledge or an addition to the existing ones. A second fundamental problem (and the fifth issue) resulting from this cynicism borders on the fact that because emphasis is on the statistical representation of the interactions between variables, most of the works reviewed are expressed in line with the fears allayed by Ndu (1990). According to the author, the over representation of works in statistical terms and over reliance on statistics make these researchers to “lack the ability (and descriptive power) to adequately explain the contributions of these variables to the problems facing our educational organization” (Ndu, 1990) (cited in Ohuche and Anyanwu, 1990: 116). From this analysis one may be tempted to argue that some students/researchers simply embark on research in order for them to show their statistical prowess and then earn academic recognition for doing so. Well the authors of this article, are not arguing here that the statistical representation of data from a research process is wrong or unacceptable, rather the suggestion is that where it becomes absolutely impossible for statistical representation to offer meaningful and realistic findings, the qualitative canon embedded in the humanistic ideals should be respected in order for progress to be made within that particular field of knowledge. Presently, statistical representation appears to dominate research undertaking within this side of the globe. No one-person steps into the same water twice. So is the human life. The world is in a constant motion, nothing in the world is motionless and nothing is meaning – stagnant. This dictum takes us to the sixth issue. This issue is that of the concepts of manipulation and control of variables. Viewed from the deconstructionist perspective, the reality of the usage of these two concepts in relation to research validity, reliability and generalizability, gives room for serious doubts, more so, when one tries to reconcile the meaning/usage of such concepts with Ward‟s (1999) claims over the changing nature of meanings. According to the author, “the meaning of each thing concrete or abstract is not fixed… it is constantly changing… and because we are in constant engagement with the world, meaning is constantly being modified if not completely changed” (Ward, 1999: 54). Now let us consider the definition of variables given by Ofo (1994:45). A variable can be defined as: anything changeable that could vary at different times or quantity or a quality that could vary which the researcher is interested in. The most important thing in attribute of the variable is its changeability. A variable has the ability of showing different samples. It is the behaviour of the variable that the researcher wants to find out.

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Variables are drawn from human social interactional activities that are meaning bound. It is these interactions that define the meanings that human beings make out of situations that are before them and these meanings are in constant state of flux. This dynamism inherent in human social behaviour is “influenced more by experience, social learning and reasoning than by physiological reflexes” (Obikeze, 1990:6). These constant state of flux in which variables are located raise fundamental questions when researchers speak in terms of manipulation and control. Variables could be better studied under natural conditions – a situation in which the researcher could observe without any artificial creations of whatever conditions that could influence the result of such an enterprise. Otherwise, too many manipulations and control could lead to results that may appear deceptive. Earlier Ali (1990) has cautioned researchers on the manner with which research conditions are said to be manipulated and controlled. This is the way the author puts it. Many empirical studies suffer from too many manipulations of the independent variables that the research conditions arising from such manipulations are so contrived and artificial that they cannot naturally occur or be expected to occur in any classroom situation (Ali, 1990), (cited in Ohuche and Anyanwu, 1990:23). Human behaviour cannot be likened to that of atom and molecule that are changeable if and only when their state is altered by another substance. The nature of human beings is such that they are engaged in constant sense-making processes of change. Given this, it will appear that the function of a good research therefore will be an engagement through appropriate methods in a search for in-depth understanding of these processes. It is only through this in-depth quest for understanding that the researcher can achieve what has been established in qualitative research as “verstehen” – an empathetic understanding of the social nature of the individuals. Another important issue arising from the review of unpublished doctoral theses during the study is that of student deskilling – an unintended outcome of what appears to be a one-sided research approach. One major aim of the programme of research methodology at the postgraduate level is to produce students who will not only be knowledgeable in the processes of research practice but to apply same in carrying out their own research programme. Also the programme is aimed at equipping students who on graduation would serve as professional researchers within their areas of specialization; those professionals who would learn to use the skills they have learnt from school to conduct research works either as independent researchers or as employed research fellows within existing academic or research institutes. This study has revealed that the authors of the reviewed theses may have been equipped or exposed to the act of research through one single research paradigm. This paradigm the study has shown is geared towards all or most of the ideals that conflate into what is known today as the quantitative research approach. The big question one may be tempted to ask is – whether a university can afford to graduate students who are knowledgeable only in one research paradigm?

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Thus rather than being a skilled and thoughtful researcher, knowledge of one single research paradigm be it quantitative or qualitative would prepare the student, a deskilled researcher. For sooner than the researcher has graduated from the institution, he/she would realize that the adoption of the quantitative research methods in an attempt to become legitimate researcher in the narrow sense that research is defined nowadays (Chenail, 1992), would offer little or no assistance to his/her research activities outside of the institution. Only them the individual researcher would realize how deskilled he/she has been. Within American and European research traditions, literature abound to support the claims that “qualitative methods possess great potentials to provide valuable data that would remain inaccessible by other means; so much so that qualitative research courses are now being offered by graduate schools in departments of education…” (Horn, 1998: 603). This is in realization of the fact that, “courses based on a single methodological paradigm are inadequate preparation for the education professionals” (Liebscher, 1998: 670). But there is a far more worrying situation that the study has exposed to these researchers. The study has revealed a gradual but still un-noticed and dangerous situation leading to what this article describes as „saturation syndrome‟. Used technically rather than grammatically, saturation syndrome refers to a situation which will occur when research readers/users may think that nothing new is forthcoming from research endeavors and may decide wittingly or unwittingly to stop reading research findings especially within educational institutions. One immediate effect of these findings was that these researchers were forced to consider a second or repeat study. This second study was conducted to ascertain whether there was any relationship between the mode of research within the faculty of education of Nigerian Universities and the postgraduate research methodology programme/courses. This study, which also involved the earlier mentioned universities, explored the content of the „Advanced Research Methods in Education‟__ a five hundred level course designed to prepare postgraduate students for the purpose of conducting their fieldworks. The findings of this second study confirmed the mono-method research orientation as a reflection of the content of the postgraduate research methodology course content. The findings of both studies raise fundamental questions on the nature of research conduct at the postgraduate/graduate levels. The first major question borders on whether a university can afford to graduate students who are prepared to conduct research only through one research paradigm. The second question may like to ask what the implications of such research findings that emerge from a mono-method research tradition will be, from the perspective of the globalizing world of knowledge. For a research report to gain worldwide recognition or acceptance, such findings must be based on the realities or conventions that are on the academic grounds. Evidence coming from the doctoral theses, and the postgraduate research course content reviewed in the course of this study, suggest that the methodological approach to research studies within the Nigeria context, has important implications in relation to the above questions.

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Conclusion To conclude this article, these researchers would like to emphasize that the decision to embark on the studies that led to this article was not an idle one. The study has revealed that research enterprise at the postgraduate and/or graduate levels is severely endangered. Other reasons outside of the need or quest for knowledge, the expansion of it, and the finding of solutions to problems that beset not only the educational lives but also the national lives have permeated the research tradition. It therefore seems, following Hammersley and Gomm (1997), that there are attempts outside of research communities to define the goals of research in terms other than the pursuit of knowledge. Personal interests seem to have taken over the place of societal interests in the quest for the understanding of the empirical social world. The study has not shown any significant difference between the generation classification within which the selected universities fell and the research methods in use. But there are marked differences in the number of works produced by the various education departments of the selected universities. The Universities of Nigeria Nsukka and Lagos had the highest number of works on display and that of the Universities of Port-Harcourt and Benin followed in order of ranking The study also revealed the predominance of the descriptive and inferential statistics in the analyses of fieldwork data. The revelation therefore is that research activities within this side of the globe still operate within the framework of logical positivism with emphasis on objectivity, reliability, replicability, hypotheses testing, controls and statistical analyses (Bishop, 1997: 30). No considerations whatsoever is being given in research conduct to the historical, cultural and structural contexts in which research participants derive their meanings. The study therefore reveals that the qualitative research paradigm is not popular within this side of the globe. This lack of popularity is however borne out of the fact that research professionals lack knowledge of the operational principles guiding the practice of qualitative research. From our study, emerged some evidence to support the claims that in spite of the overwhelming popularity and also benefits inherent in the use of the qualitative approaches to research, the quantitative research approaches still pre-dominate research orientation amongst researchers within the Nigerian research tradition. To the extent that this study has revealed, the qualitative research approaches are yet to receive any official (documented) recognition within the faculty of Education of most (if not all) Nigerian Universities. This is a situation that demands very urgent attention. The quantitative research approaches have a number of advantages as methods of researching the social world. Such approaches like the survey, experimental and quasi-experimental allow claims of representativeness and generalizability of findings, and also helping to facilitate cross-national comparisons which are essential for the explanation of changes in attitudes (for instance) and between cultures (Scott, Alwin and Brown, 1996). However, quantitative approaches can tell little about yet an interesting question of difference in the ways those individuals may have expressed themselves. Pilcher (1998) has explained that pre-coded responses such as „yes or no‟ and the „agree or disagree‟ patterns common to the quantitative approaches can „do violence‟ to the richness and variety of what might otherwise be said on a particular issue through (for

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instance) the interviews. Continuing, Pilcher (1998) suggested that qualitative studies through the use of methods that encourage participants to answer in their own words could encourage detailed revelations and exploration of the various ways both males and females in a particular study conceive of their actions. Examining social and behavioural issues qualitatively will enable researchers and scholars understand the issues in a study from a more varied and cultural perspective. Moreover, such approach will enable participants and researchers in a particular study to explore the differential aspects of the issues under study from the emic (insider‟s) perspectives of all participating individuals. Yet qualitative research approaches remain officially unrecognized within the faculty of education of Nigerian Universities. While concluding that research orientation within the Nigerian educational research tradition appears unnecessarily one-sided, these authors call for urgent action from appropriate bodies in order to help improve upon the image of educational research within this side of the globe. References Aduwa - Ogiegbaenu, S.E.O.(1998). Factors Affecting Instructional Media Utilization in Colleges of Education in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniben. Agbaegbu, C.N.(1999). Effect of Peer and Self-Assessment Techniques on Students Academic Achievement and Interest in Geography. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, UNN. Ali, A. (1990). Approaches to Educational Research: Analysis, Criticisms and Relevance in Ohuche, R.O. and Anyanwu, M. (eds). Perspectives in Educational Research and National Development. Onitsha: Summer Educational Publishers Ltd. Bishop, R.(1997). Interviewing as Collaborative Storing. Education Research and Perspective, Vol. 24, No. 1. Bryant, G. and Becker, H.A. (eds) (1990). What has Sociology Achieved? London: Routledge. Carney, J.H.,Joiner and Tragou,(1997). Categorizing coding and manipulating Qualitative Data Using the Word-perfect Word Processor. The Qualitative Report, Vol.3, No. 1. (http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-1/Carney.html) Chenail, R.J.(1992). A case for clinical Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 1, No. 4. (http:/www.novaedu/ssss/QR/QR1-4/clinqual.html). Collins, P.(1998). Negotiating Selves: Reflections on Unstructured Interviewing.Sociological Research Online, Vol. 13, No.3. (http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/3/3/2). Ella, I.O.A.,(1993). Value systems in Idoma Land: Implications for Western Education. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, UNN. Esomonu, N.P.M.(1998). An Evaluation of N.C.E Vocational and Technical Education Programmes. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unizik. Ewulonu, O.A.(1991). The Relationship Between Stress management Ability of Secondary School Principals and their Organisational Effectiveness in Imo State. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniport. Gwinn, R. P., Notyon, P. B. and Goetz, P. W. (1987). The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 22, pp. 491-499. Haack, S. (1995). The Encyclopaedia Americana. China: Grolier Incorporated.

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Hammersley, M. (1989). The Dilemma of Qualitative Method: Herbert Blumer and the Chicago Tradition. London: Routledge. Hammersley, M. and Gomm, R.(1997). Bias in social Research.Sociological Research Online, Vol. 2, No. 1. (http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/2/1/2.html) Heaton, J. (2001). Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Data. Social Research Update. University of Surrey. staff/scs/ng.html Horn, J. (1998). Qualitative Research literature: A Bibliographical Essay. Library Trends, Vol. 46 No.4. Ibifamuno, M.A.,(1993). Justice in the African Novel and its Implications for Education. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniport. Igbinedion, V.I.(1999). Relationship Between Training and perceived Job Perceived Job Performance of Secretarial Education products from Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniben. Izuchi, M.N.(1997). Behaviour Problems Students Manifest that cause concern to parents and Teachers: Secondary School Handling Approaches. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Unizik. Jones, I.(1997). Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Sport Fan Research. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 3, No. 4. (http://www.nova.edu/sss/QR/QR 3-4/jones.html) Kanpol, B. (1997). Reflective Critical Inquiry on Critical Inquiry: A Critical Ethnographic Dilemma Continued. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 3, No 4. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-4/kanpol.html Lather, P. (1994). Critical Inquiry in Qualitative Research: Feminist and Poststructural perspectives: Science after truth, in Crabtree, B. et al, (eds), Exploring Collaborative Research, in Primary Care. Sage: New York. Liebscher, P.(1998). Quantity with Quality Teaching Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in an LIS Masters Program. Library Trends. Vol. 46. No. 4. Mennell, S. (1974). Sociological Theory: Uses and Unities. Great Britain: Thomas Nelson Ltd. McCotter, S.S.(2000).The Journey of a Beginning Researcher. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 6, No.2. (http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR6-2/mccotter.html). Ndu, A. N. (1990). Research in Organisational Management: Some Methodological Issues in Ohuche R.O. and Anyanwu, M. (eds). Perspectives in Educational Research and National Development. Onitsha: Summer Educational Publishers Ltd. Nnogu, G.A.I.(1991). A philosophical – Analysis of the problems of the federal character in Educational Practice in Nigeria. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniport. Nwankwo, C.A.(1998). Effectiveness of Hazard Exposure Awareness and Moral Sensitization Techniques in modifying Adolescents Premarital and Adults Extramarital Sexual Attitudes. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unizik. Nwangwu, R.E.(1996). The level of Adoption of Sanitation and in Selected Rural Communities in Lagos State. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unilag. Nwosu, H.C.(1996). Rural – Urban Differences in Extraversion, Introversion, Intelligence and Academic Achievement of Selected Lagos State Students. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unilag. Obi T.E.C.(1992). Effects of Multi-Media Approach on Students. Achievement and Retention in Secondary School Economics in Enugu State. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, UNN. Obikeze, D.S.(1990).Methods of Data Analysis in the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Enugu:Auto-Century Publishing Co. Ltd.

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Odogwu, H.N.(1993).The concept of Time Among Primary School Pupils and factors Related to its Development. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unilag. Ofo, J.E.(1994). Research methods and statistic in Education and social sciences.Lagos: Joja Publishers Limited. Ogheneakpobo, O.B.A.(1997). A study of the management strategies of inter-group conflicts in Nigerian Universities. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniben. Ogwa, C.E.(1996). Relationship between students perception of work and their Academic Achievement in introductory Technology. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, UNN. Ogundu, M.C.(1995). The Need for Rational moral Education in Nigerian schools. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniport. Ohuche, R.O. and Anyanwu, M. (eds)(1990). Perspectives in Educational Research and National Development.Onitsha: Summer Educational Publishers. Ojinna, L.N.(1998).The Impact of Home and School inputs on the English and Mathematics performance of pupils at the lower Primary level (with or without intervention). Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Unilag. Okonkwo, S.N.(1992).An Analysis of selected Factors in Relation To Academic staff utilization: A Case study of Anambra State. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Uniben. Olibie, E.I.(1999). The Effects of Communicative Language Teaching on the learning of second language Grammar. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Unizik. Pilcher, J. (1998). Gender Matters? Three Cohorts of Women Talking About Role Reversal. Sociological Research Online, Vol. 3, No. 1 http://www.socresonline. org. uk/socresonline/3/1/10.html Scott, J., Alwin, D. and Brown, M. (1996). Generational Changes in Gender Role Attitudes. Sociology, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp.471-492. Stewart, P and O‟Neill, M.(1999). Critical Literacy: A Qualitative Investigation of some conceptualizations, practices and implications for English teaching. Education Research and Perspectives, Vol. 26, No. 2. Thio, A.(1989). Sociology: An Introduction. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Wainwright, D.(1997). Can Sociological Research Be Qualitative, Critical and Valid? The Qualitative Report, Vol.3, No. 2,. (http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/wain.html) Ward, B. (1999).The Edited Topical Life History: Its value and use as a research tool. Educational Research and perspectives, vol. 26, No. 2. Wildy, H.(1999). Statuses, Lenses, and Crystals: Looking at Qualitative Research. Education Research and perspectives, vol. 26, No. 2. Worsley, P. (1985). Introducing Sociology. England: Penguin Books Biographical Information Okeke Chinedu Onochie (Ph.D) has recently completed his doctoral degree programme in Sociology of Education in the department of Educational foundation University of Nigeria Nsukka Enugu State. His research interests include Sociology of Education, Research Methods, Qualitative Research, Gender and cultural studies. His E-mail Address is: [email protected]. His contact Address is: Department of Educational Foundation University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State.

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Ume, Theophilus Azuka (Ph.D) is a Professor of Adult Education and Administration. His research interests include Sociology of Education, Community development, Social Policy and Cultural studies. His contact address is: Department of Adult Education University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State. His telephone number is 042-771969.

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

Sexual Harassment: Students’ Views From A Nigerian University D. I. Denga Hannah Denga University Of Calabar Calabar – Nigeria Abstract Sexual harassment cuts across continents, nations and cultures in basic and peculiar forms. The concept is not new, but its increasing incidence, legal implications and social virulence have stirred up much concern in recent times, particularly on university campuses. This paper is designed to contrast the Western view of sexual harassment with the view of Nigerian University Students. Counselling implications for students, lecturers, non-academic staff and university administrators on university campuses have been discussed. Introduction: Sexual harassment as a social virus has increasingly pervaded human organizations across continents in recent times. Its generic meaning cuts across nations and cultures, but the nuances of its definition and application may vary from culture to culture. Generally, sexual harassment refers to the use of influence, position or power by a male to get a female to satisfy his sexual desires. In societies where homosexuality and lesbianism are practised however, a male may harass another male just like a female may harass another female sexually. The courts have struggled, as have educators and administrators with the appropriate definition of sexual harassment. A generic definition of sexual harassment is that “it involves the behaviour of individuals who use their power and position in an establishment to extort sexual favours or gratification from their subordinates” (Seymour, 1979: 14). Some other general practical definition of harassment is that a male in a position to control, influence or affects a woman‟s job, career, or grades uses his authority and power to coerce the woman into sexual relations or to punish her erfusal (Annette and Balthrope, 1982: 158). Sexual harassment has increasingly become noticeable on university campuses in Nigeria with a burgeoning concentration of young male and female students. The virulence has spread to involve lecturers and non-academic employees of the universities as well. In very bad cases, male students are said to have unleashed their attacks on innocent relatively old woman who stray in their way or even those who render some services to them on campuses. A few known isolated cases of some female lecturers propositioning their male students have been reported (Denga, 1986). It is more common however, to hear lecturers harassing female students sexually. The most serious form of sexual harassment is that perpetrated against female students by male students. Denga (1996) Akinboye (1992) Carew (1990) and Aba (1992) have

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The African Symposium: An On Line Journal Of African Educational Research Network

each produced some empirical evidence to show the magnitude of sexual harassment on campuses in the Nigerian Universities. The purpose of this paper was to compare the Western view of sexual harassment with that of African students on University campuses. The ultimate objective was to proffer some relevant counselling modalities that would help curb sexual harassment on campuses in African Universities, starting with Nigeria as prototype. Method Participants in this study were 500 male and 500 female students randomly selected from 5 faculties in a large and established Nigerian University. A questionnaire titled “Sexual Harassment among University Students (SHUS)” was administered to the 1000 Nigerian University Students. Their views of sexual harassment were then collated, analysed and matched with the Western view of harassment published by Annette Gibbs and Robin B. Balthrope, (1982) both of University of Virginia in the United States of America (U.S.A.). The common view of the 1000 Nigeria student emerged and has been presented in Table 1. Results Table 1: Shows a comparative list of the two differing views of the West and Nigeria. Table 1: A comparative view of what constitutes Sexual Harassment in the West and in Nigeria (N =1000). S/NO WESTERN VIEW NIGERIAN VIEW 1 Verbal harassment or abuse This is not sexual harassment. 2 Subtle pressure for sexual activity Too mild to constitute sexual harassment. 3 Sexist remarks about a woman‟s May even be deemed desirable by the clothing or body woman in Nigeria. 4 Unnecessary touching or prinching This may constitute sexual harassment depending on the degree applied. 5 Leering or ogling of a woman‟s This is regarded as foolishness, not sexual body harassment. 6 Constant brushing against a This constitutes sexual harassment woman‟s body 7 Demanding sexual favours This is sexual harassment or intended accompanied by threats to life rape. 8 Physical assault to a woman This is treated as normal physical assault, not sexual harassment. 9 Giving low grades to a woman for Sheer corruption or wickedness, not refusing to grant sexual favours sexual harassment. 10 Stalking a woman This is superfluous affection. A comparison in Table 1 reveals that many of the behaviours classified as sexual harassment in the West are not so regarded by the Nigerian University Students. Out of the 100 students

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utilized in the study, 20% (or 200 students) comprising born-again Christian students agreed with items 1, 4, 6 and 7 as constituting sexual harassment. It is apparent that the Nigerian courts of law are yet struggling to crystallize the definition of sexual harassment. It appears the degree of sexual violation determines whether or not a sexual harassment has been inflicted, according to the prevailing practice. It must be stressed that sexual harassment is not condoned in the Nigerian Universities. It is condemned and severely according to the laws governing the conduct of students. The Nigerian students‟ view differs from the Western view simply in terms of strictness and cultural mores which make Nigerian regard behaviours like sutble pressure and sexist remarks about a woman‟s clothing or body irrelevant to sexual harassment. Behaviours such as leering or ogling of a woman‟s body are regarded as foolishness on the part of the male behaving that way. Implications for Counselling Sexual harassment is a social and religious crime that should not be tolerated in any society. The increasing tempo of this social evil has stirred up a grave concern among parents, religious leaders, university administrators and all law abiding citizens. There must be a wake-up call to stem this threat to women on campuses. The advent of cultism on university campuses has exacerbated sexual harassment in Nigeria. The cultists inflict rapes and assaults with a disturbing frequency. Counselors in Nigeria must rise to this challenge. Group counselling can be mounted during orientation programmes for freshmen, counsellors can lead discussions on various forms of maladaptive behaviours among students on university campuses. Due emphasis should be placed on decent behaviours that promote learning and cordial co-existence among male and female students. The concept of Rational emotive therapy should be adopted to teach freshmen what is rational behaviour in order to help them develop rational thinking before they get polluted by their senior friends in the university who are ready to recruit them into bad behaviours. Individual counselling interventions can also mounted to assist individuals who exhibit adjustment problems, especially pertaining to sexual issues. A team comprising the clergy, the lawyer, the police, the counsellor and the medical doctor can be called together to address students on issues of sexual harassment and its deleterious consequences. Those who exhibit a tendency to promote sexual harassment can be gently helped to modify their behaviour and become good citizens. Stiff punishment should be prescribed by the university administration for those who refuse to change. Sexual harassment in any form must be condemned by all, whether it is carried out by students, lecturers or non-academic staff.

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References Aba, C. (1992) Sexual Assaults on Students. London, Harpper and Row. Akinboye, J. (1987) Problems of Adolescents. Ibadan, Nigeria, Spectrum Books. Annette, G. & Balthrope, R. B. (1982) Sexual Harassment in Work places and its Ramifications for Academic, College Student Personnel PP. 158 – 162. Carew, F. (1990) “Counselling in Nigeria” Jos Journal of Education. 1 (2) pp. 50 – 69 Denga, D. I. (1986) Counselling on Campuses Lagos, Nigeria, Erit Egwa Press. Denga, D. I. (1996) Counselling among Adolescents. Lagos, Nigeria, Erit Egwa Press. Seyrmour, W. C. (1979) Sexual Harassment New York: Harper and Row.

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Gender Disparities in Higher Education in Kenya: Nature, Extent And The Way Forward Grace W. Bunyi Kenyatta University Introduction Until very recently, development agencies such as the World Bank and the American foundations – Ford, Rockefeller - held the view that basic education was sufficient for the development needs of developing nations of Africa and elsewhere. This followed economic analysis that had shown that investment in primary education yielded higher returns to society while investment in higher education (HE) 1 yielded higher returns to the individual (Psacharopoulos 1993 cited in Subbarao et al., 1994). Consequently, Kenyan HE institutions like others in Africa received little financial support from these agencies at a time when they were experiencing considerable expansion in student populations. With little resources, managers of HE institutions did not give much thought to gender issues. At the same time, United Nations‟ championed development goals such as Education for All (EFA) by 2020 lay emphasis on basic education and even articulated gender equity goals. Consequently, while primary and to some extent even secondary education gender equity issues have received considerable analytical, research and programming attention in Kenya, the same cannot be said about HE gender issues. Yet, educational statistics in Kenya indicate that the higher up the educational ladder you go the wider the gender disparities in favour of males become. In this paper, I will provide a rationale for concern about gender disparities in HE, a data analysis of the disparities; discuss the barriers to women participation in HE and the interventions that have had an impact on gender equity in these institutions before making my recommendations on the way forward. Why Be Concerned About Gender Disparities in He Kenya? Because a good proportion of women in Africa have not had and still do no have access to even primary education, higher education for a few women is often seen as too much of a luxury and as such little attention is paid to gender disparities in higher education. However, there is a formidable rationale for getting concerned about gender inequities in HE. Namuddu (1995), among others, has made a very strong case for increasing female participation in these institutions. Namuddu (1995) posits that higher education institutions and, especially, African universities have a critical role to play in the social and economic transformation of African societies. She further argues that for HE institutions to play this role effectively, they must provide a model of excellence to the rest of society as regards gender equity by embracing the principle of gender equity in their makeup and in their practices.

1

In this paper, higher education will refer to all post-secondary education and training.

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Increased women‟s participation in HE is particularly important in the era of globalization that we live in. According to the International Labour Office (1998) in McGrath (2000:9), globalisation seems to: … offer positive opportunities for those with higher levels of „useful‟ knowledge and skill, but to threaten the livelihoods of those who have the lowest skill and knowledge levels and those in traditional areas of skill that are devalued by technological changes It is only through higher education that women can be sure to acquire the knowledge and skills that they need to earn competitive incomes and thus lead meaningful lives in a globalized world. A further rationale for concern about gender issues in HE has to do with women‟s contribution to social, economic and political development. Basic education for women has been shown to have unequalled social and economic benefits at the family and community levels. HE, on the other hand, enables women to participate in the social, political and economic lives of their communities and countries as leaders in business, professions and politics. The Nature and Extent of Gender Disparities in He There are two main forms of gender disparities in HE in Kenya: those that have to do with women representation and those that have to do with women‟s experiences in HE institutions. Women in Kenya are underrepresented in HE institutions as students and as workers. While gender disparities in students‟ enrollment exist at all levels of HE, they are particularly wide at higher degree levels and in science, mathematics and technology (SMT) oriented subjects. At the same time, women are underrepresented in teaching and in the administration of these institutions. Further, women academics are concentrated in the lower ranks of the hierarchy and in the traditional „female‟ social science and education disciplines while as administrators they are few and far in between in the higher ranks of HE administration. In what follows, I present data to demonstrate the status quo as regards these disparities. (i)

Gender Disparities in Student Enrollment at the Various Levels of HE

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) Serious gender disparities in student enrollment exist in post-secondary TVET institutions in Kenya. Table 1 shows that in 19982, only 29.8 per cent of the students enrolled in public technical institutions were women. The table also illustrates that women in these institutions were concentrated in traditionally „female‟ disciplines such as institutional management – 84.4 per cent; business studies, which incorporates secretarial studies, a traditionally „female‟ discipline - 58. 5 per cent. On the other hand, women registered dismal enrollment rates in traditionally male disciplines such as engineering – mechanical engineering 1.4 per cent, electrical and electronic engineering – 4.4 per cent and building and civil engineering 5.0 per cent. The gender disparities at TVET level are of great concern since the implications are that an 2

These were the latest statistics availed by the Ministry of education. However, there is no reason to suspect that the situation has changed drastically since then. 44

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overwhelming majority of women who complete secondary school do not go on to acquire useful skills needed in the world of work. As such, their secondary education is unlikely to have increased their chances of raising their incomes. Poverty and dependency are therefore likely to be the lot of these women throughout their lives. Table 1: Enrollment in Technical Training Institutions by Course and Gender, 1998 Course Male Female Total % Female Mechanical Engineering 632 9 641 1.4 Electrical & Electronic Engineering 625 29 654 4.4 Building & Civil Engineering 515 27 542 5.0 Applied Science 575 380 955 39.8 Business Studies 263 370 633 58.5 Graphic Arts 329 148 477 31.0 Institutional Management 61 331 392 84.4 Survey & Mapping 278 61 339 18.0 Information & Liberal Studies 125 82 207 39.6 Computer Studies 118 56 174 32.2 Total 3,521 1,493 5014 29.8 Source: Ministry of Education Science and Technology 2003 (b)

Teacher Education (TE)

Teaching is a traditionally „female‟ profession. However, even here, there are gender disparities in favour of men as Table 2 shows. Table 2: Enrollment in TE by Level and Gender, 2000 Category of Teachers Male Female Secondary School Teachers – S1/Diploma 764 602 Primary School Teachers 6,947 7,195 Special Education Teachers 78 60 Total 7,789 7,857 Source: Ministry of Education Science and Technology, 2003.

Total 1,366 14,142 138 15,646

% Female 44.1 50.9 43.5 50.2

From Table 2, it is clear that women are not doing very well in the traditionally „female‟ teaching career. At the Primary TE level, they have only a .9 per cent advantage over men and suffer a considerable disadvantage in the secondary and special education TE programmes where they represent only 44.1 and 43. 5 per cent of the students registered respectively. (c)

Gender Disparities in University Education

Public Universities According to Kilemi and Ngethe (2002) female enrollment in public universities rose faster than males‟ during the decade - 1990-2000 when the number of females increased by 4, 509 from 9, 324 in 1990 to 13,833 in 2001 representing a rise of 48.4 per cent while the male enrollment rose 45

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by 6, 052 from 22, 308 to 28, 360 representing a 27.12 per cent increase. However, overall gender gaps in enrollment in public universities persist. According to the same researchers female students represent only 30% of the students in public universities distributed as follows among the 6 universities: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) 19 per cent; University of Nairobi (UoN) 25 per cent; Moi 27 per cent; Egerton 30 per cent; Maseno 36 per cent and Kenyatta 38 per cent. However, even more noticeable, is the subject gender streaming as demonstrated in Table 3 showing student enrollment in the various undergraduate degree programmes offered in the 6 universities. Table 3: Enrollment by Gender and Degree Programme in Public Universities 1990-1995 Number of Percentage per Students programme Degree Programme Male Female Male Female Education 37,932 19,320 66.3 33.7 Humanities and Social Sciences 37,488 11,405 76.7 23.3 Natural Science 15,037 2,466 85.9 14.1 Agriculture and Vet Medicine 12875 1,851 87.4 12.6 Engineering and Architecture 7,974 1,139 87.5 12.5 Medicine and Pharmacy 3,416 837 80.3 19.7 114,722 37,038 75.6 24.4 Total Source: Percentages computed from figures generated from 2002 JAB records by Kilemi & Ngethe (2002). From Table 3, it is clear that wide gender disparities in favour of men exist in all undergraduate degree programmes in public universities in Kenya. The highest percentage of women enrollment in relation to men‟s is in the education degree programme, which standing at 33.7 per cent is roughly half that of men at 66.3 percent. The widest gender disparities are in the SMT related programmes where female enrollment stands at 12.5 per cent in engineering and architecture; 12.6 per cent in agriculture and veterinary medicine; 14.1 per cent in natural sciences and 19.7 per cent in medicine and pharmacy. At 38 per cent women enrollment, Kenyatta University (KU) has the highest percentage of women among all the public universities in Kenya. However, a detailed analysis of enrollment data from the university shows that the gender disparities are unacceptably high. In the following section, I undertake a detailed gender analysis of the current academic year – 2002/2003 student‟s enrollment and staff data from the university. The Case of KU: Undergraduate programmes The undergraduate student enrollment in the various degree programmes offered in the university in the current year – 2002/2003 is summarized in Table 4.

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Table 4: Undergraduate Students Enrollment 2002/2003 Academic Year Degree Course No % Female B. A. 1181 37. 4 B. A. (Fine Art) 39 48.7 B. COM 795 36.0 B. ED (Home Economics) 149 99.0 B. ED (ARTS) 2278 49.5 B. ED (SC.) 1253 28.7 B. ED (Early Childhood Education) 149 63.1 B. ED (Special Education) 714 48.7 B. SC. (Food Nutrition and Dietetics) 157 93.6 BSC (Food & Consumer Studies) 124 96.0 B.SC (Textile Clothing and Design) 71 99.0 B.SC 677 26.3 B.SC. (Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management) 20 80.0 B. SC (Computer Science) 70 14.3 B. SC. (Sports Technology) 67 40.3 B.SC. (Telecommunication & Information Technology) 73 14.0 B.SC. (Applied Technology) 43 16.3 B.SC (Self Sponsored) 40 20.0 B.SC. (Computer Engineering) 08 14.3 B.SC. (Computer Software Engineering) 02 00.0 Bachelor of Environment (Science) 202 39.6 Bachelor of Environment (Arts) 165 50.3 TOTAL 8277 43.3 Source: Compiled from KU Students‟ Records Section enrollment data. While the overall gender disparity (6.7 percentage points) in KU is relatively small, Table 4 demonstrates that the highest percentages of women students are in the traditionally „female‟ home economics degree programmes: Bachelor of education in home economics and textile, clothing and design each registering 99.0, food and consumer studies 96.0; food, nutrition and dietetics 96.0 and hotel, restaurant and institutional management 80.0. These are followed by Bachelor of education (Early Childhood Education) 63.1 cent; Bachelor of environment (Arts) 50.3; and BA (Fine Art), B.ED (Arts), B. ED (Special Education) and Bachelor of Science (Sports Technology) all with over 40 per cent female enrollment. The lowest female enrollment in KU is in the information and technology programmes of computer software, computer engineering, applied technology, and telecommunication and information technology each with below 20 per cent female enrollment. Post Graduate Studies In KU, wide gender disparities are prevalent at the masters level full time programmes as Table 5 demonstrates.

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Table 5: Enrollment in Full Time Masters Programmes by School and Gender 2002/2003 School Humanities and Social Sciences Education & Human Resource Dev Pure & Applied Sciences

Course M. A MBA M. ED M. ENV. M.SC. M. HE

TOTAL Source: KU Students‟ Records Office Statistics

Male 63 159 154 37 168 13 594

Female 25 90 114 13 55 41 338

Total 88 249 268 50 223 54 932

% Female 28.4 36.0 42.5 26.0 24.7 75.9 36.3

From Table 5, it can be observed that in KU, at the masters‟ level, a wide overall gender gap exists with women registering only 36. 3 per cent. Further, it is only in home economics (M. HE) where women students at 75. 9 per cent outnumber men. The next highest women enrollment programme at this level is education (M. ED) where they register 42.5 per cent. On the other hand, the lowest women enrollments are in the master of science (M. SC) and master of environment (M. ENV) programmes in the School of Pure and Applied Sciences where they register 24.7 and 26. 0 per cent respectively. It is sometimes argued that women fail to enroll in HE because of the rigidity of traditional HE programmes, which leave women no room to combine their multiple gender roles with studies and that they would be better served by flexible programmes. KU offers self sponsored flexible programmes in two modalities: in the Institute for Continuing Education (ICE), and in the recently established Institute for Open Learning. Institute for Continuing Education (ICE) In the ICE, people working in education fulltime take courses during school holidays in April, August and December. Enrollment data in the ICE programmes is presented in Table 6. Table 6: Enrollment in ICE Programmes by Gender and Degree Programmeme Degree Course Male Female Total % Female B. ED (Secondary) 562 463 1025 45.2 B. ED (Primary) 566 357 923 38.7 B. ED (Special Education) 25 26 51 51.0 B. ED (Early Childhood Care & Education) 24 4 28 14.3 TOTAL 1177 850 2027 41.9 Source: KU Students‟ Records Section Statistics Table 6 reveals that women are not doing any better in ICE post-graduate programmes in KU; they constitute less than 50 per cent of the total enrollment in all but one (B.ED Primary) of the programmes.

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Institute of Open Learning Programmes The Institute of Open Learning offers distance education programmes from all three schools of the university – Pure and Applied Sciences, Education and Human Resource Development and Humanities and Social Sciences at certificate, ordinary diploma, bachelors and masters levels. Table 7 presents enrollment data from the institute. Table 7: Enrollment in the Institute of Open Learning by Programme and by Gender 2003 School Certificate Diploma Bachelors PostMasters % Female % Female % Female graduate Diploma Sch of Pure & 25 56.8 18.3 4.8 Applied Scs Ed. & Human 46.1 45.2 41.2 Resources Dev Humanities & 36.4 35.1 50.0 16.8 Social Scs Note: „-„ = no enrollments although the programme was offered Source: Computed from statistics available in the Institute of Open Learning database. As can be seen from Table 7, women enrollment in the Open Learning programmes are highest in the school of Education and Human Resource Development where they reach the 40 per cent plus range. As with other programmes, they are lowest in the School of Pure and Applied Science where they are dismal at percentages of 4.8, 18.3 and 25 at the masters, bachelors and certificate course levels, respectively. Although the diploma programme has a female enrollment of 56.8 per cent, this includes the diploma in nutrition and health, a traditionally „female‟ field, which has a 72.4 per cent women enrollment. While enrollment in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences continue to exhibit gender disparities in favour of men, it is important to note that women are enrolling in relatively large numbers in the business courses a traditionally „male‟ area. For example, the MBA (Human Resource Management) programmeme has 42.1 per cent women enrollment. All the same, human resource management is the traditionally „female‟ discipline in business studies. The above analysis of enrollments in the self sponsored flexible programmes in KU has revealed that enrollments follow trends in traditional programmes where overall gender disparities in favour of men persist and where gender streaming is evident.

Gender Disparities in Student Enrollment in Private Universities

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The foregoing analysis has established that gender disparities in favour of men are endemic in student enrollment in public universities. Following the liberalization trends in the provision of higher education and the expansion in the demand for HE, private provision of university education has expanded considerably in Kenya. To date, there are 21 private universities of which the Commission for Higher Education has accredited six. In this section, I discuss gender disparities in these universities. Private universities are doing better than public universities when it comes to gender disparities in student enrollments. Wesonga‟s et al(ongoing) study of United States International University (USIU); Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA); University of Eastern Africa, Baraton (UEAB) and Daystar University – the four largest, and most established of the private universities in Kenya found that in the year 2000, these universities had attained overall gender parity in enrollment with the average male to female ratio standing at 47.5:52.5 per cent which indicates a slightly higher enrollment for women. The male to female ratios in the individual universities in 2000 was as follows: USIU 47:52; Daystar 42:58; CUEA 49: 51; UEAB 51:49. However, Wesonga et al have found that, as Table 8 demonstrates, gender streaming continues to be an issue in private universities despite their having attained gender parity. Table 8: Percentage Enrollment in Private Universities by Gender and Area of Specialization 1999 Universit Business Studies Humanities & Social Science and y Scs Technology % Male % Female % Male % Female % % Male Female USIU 51 49 32 68 CUEA 48 52 37 63 61 39

Daystar UEAB

48 54

52 46

30 48

70 52

52

48

Note: „-

„ = no enrollments although the programme was offered Source: Wesonga et al (ongoing). Clearly, as in the public universities, women are better represented in the humanities and social science disciplines in the private universities with the widest gender gaps of 40 in favour of women being in Daystar University and the lowest (4 percentage points) being at the UEAB. All the same, it should be noted that women participation in science and technology for UEAB, for example, is attributed to the large numbers of women taking nursing, which is a traditionally „female‟ subject. On the brighter side, women enrollment in business programmes, which are traditionally „male‟ disciplines, is slightly better than men‟s in CUEA and Daystar, standing at 52 per cent in both universities; or nearly at par with that of the men in UASU and Barton – 49 and 46 per cent respectively. In explaining the favourable women‟s participation in private universities, Wesonga et al,(on going) among other things, argue that it is only the well to do in Kenya who can afford to send their children to these universities owing to the high fees charged.

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They continue to argue that among the well to do, girls‟ education is valued equally as that of the boys, particularly because parents do not have to make choices as to which of their children to educate. From the foregoing discussion of gender disparities in student enrollment in HE in Kenya, it is clear that overall gender gaps in favour of men are found at all levels – certificate, diploma, bachelors and post graduate (except in private universities) – and in both traditional and flexible self sponsored programmes. It is also clear that gender streaming is endemic in HE in Kenya. In the next section, I discuss gender disparities among HE workers drawing my data chiefly from Kenyatta University. (ii)

Gender Disparities Among University Workers

(a) Gender disparities among academic members of staff Table 9 presents data on academic members of staff in KU. Table 9: Academic Members of Staff in KU in 2003 by Gender and Grade Position Female Male Total % Female Professor 2 25 27 7.4 Associate Professor 6 23 29 20.7 Senior Lecturer 34 93 125 27.2 Lecturers 100 182 282 35.0 Assistant Lecturers 27 38 65 41.5 Tutorial Fellows 44 63 107 41.1 Graduate Assistants 6 10 16 37.5 Total 219 434 651 33.6 Source: Computed from Kenyatta University Records Section Statistics Table 9 shows the extent of gender disparities among academic members of staff. At an average of 33.6 per cent, women are clearly under-represented among KU academics despite the fact that they would be expected to fare better in this university because of its heavier emphasis on education, humanities and social science programmes, which are considered „female‟ programmes. At the same time, gender disparities are more pronounced at the highest levels of academia where they constitute only 7.4, 20.7 and 27.2 per cent at the professor, associate professor and senior lecturer levels. Indeed, it is only in the junior non-permanent terms of employment – tutorial fellow and graduate assistant – where women‟s representation reaches 40 per cent. A further analysis reveals how academic women on permanent and pensionable terms are distributed among the 3 schools of the university. Table 10 contains the data on this. Table 10: Women Academics in KU by School and by Grade School/Position Professor Asso. Prof S/Lecturer

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Total % Total % Female Female Pure & Applied Sc. 10 0 11 9.1 Humanities & Social 10 20 13 23.1 Scs Ed. & Human 7 0 5 40 Resource Dev Source: Computed from University Staff Records

Total % Female 50 26.9 42 31.0

Total % Female 95 39.1 111 36.0

33

76

21.2

43.4

Table 10 reveals the subject gender streaming observed in the students‟ enrollment. While both the Schools of Pure and Applied Sciences and the School of Education and Human Resource Development do not have women who are full professors, the later has 40 per cent women associate professors compared to 9.1 per cent in the former. On the other hand at 26.9 per cent, the percentage of women senior lecturers is higher in the School of Pure & Applied Science than in the school of Education and Human Resources Development at 21.2 per cent. However, it must be remembered that Home Economics, which has 4 departments and a virtually all female academic staff membership, is in the School of Pure and Applied Science. (b)

Gender Disparities in University Administration

It is vital that women participate at all levels of decision making in HE for as Ajayi et al (1996: 187) have argued “Without the empowerment of women, without their unhindered participation in all decision-making processes, the word „democracy‟ will remain void of any real substance in Africa” A gender analysis of holders of various decision-making offices in KU reveals that women are grossly underrepresented in decision-making processes. The relevant data is presented in Table 11. Table 11: Holders of Senior Administrative Positions in KU by Gender Position Female Male Total % Female Vice Chancellors 0 1 1 0 Deputy Vice Chancellor 1 2 3 33.3 Registrar 0 3 3 0 Dean 0 3 3 0 Finance Officer 0 1 1 0 Total 1 10 11 9.1 Source: Computed from University Statistics Table 11 shows that of the 11 highest-level decision makers, only 1(the Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance) or 9.1 per cent is a woman. Further, at the school level, none of the 3 deans and their deputies - the 3 associate deans – was a woman. Table 12 presents data on Senate level decision makers – directors, chairpersons of academic departments and various committees and coordinators. 52

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Table 12: Senate Members by Gender and Designation Designation Female Male Director 8 19 Co-ordinator 0 2 Librarian 1 0 Chairperson 1 1 Academic Dept. Chairperson 16 35 Total 26 57 Source: Computed from Data in the Senate Office, KU

Total 27 2 1 2 51 83

% Female 29.6 0 100 50 31.4 31.3

Clearly, there are wide gender disparities in Senate which is expected to be the main decision making body in universities in Kenya. Only 31.3 per cent of Senate members are women. The foregoing analysis of gender disparities among university academics and senior administrative staff in KU has revealed that wide gender gaps in favour of men are to be found among academic members of staff, university decision makers, senior administrators and senate members. In the next section, I raise the issue of gender disparities as regards life experiences in the universities. (iii)

Gender Disparities in Life Experiences in He in Kenya

As Rathgeber (2002) notes, African tertiary institutions were established and organized to meet the needs of male students. Consequently, in their culture and even in the infrastructure, many of them are unresponsive to the needs of female students. Let me point out that we are short on research on the different ways in which women and men experience life in HE institutions. However, the little research that has been conducted in this area, for example, Gitobu‟s work in KU has revealed that sexual harassment (SH) – ranging from verbal remarks to rape and other types of gender based violence – is perpetrated on university female students and staff by male academic and non-academic staff members, students and outsiders (1994)The goings-on in other universities reported in the daily newspapers suggest the situation is no better. Constraints and Barriers to Women’s Equal Participation in He (i)

Girls’ Lower Participation at Primary and Secondary Levels of Education 

Girls’ lower secondary completion rates

Kenya has virtually attained national gender parity3 in primary enrollment with the GER standing at 88.1 per cent for boys and 87.1 per cent for girls 4 and near parity in primary3

National statistics hide regional differences. For example while the 2000 GER for central province: boys 104. 5 per cent and girls 106.0 per cent, that for North Eastern was boys 22.7 per cent and girls 12.1 per cent. 4 The situation must have changed drastically since the introduction of FPE at the beginning of this year (2003) which saw the entry /re-entry of over 1.5 million children in the primary education system. 53

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secondary transition rates, which in 2000 were 40.9 per cent for boys and 39.2 per cent for girls. However, fewer girls than boys complete secondary school owing to the high dropout rate for girls. For example, in the 1997-2000 cohort, only 76.8 per cent of the girls compared to 80.9% of the boys completed. The fewer the girls who complete secondary school the smaller is the pool of prospective HE women entrants. 

Poorer performance by girls in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)

Table 13: Performance in 2001 KCSE by Subject and by Gender Subject Female Male NO. SAT MEAN % NO. SAT English 89,484 34.71 104,339 Kiswahili 89,486 44.72 104,339 Mathematics 89,481 15.83 104,334 Biology 85,499 29.52 91,525 Physics 16,225 22.22 38,425 Chemistry 84,534 29.39 96,862 Biological Science 10 25.20 18 History & Government 34,989 47.86 46,961 Geography 48,116 31.66 61,354 Christian Religious Education 38,339 49.1 26,961 Islamic Religious Education 1,494 42.15 2,810 Hindu Religious Education 9 35.22 8 Social Education and Ethics 23,618 53.00 25,725 Home Science 10,365 58.26 526 Art and Science 418 53.64 775 Agriculture 44,309 45.54 53,181 Woodwork 24 51.33 1,277 Metalwork 3 56 365 Building Construction 46 39.89 821 Power Mechanics 9 36.77 313 Electricity 16 52.31 481 Drawing and Design 93 25.52 1,774 Aviation and Technology 43 Computer Studies 543 54.44 570 French 1,141 43.3 716 German 241 56.88 93 Arabic 131 61.22 393 Music 1,236 49.97 818 Accounting 3,404 49.22 6,704 Commerce 43,441 36.57 50,553 Economics 303 38.84 868 Typing with Office Practice 970 54.15 42 Source: Computed from KNEC in Ministry of Education (2003)

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MEAN % 34.44 43.34 21.2 34.48 26.84 23.41 23.81 53.07 37.3 49.43 46.59 36.06 55.92 51.65 54.91 48.67 50.62 59.08 49.31 54.36 54.85 42.17 60.88 57.64 43.9 60.27 61.18 49.49 50.88 39.45 38.81 55.86

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Girls‟ performance in KCSE, which serves selection purposes for HE, is lower than that of boys‟ in most subjects and particularly in SMT subjects. Consequently, girls are not able to compete on an equal footing with the boys for the limited places in HE institutions. Results of the 2001 KCSE reproduced in Table 13 illustrate this. Table 13 demonstrates that girls narrowly outperformed boys only in 4 (English, Kiswahili, Chemistry and Home Science) of the 13 (English, Kiswahili, Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, History & Government, Geography, Christian Religious Education, Social Education and Ethics, Home Science, Agriculture and Accounting) subjects, i.e. subjects with a candidature of 10,000 plus. Indeed, the popular belief that girls are good at humanities is not borne out in these results. For example, they underperformed boys by 5.21 per cent mean points in History & Government, and by 5.6 per cent mean points in Geography. However, interestingly, girls underperformed boys in Biology, the only SMT subject they are reputed to perform fairly in, by 4.96 per cent mean points, while outperforming boys in Chemistry, a traditionally „male‟ subject by 5.98 per cent mean points. This is a clear indication that girls are capable of doing well in traditionally „male‟ dominated SMT subjects. (ii)

Lack of role models

In Kenya, there are few highly educated women in leadership positions to act as positive role models for girls. Indeed, it is only with the new political dispensation – the taking over of government by the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) arty in December 2003 - that we now have 7 women with ministerial appointments. However, even the NARC government is not living up to its general election campaign promises of a third women share of public appointments. Further, as already demonstrated, there is lack of adequate numbers of women as academics. The few women who hold these positions are concentrated in the lower ranks of academia, and mostly in arts based faculties with a few in the lower ranks of academia in SMT related faculties. Within the administration of HE institutions, there are hardly any women in top presidential appointment positions such as university chancellors, chairpersons of council, and vice and deputy vice chancellors. Consequently girls lack role models with whom they can identify. (iii)

Social cultural values, beliefs and practices

Research in Kenya has shown that nearly all communities continue to have social cultural values, beliefs and practices that militate against the education of girls and women‟s progress in their university careers. These include less valuing of the education of daughters since it is considered an unwise financial investment. The logic being that they will become part of their husbands‟ family on marriage and, therefore, income accrued from their education will not be available to their families. On the other hand, in her study of gender disparities among academic staff in Kenyan public universities, Kanake (1997) found that the high value placed on marriage and motherhood and their accompanying gender specific roles make it very difficult for women to pursue academic careers and/or grow professionally once in them.

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(iv)

Gender socialisation

Through the socialisation process in the home and community, girls and boys learn gender stereotypical roles, attitudes, values and norms. Girls for instance learn that girls and women are not good in SMT subjects. Consequently, they learn to have negative attitudes about their ability in these subjects leading to under-achievement and for many of them eventual failure in the subjects. In addition, through socialization, both girls and boys learn gender stereotypical notions of femininity and masculinity and accompanying sexuality norms which predispose boys and men to sexual assertiveness verging on aggression (in some men) and girls and women to powerlessness in potentially sexual encounters with men. This could explain the prevalence of sexual harassment in HE institutions. (iv)

Lack of Gender Policies

Kenya does not have a national gender policy. The Ministry of Education has been working on an education gender policy for sometime now, and although headquarter officers in our discussion indicated to me that the policy is ready, it has not been publicized and disseminated widely. In their turn, individual HE institutions have not developed policies on gender. Lack of policy to guide comprehensive gender programmes strategies and activities suggest lack of serious attention to gender issues in HE. In the circumstances, lone and uncoordinated actions predominate. What Has Been Done to Address Gender Disparities in He Kenya? A few interventions have addressed gender disparities in HE in Kenya. While some of these interventions have been implemented to specifically address gender issues in HE, others have focused on improving HE generally, but have had an impact on gender disparities. In what follows, I highlight some strategies that have targeted women‟s participation in HE and/or have had an impact on the same. (i)

Affirmative Action (AA)

Three varieties of AA have been implemented – lowering cut off university admission points for female candidates, remedial courses and outreach SMT programmemes to primary and secondary levels. Lowering cut off admission points for female candidates The immediate constraint to increased enrollments for women in HE institutions in Kenya is the poor performance by female candidates in KCSE examination. Consequently, few females attain high enough marks to compete on an equal footing with their male counterparts for the usually limited places in the colleges and universities. In response to this problem, an AA policy of lowering the overall university entry cutoff points for female candidates by one point is in place. However, to be considered under this policy, the candidates must have met the overall minimum requirement but failed to gain entry because the stiff competition for university places. The cut

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off point which could change from year to year is always higher than the minimum required which is fixed. Lowering the cutoff admission points for females has increased their enrollments in Kenya. Through this policy, a total of 462 females entered the six public universities in the current academic year (2002/2003). However, while this intervention has increased women‟s enrollments, it remains controversial. Critics argue that HE institutions are meritocratic institutions and, therefore ,allowing women to enter at lower cutoff points than their male counterparts dilutes standards. They further argue that giving these concessions to women endorses the notion of women as the intellectually weaker gender. Supporters of the policy, on the other hand, argue that the girls who enter the universities through this route first and foremost qualify to enter before they are considered under the scheme and that it is only due to the shortage of places that they would be otherwise locked out. Namuddu (1995) strongly argues for AA pointing out that AA is not a gender activists‟ creation in post independence Africa since through Africanisation policies many men have got scholarships and/or high status jobs through similar policies. She posits that many such men have gone on to succeed and observes that there is no reason why women would not. Remedial courses On the other hand, experience in Kenya has shown that owing to the very poor performance of female candidates in subjects such as mathematics and science, not even lowering cutoff points will get them into the very competitive SMT related programmes in HE institutions. For example, in the current academic year (2002/2003) the Science and Technology JKUAT did not admit any of the 462 females who entered public universities through the lower cutoff points AA policy, and none of them entered the highly competitive courses such as medicine, surgery, dental surgery, pharmacy, engineering and computer science in the other universities (Joint Admissions Board 2002/3). Consequently, to increase female enrollments in the highly competitive SMT related programmes, remedial courses in these subjects for women are being offered. The newly established (2003) private women only university, St. Lucie Kiriri Women‟s University of Science and Technology, is offering three months bridging courses in mathematics, English and physics with the objective of enabling female students attain entry qualifications for competitive SMT courses in the universities and other HE institutions. The courses are offered to female students who have met the overall mean grade criterion for admission into university, but who do not meet the departmental requirements in mathematics, English and physics. Since this programme is in its first year of implementation, we await assessments of its impact with great expectations. Remedial courses, as a form of AA, do not seem to attract as much controversy as the lowering of cut off entry points. They may also be more beneficial to the women candidates in that they could enable them fill in whatever knowledge gaps they may have in the relevant subjects. However, there is a socio-economic class angle to these courses. When offered in private institutions and in the fee-paying programmes of public universities, they tend to be expensive and therefore inaccessible to the majority of would be beneficiaries. (i)

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Outreach Programmes to lower education levels

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Girls‟ poor performance in SMT subjects has received attention through local and regional research and development (R&D) programmes. One such regional R&D programme is the recently concluded (2002) Female Education in Mathematics and Science in Africa (FEMSA) programme implemented in Kenya and10 other countries throughout Africa with Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) support. The goal of the programme was to improve the participation and performance of girls in SMT subjects in primary and secondary schools in Africa. This was borne out of the realization that if girls are to be motivated and cognitively prepared to enroll in SMT course offerings in HE institutions (among doing other things with the knowledge and skills developed), there is need to intervene early in their SMT educational experience. The programme activities included research, teacher training in gender responsive SMT teaching-learning methodologies, gender sensitization and confidence building. Evaluation reports on the FEMSA programme are not available yet and therefore what impact it has had (will have) on women‟s participation in HE institutions in SMT course offerings is not known. However, verbal reports by the programme country co-coordinators indicate that the programme female students‟ interest and enthusiasm for SMT had improved (Oconnor, 2002). (ii)

General Expansion of HE places

As indicated earlier, the general expansion of public universities in the 1990s and the more recent introduction of self-sponsored students in these universities combined with the opening up of private universities has lead to an increase in women enrollment in HE in Kenya. Further, it has also led to their participating more in the traditionally male fields of business studies. (iii)

Gender Responsive Educational Policies

As demonstrated earlier in this paper, more girls than boys drop out of secondary schools in Kenya. School-girl pregnancy has been identified as a major cause for this. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 teenage mothers in the country each year. In an effort to address this problem a re-entry policy for such girls was introduced 4 years ago. However, the implementation of this policy has faced problems, and in June last year the government formed a 26-member Ministerial Task Force on Girls‟ Education to create awareness on the existing Government guidelines on the re-entry policy among other things (Daily Nation, Wednesday, June 19, 2002) (iv)

Women/gender studies /programmes/centres/departments/units

Gender courses and/or aspects of gender are taught in a variety of departments in HE institutions in Kenya. Egerton University was the first to establish a Centre for Women Studies and KU followed by establishing a Center for Gender Studies in 2001. The Centre for Women Studies in Egerton does not offer academic programmes but plays a support role for women students through its programmes. On the other hand, the Centre also undertakes gender related outreach work in communities near the university. The Centre for Gender Studies in KU seems to have had a slow start. Although a director was appointed and space and support staff provided in my discussion with the director, I gathered that there was lack of clarity on expected role. The director has spent much time trying to get clarification from the university authorities, and it

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appears the Centre is expected to have teaching, research and advocacy functions. To date, the centre has been able to carry out some gender sensitization work among female and male students. However, all in all it is hard to tell what impact the gender studies units are making on women‟s participation in HE in the two institutions. Nevertheless, the centers have the potential of producing considerable knowledge on gender issues in the institutions and elsewhere in the society, and leading gender activism on the campuses so as to change gender relations in these institutions. (v)

Guidance and Counseling

All the universities have guidance and counseling services within the students affairs departments. Many of them have women leading a section of the services so as to cater for the needs of women students. From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that there has been little in the way of interventions that specifically target gender disparities in HE in Kenya. What little action there has been seems to have been haphazard and lacking in commitment. In the next section, by way of conclusion, I make recommendations on what must be done to improve women‟s participation in HE in Kenya. What Needs to be Done? No doubt addressing gender disparities in HE is a challenging undertaking. For one, it is often seen as an elite women‟s problem, and as such receives little support from the mostly male, patriarchal leadership in HE. However, it is an undertaking that must be pursued with determination and through taking action at both the national and the individual institution levels. The following are my suggestions on what should be done: (i)

Development of gender policies at national, Ministry of Education and individual HE institution levels – Perhaps Rathgeber (2002) has a point when she criticizes African women professionals and academics for not seriously challenging the status quo in their own careers and lives. Academic women working with academic men who are concerned about gender disparities and the civil society should seize the opportunity the NARC government provides to lobby government for the development, dissemination and implementation of gender policies. (ii) Gender mainstreaming – refers to adopting a gender perspective in all areas of life in HE institutions and in particular to making gender a focus in the strategic planning for HE institutions including the vision, mission and objectives and in the implementation and evaluation of HE programmes and projects. It will involve setting specific gender equity targets and datelines accompanied by a monitoring and evaluation programme to assess whether or not the targets are being met. Obviously there will be need for resources to do this work. HE institutions should make budgetary allocations for supporting such gender programmes. (111) AA policies- from the discussions in earlier parts of this paper, it is clear that AA policies do increase women‟s enrollments in tertiary institutions. What needs to be done is to find ways

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of implementing them in such a way as to minimize the backlash on female students. In this regard, remedial/bridging courses are less problematic. However, such programmes should be mainstreamed, and thus receive financial support from government to facilitate access by all qualified women. All the same, any form of AA should be implemented only as a temporary measure to correct past gender imbalances. Further, AA should be implemented following careful planning that begins by clarifying the policy. The planning should also determine enrollment targets and datelines by which the targets will be attained and also spell out how AA will end - that is, the steps being taken side by side with the implementation of the policy to bring about women‟s competitiveness for HE places at par with that of men. Obviously, an individual institution cannot ensure this as the government has a role here. However, if the government is reluctant, tertiary institutions should take the lead and lobby the government. (iv) Development and implementation of gender equity in employment policies to increase the number and raise the levels of women academics and administrators. Such policies are in place in institutions such as the University of Dar es Salaam. (v) Increasing the quantity and quality of women postgraduate students as an intervention for increasing women academic members of staff and university management. This could be achieved through the application of AA in the award of postgraduate scholarships to qualified and interested females. (vi) Gender sensitization - engaging in activities aimed at increasing women‟s participation in HE is really a transformatory undertaking since it involves trying to change people‟s beliefs about and attitudes towards women. Consequently, it calls for considerable education and reeducation of the people about the gendered economic, social and political gender relations in the HE institutions, in the society generally and within families. Such education and re-education is referred to as gender sensitization which is conducted through seminars, conferences and workshops among other forums. (vii) Expansion of HE places for women such as women’s only universities – In Kenya, girls‟ only secondary schools post very good performance even in SMT subjects. They are also regarded as safer environments for girls particularly among communities that are very protective of their girls. These considerations have recently led to the opening of the already mentioned Kiriri Women‟s University for Science and Technology. Apart from the bridging course described elsewhere in this paper, the university is offering Batchelor of Science degree courses in mathematics and computer studies. Being a women‟s only science and technology university, Kiriri has targeted an area of great need – increasing the extremely low females‟ enrollments in these areas. All the same, women‟s only universities are controversial. In Kenya, there are those who think that separating women from men throughout their education is unwise as it creates an artificial environment and denies both the opportunity to interact across the genders. My view on this is that women‟s only universities like Kiriri do provide parents with a choice as to where to send their daughters. In addition, whatever number of women choose to go there for whatever reason will raise women‟s enrollment in SMT based programmes and therefore should be encouraged.

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(viii) Outreach to lower levels of education – While in general girls‟ performance is poorer than boys‟ performance particularly in SMT subjects, a few girls‟ schools perform extremely well in these subjects. A good example is Pangani Girls school sterling performance in the 2001 KCSE examination in which 264 girls out of the 258 enrolled obtained C plus and above and therefore qualified for admission into the university. Further, most of the girls attained C plus grades in SMT subjects. This is a clear demonstrated that girls are capable of performing well in SMT subjects. There is need for in depth case studies of such schools in order to identify and document what it is that makes them so successful where others fail so miserably. Such information can be used to help other girls and girls‟ schools improve their performance. (xi) Research and Development - Although some research has been conducted in HE, there is still need for more, particularly in the area of women‟s experience of HE in Kenya to enhance our understanding of the problems, and thus be in a better position to design and implement gender parity interventions. From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that there are no easy and quick fixes for addressing gender disparities in HE. In many cases, constraints to female participation are multidimensional and contextual and therefore what works in one situation (or for a section of the female population) may not work in another situation (or for another section of the female population in the same situation). In addition, many of the important interventions will focus on the qualitative aspects of women‟s lives in HE institutions and is ,therefore, difficult to assess its impact. References Ade Ajayi, Lameck K. H. Goma & Ampah Johnson (1996). The African experience with higher education. London: James Currey. Gitobu, J. (1994). Report on sexual harassment of female students at Kenyatta University. Nairobi : Kenyatta University. Kanake, L. (1997). Gender disparities among the academic staff in Kenyan public universities. Nairobi: Lyceum Education Consultants. Kilemi, M. & Njuguna, N. (2002). The public university reform in Kenya: Mapping the key changes of the last decade. A Research Report. Joint Admissions Board, (2002). 2002/2003 intake. McGrath, S. (2000). What does globalisation mean for education in African countries? Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production, 6, 5-18. Nammudu, K. (1995). Gender perspectives in the transformation of African: Challenges to the African university. In Women in Higher Education in Africa. (pp 58-58). Dakar: UNESCO. Ministry of Education Science and Technology (2003). Report of the Education Sector Review. Naiorbi, Kenya. Oconnor, J. (2002, July). Strategies for the promotion of the participation and performance of girls in science, mathematics and technology (SMT) subjects: Some lessons from FEMSA. Paper presented at a WERK Seminar, Nairobi. Rathgeber, E. M. (2002). Women in universities and university-educated women: the current situation in Africa. In D. Teferra (Ed.), African higher education: The international reference book pp. 288-329. University of Indiana Press.

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Wesonga D., Ngome, C, Ouma, D. & Wawire, V. (in progress). Private provision of higher education in Kenya: An analysis of trends and issues in four select universities.

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The Evaluation of Educational Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: 1980s-1990s By: Tarnue Johnson, Ph.D. Counselor, Jobs For Youth Inc. Chicago, Illinois, USA Authentic dialogue must lead to action, which is then analyzed and evaluated before further action. Action is not just any action; it involves collective struggle to challenge the existing social relations, which determines some of the basic components of social life, such as access to land, water and income (Kidd and Kimer as cited in Johnson, 2003, p.89). Abstract This article attempts to critically examine the discussion about the impact of structural adjustment reforms on the education sector in sub-Saharan Africa, in the 1980s and 1990s. The article highlights two main analytical approaches, which featured prominently in this discussion. The first approach seeks to substantiate non-market solutions to the problems of resource allocation in the social sector such as education. The second analytical model underscores the rationale of market-oriented solutions through the use of cost recovery. It is suggested that both approaches through their evaluative frameworks, tend to justify either market or non-market solutions to resource allocations in the education sector. The article contends that while both conceptual models provide a useful insight into the process of resource allocation in education under various structural adjustment regimes, they are nevertheless constrained by their underlying theoretical assumptions. These assumptions are invariably imbedded in technical rationality and neo-positivism. Consequently, the author calls for a multidisciplinary approach, which integrates various strands of social thought. It is suggested that only such a holistic approach can reflect the multifaceted and complex aspects of the evaluation of educational output. Background My main purpose in this essay is to shed some light on the evaluation and impact assessment of structural and educational reforms across Sub-Saharan Africa, which began in the early 1980s and survived well into the 1990s. The main objective of structural adjustment programs was to facilitate the repayment of Northern Bank loans that had become overextended in the Third World. The central ideological underpinnings of structural adjustment reforms still drive education policy in much of Africa and the developing world, especially those countries that have increasingly come to rely on multilateral support for macroeconomic sustainability. The phenomenon of globalism and other developments in the international economy in recent years have brought issues of structural adjustment and development reorientations to the fore and rendered them incessantly topical. Furthermore, developing countries emerging from civil conflicts such as Liberia might need to draw useful lessons from the collective experience of structural adjustment in the last two decades as they seek to reorder governance and institutional patterns in their societies. Structural adjustment policies were undergirded by certain core economic and fiscal doctrines and predispositions. Invariably, these economic and fiscal doctrines were imbedded in what I

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would call the “first principles” of liberal economic and conservative political thought. Some keen observers have dubbed the acceptance of these principles as the “ Washington Consensus.” The central tenets and conceptual propositions of the “Washington Consensus,” which advocated less state intervention in the economy, suggested new sets of rules to govern fiscal procedures and to reshape the politics of development interventions. These new approaches to problems of economic and social development in developing countries were to fundamentally alter attitudes toward the social sector generally, and educational finance and reorganization in particular. The main attitude under structural adjustment in developing countries including subSaharan Africa was one of fiscal retrenchment and cuts in budgetary support for education and other social services (see Caffentzis, http://www.schoolsnotjails.com). In Tanzania for example, the decline in government spending on education coincided with a period of structural adjustment reforms to restore economic growth (Gerard et al, 1998). Like some countries in the region, public spending on education rose during most of the 1970s, reaching a high of about 6 percent in 1979. The share of budgetary contributions to education fell just over 4 percent in the early 1980s, and then dropped to below 4 percent by the early 1990s (ibid, 1998). Other forms of public commitment in the social sector in Tanzania were also affected under the impact of fiscal retrenchment (ibid). By 1983, the tendency to persuade an increasing number of governments in the developing world to adopt reforms through structural adjustment lending had gathered momentum. Thus, while the value of structural adjustment loans amounted to 11 percent in 1980, by 1983 that amount had soared to 36 percent of the total value of structural adjustment lending at the end of 1986 (table 1.1 below). At the beginning of 1986, 12 out of the 15 debtors designated by the then secretary of the Treasury, James Baker, as top-priority debtors including countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and the Philippines-had agreed to adopt structural adjustment policies. Table 1.1 Structural adjustment loans (SALs) (1) by value, 1980-86 (US $ Millions) Year Number of SALs Value 1980 4 580 1981 6 782 1982 4 670 1983 12 1927 1984 2 431 1985 4 388 1986 5 481 Total 37 5259 Source: [Calculated from Mosley et al, 1991, Table 4] The “Washington Consensus” signaled the death knell of the immediate postwar intellectual consensus regarding the implementation of Keynesian macroeconomic and policy doctrines, to steer economies away from depression/recession into full employment and fiscal stability. The fiscal and economic doctrine of full employment was so pervasive in the immediate postwar period, that it became an official policy credo of the British Labor Party. Even political forces on the right had conceded, albeit as a signal of a momentary truce, that full employment and fiscal expansion were desirable goals of state economic policy.

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Also, in American policy thinking, the doctrine of full employment and deficit spending had assumed a proud of place, as the puritanist philosophy of the balance budget became obsolete, and effectively jettisoned as a modus operandi in the conduct of state affairs during the heyday of the Keynesian revolution. Thus, there is the famous saying "that we have now all become Keynesians" uttered by the American President F.D.Roosevelt in the heydays of the Keynesian revolution. On the theoretical front, Alvin Hansen at Harvard emerged as a prominent figure popularizing Keynesian policies in and outside of the American Academy. Paul Samuelson adds to this list, with his elegant encapsulation in his economic textbooks of Hicksian IS-LM models, as ancillary theoretical categories of what would come to be known as the neo-classical synthesis. However, this Keynesian consensus was to break apart, first under the pressures of the OPEC oil crisis in the late 1970s, and then as the result of the early 1980s' recession. The rightwing radical ferment that followed saw the ascendance of monetarism and liberal political philosophy, wrapped up in the discourse of Reaganomics and Thatcherism. The most visible ideological representatives (at least in the field of theory) of this new attitude towards economic and fiscal management were Milton Freedman at the University of Chicago, Frederick Von Hayek at the London School of Economics, and of course, Keith Joseph at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. Quite without coincidence, the Institute of Economic Affairs had been a Thatcherite policy think-tank in London. Delimitations This article is delimited by the scope and parameters of educational reforms and evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa in the period between 1980 and the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, educational reforms in adjusting countries formed an integral part of the measures that were to be instituted under the broad theme of structural adjustment. This article does not, however, seek to primarily devote itself to the examination of the macroeconomic impact of structural adjustment policies in sub-Saharan Africa or other regions of the developing world. As a matter of empirical fact, there is currently a sufficient body of literature, which has adequately addressed this issue. Indeed, while some scholars have supported structural adjustment, others such as Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions and independent scholars worldwide have combined forces on so many occasions to denounce structural adjustment and promote a cluster of institutional and economic principles for structural realignment in the global political economy (see Soros,1998). Similarly, this study does not seek to assess the relative merits and demerits of privatization of educational provision under structural adjustment policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Such an effort would be clearly beyond the scope and terms of reference of this article. The underlying preoccupation of this article, however, is to reappraise and critique the methodology of technical rationality as a conceptual framework for evaluating the impact of structural adjustment led reforms on the education sector in sub-Saharan Africa, and by extension other developing countries. This is the area in my judgment, which needs more scholarly devotion and the 65

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refinement of conceptual tools--to gauge the true extent of the successes and failures of educational reforms in an era of structural adjustment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Data sources and theoretical models This essay draws from a variety of sources encompassing empirical, evaluative and theoretical studies. The World Bank has been the most vocal and by far the most important player in promoting liberal educational reforms during the period of the 1980s and 1990s, and at present to a large extent. Hence, this essay draws from Bank-sponsored evaluative studies and independent scholars working in its name. IMF sources and reports of international conferences and other texts written on the subject have been cited in equal measure. However, most of these studies (especially the institutionally sponsored ones) tend to employ the dominant paradigm of „technical rationality‟ (2) as the methodology of choice. The works of these authors could be broadly classified in the domain of neo-classical economics, as evidenced in the disproportionate emphasis on the economic rate of returns to schooling. While this methodology, which relies on cost-benefit considerations, sometimes to the exclusion of others, may be useful in shedding light on the dynamics of educational policy, it is by no means sufficient. There is a need for a multidisciplinary approach reflecting the impact of a host of cognitive, sociological and cultural processes, which affect the process of schooling in subSaharan Africa (Ogbu, 1981). The impact of adjustment policies on educational development Researchers have used varying conceptual frameworks in studying the impact of adjustment policies on educational development. Quantitative and qualitative dimensions of educational provision featured prominently in these theoretical frameworks. Examples of these conceptual frameworks include the so-called hypothetical counterfactuals, before-and-after comparisons etc. The counterfactual methodology adopts a control group approach by comparing a group of countries that have made an agreement with the World Bank to carry out an adjustment program with a control group of countries that have not. An alternative approach is imbedded in the use of “matched pairs” of structural adjustment lending and non-structural adjustment lending countries (see Mosley, Harrigan and Toye, 1991). Reimers (1994) has employed a comparative approach by comparing the educational performance of adjusting and non-adjusting countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 1980 and 1988 (covering 8 years of the adjustment period). The central proposition of Reimers‟ analysis is that the contributions of households to education declined dramatically in adjusting countries compared to non-adjusting countries. And that this decline affected many aspects of education including primary school enrolment, teacher salaries and the purchase of teaching and curriculum resources. However, Grooteart (1994) and Sahn (1992) to some extent, radically depart from Reimers‟ heuristic approach. Grooteart has conducted a case study of the Ivory Coast in which he 66

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concluded that focusing on changes in government expenditure as a way of evaluating the impact of adjustment policies on the social sectors, including education, is a methodological rehearing. The focus here is economic efficiency of investment, rather than the dynamics of government expenditure. Thus, the main concern of Grooteart is that government expenditure is an inadequate reflection of the efficiency of the delivery of social services, which is more determined by the intra-sectoral and functional allocations of expenditures. The empirical data reviewed by Grooteart shows that during a period of structural change in the Ivory Coast, countrywide indicators were stable or declined only slightly. During this period, government expenditure indicators even showed an upward trend, and yet, the poorest segments of the population suffered a significant decline in access to educational benefits. A reading of this data might seem to suggest that evaluative and policy studies must be based on household level information, which takes into account the distribution of beneficiaries of educational services. After reviewing a number of country experiences with adjustment on a before-and-after basis, Sahn (1992) concluded that the intra-sectoral composition of expenditure is of equal or greater importance, than the overall level of expenditures in the social sector. Indeed, this conclusion is consistent with Groteat‟s findings in his study of data from the Ivory Coast. Some authors (see Hincliff,1989-1990) are of the opinion that engineered adjustment programs, of the kind advocated by global financial institutions, do exacerbate pressures on the education sector. The drive towards educational reforms Reforms in the sector constituted part and parcel of the package of measures and adjustment conditionality (3) in the 1980s. It was envisaged that these radical measures would constitute the requirements of overall structural and institutional transformation in the political economy of Sub-Saharan Africa. The emphasis on educational reform as advocated by the Breton Woods Institutions (World Bank, IMF) have been focused on two inter-related themes- improving efficiency of schooling and expanding access to fulfill the twin objectives of equity and quality of provision (World Bank, 1986). When these educational reforms began in the early 1980s, there was little doubt that they would affect the nature and character of educational provision across an array of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The main emphasis of the debate, which followed, was relative economic efficiencies of public versus private provisions in terms of cost implications, quality and quantity of provision, economic rate of returns etc. However, the finer details of the most varied aspects of educational evaluation have not been emphasized much in the existing literature on the impact of educational reforms in the period specified above. The lack of integration of the most profound issues in educational evaluation in conceptual frames of analysis has left much to be desired. These issues include, for example, evaluating learning outcomes from a variety of perspectives, such as stakeholders, students, teachers and educational administrators. I shall return to this point later in my discussion of some of the most pertinent aspects of educational reforms in the period under consideration. The orthodox versus neo-liberal views

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For many years the dominant view among development analysts and educational planners was that the state should have a major responsibility in the financing and provision of educational opportunities (see Colclough,1990;1997). However, under the strains of fiscal crisis and subsequent adjustment in the 1980s, the stage was set for the ascendancy and eventual domination of neo-liberal analyses of educational policy and development. The neo-liberal view as opposed to the orthodox one, justifies a wider role for market disciplines in educational finance. Nowhere was this more evident than in the policy circles of International Financial Institutions. The policies of International Financial Institutions (principally the World Bank and IMF) had experience a detour under the weight of the new orthodoxy, which was as mentioned earlier, the Washington Consensus. Thus, in 1986 a World Bank study titled Financing Education in Developing Countries was published. This study explored three broad policy options, which were in consonant with the neo-liberal case for private provision and cost recovery in the education sector. The three policy options outlined in this study were as follows (ibid, p.2):   

Recovering the public cost of higher education and reallocating government spending on education towards the level with the highest returns; Developing a credit market for education, together with selective scholarships, especially in higher education; Decentralizing the management of public education and encouraging the expansion of private and community-supported schools.

This study was followed by another one called Education in sub-Saharan Africa published in 1988. This work traced the remarkable progress of education in the region in the postindependence era and set out a policy framework for future development through the 1990s. The policy framework for educational development set out in this study included three broad themes which perhaps formed the basis for much of the neo-liberal theoretical discussion: a) adjustment; b) revitalization and c) selective expansion. Adjustment suggested diversifying sources of financing and the imperative to contain unit cost. Meanwhile, selective expansion included making the necessary investments geared toward the realization of the long-term goal of universal primary education. Other areas earmarked for future growth and expansion included distance education, research and postgraduate education. The claims asserted by the World Bank have been reaffirmed by several proponents of the neoliberal tendency (Mingat and Tan, 1986; Psacharapoulos, 1977; Mcmahon, 1988). Levy (1992) has held that cost recovery at post-primary levels impact on household investment decisions in primary education. However, Psacharopoulos (1987) and others have accepted most of the premises of the neo-liberal viewpoint:  Excess demand for secondary and higher education;  Heavy subsidization of higher education;  Existing inequality of access;  Greater flexibility of student loans and selective scholarships for students at tertiary levels.

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Mingat and Tan (1986) have argued that there is excess demand at low levels of education in developing countries. This recognition of excess demand suggests that user charges could be used to mitigate such demand, and also to mobilize additional resources for education, in an era of increased scarcity and fiscal imbalance. These authors maintained that the additional resources mobilized through the introduction of user charges could be used for quantitative expansion at the same level of education, or indeed, such additional resources could even be used for expansion of an activity outside of education. The main thrust of this line of argument is that a policy of user charges would not have an adverse effect on the overall level of realized enrolment. I suppose this argumentation is meant to assuage those who believe that cost recovery may compromise concerns for equity in the distribution of educational benefits, in societies under stress from fiscal imbalance. These are precisely the concerns raised by Kless (1984) and others (see Colclough, 1990; Albrecht and Ziderman, 1993). Klees (1984) in a very elaborate attack on the theoretical structure of neo-classical economics, accuses the neo-classicists of being more interested in efficiency than concerns about equity and social justice. Kless adds (p.439); „the very real danger of the neo-classical perspective, so clearly embodied in Thobani‟s paper is that it covers with a technical veneer what are really a complex set of political, social, cultural and economic issues.‟ Tilak (1997) has reaffirmed Klees (1984) analysis by asserting that cost recovery measures might not necessarily induce internal efficiency. The issue raised by Tilak (ibid) is that students and households already incur significant costs of education, including direct opportunity costs. It is also argued that in the case of poorer students, fees may compel them to take up part-time work, resulting in less time for their studies. And the resultant is that the overall internal efficiency of education may actually decline instead of increasing, which, from all indications, would not be a desirable effect of the policy. Tilak (ibid) has concluded on an empirical basis that the general case against cost recovery is very strong. Other theoretical and empirical studies have also sought to modify cost recovery and other austerity measures, by advocating strategies to incorporate the social dimensions of economic growth (see Cornia et al, 1987; Engberg et al, 1996; Cornia, 1992; Samoff, 1987,1990). Employing multidisciplinary approaches to assess stated goals As I have indicated earlier, there are dimensions of educational change that must be emphasized in any impact assessment or evaluation of educational programs or a reform process. Principally, the main aim of evaluation is to distinguish a good program from a bad one. Thus, one might state that educational evaluation is essentially the process of critically assessing stated goals from a programmatic perspective. Such efforts are necessary for future decision-making, as well as for improving existing programs and schemes. Hence, the critical distinction between formative and summative evaluation. An evaluation exercise must be comprehensive and must be carried out from a multidisciplinary perspective, to reflect the complexity of the educative process. To do otherwise would be counter-intuitive, to say the least.

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In the case of adjustment loans to carry out educational and other structural reforms, it would be paramount to ensure that a particular amount of resource outlay is having the desired effect. Such an effect must be determined through reflection at the classroom and broader institutional levels. It must also be done by critically assessing a variety of indicators, which at a deeper level is not necessarily tangential to the economic rate of returns to schooling hypotheses as may be emphasized in modern neo-classical economic approaches. These indicators include retention, attrition, improvement of teaching, quality and relevance of school curriculum and level of teacher and community involvement in decision-making. Stakeholder and community involvement in making vital decisions in evaluating learning outcomes are crucial. As a matter of fact, this assumption has formed part of the premises of the neo-liberal perspective (see page 7). There is no evidence in the existing literature to show how a wealth of information could be gleaned from teachers‟ and students‟ self-evaluation. Nor is there any discussion of the role of institutional power in making critical decisions regarding curriculum format, assessment guidelines, the nature and cultural significance of the knowledge to be disseminated, and patterns of resource distribution across geographical and political districts etc. In other words, the politics of educational reform has been de-emphasized. Furthermore, there is no discussion of the cognitive and epistemological underpinnings of using standardized test scores as evaluative tools, or indeed, the role of autonomy and self-direction (4) as guideposts for examining the strengths and weaknesses of distance education programs (Haynes, 1986; Johnston, 1989). A case in point in which such mistakes have been made by authors working under the auspices of the World Bank is in an evaluative report of adult literacy programs in Uganda (see Carr-Hill et al, 2001). In this report, there is no discussion of the validity or construct validity of the test items used to assess learning outcomes. Thus, the validity of the test instrument is accepted on the basis of taken-for-granted assumptions. Because students could not be matched with their groups or instructors, due to the lapse of time and poor data, it was impossible to evaluate the role of process and methodology, which could have enriched understanding of cost-effectiveness at a deeper level. Concluding remarks This essay has reviewed some of the crucial aspects of the discussion about educational reforms in sub-Saharan Africa. While these policy reforms may have reached their high points in the 1980s, and during a considerable part of the 1990s, the discussion about the tenability of these policies must remain unabated. Two main analytical approaches have featured prominently in this discussion. The first analytical approach seeks to substantiate non-market solutions to the problems of resource allocation in the social sector, under the constraints of fiscal retrenchment. The second analytical approach underscores the conceptual and empirical problems of market oriented solutions, in distributing educational benefits in times of economic stress. However, one is inclined to think that the demands for technical and internal efficiency must be accompanied by concerns for equity and social justice. This is what is missing, or at least, tends to be de-emphasized in the neo-liberal case. The quest for social justice and institutional adjustment of education suggest the integration of various strands of social thought. Hence, the discourse must be deepened by the proliferation of rigorous methodologies, which elucidate the

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role of agency and subjectivity in the process of educational change. Reliance on neo-classical economic analysis to gauge the true extent of the impact of structural adjustment led reforms is necessary but not sufficient in elucidating the role of institutional and subjective factors in the process of change. Deepening the discourse requires the proliferation of rigorous methodologies. Such methodologies must draw on classic works in the field, such as those carried out by educational anthropologists and cognitive psychologists (see Dawson, 1967; Horton, 1967; Berry, 1976; Scribner and Cole, 1981; Hvitfeldt, 1986). There must also be attempts to integrate the reflective nature of educational practice, and its significance for evaluation. The end of the 1980s did not mark the epilogue or the final scene in this drama to foster structural change, but rather a transitory and critically contingent phase in an unfolding process of dialogue. One envisages that this process of mutual exchange will continue in order to negotiate difficult paths and fertilize the soil for the growth of new scientific knowledge in this field as we have embarked upon a new century. Currently, educational systems in Africa remain in dire need of reform, and a dose of fresh initiatives to effect the paradigmatic change that is so indispensable to future progress. Educational systems in other parts of the developing world including Asia and Latin America also require a new dimension of change and uninterrupted progress. These assertions could never be further from the truth. The need for educational change in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the developing world is a sentiment-which reaffirms the Jomtien declaration of 1990; that education in the modern age is not a privilege, but a basic human right. Hence, the final and most cherished goal of educational change and progress should be to empower ordinary citizens to take action to reorder their societies for the better as has been suggested in the epigraph to this article. Notes 1) Structural Adjustment loans (SALs) began to be provided to debtor countries in the developing world during the early 1980s. The main objective of these loans was to rescue banks in developed countries that had become overextended in the Third World during the 1970s. The longer-term objective of these loans was to further integrate developing nations into the orbit of the northern dominated world economy (see Bello, http://www.converge.org.nz) 2) The model of technical rationality suggests instrumental problem solving made rigorous by the application of scientific theory and technique. This reliance on linear models of thinking and problem solving, as has been manifested in the orthodox and neo-liberal approaches to educational evaluation, often eliminates the scope and vital role of agency in the educative process. Donald Schon has advocated replacing the deficiencies in the epistemology of technical rationality by what he calls “Reflection-in-Action‟. In this model of problem solving, the practitioner or learner is not dependent on the categories of established theory and technique, but constructs a new theory of a unique case in the process of investigating social phenomena (see Tomkinson, 2002).

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3) Conditions usually attached to structural Adjustment Loans (SALs) to developing countries included financial deregulation and privatization, the removal of tariffs and other restrictions on imports, export promotion, drastic reduction in government spending etc. see Bello, http://www.converge.org.nz). 4) Self-directed learning is a crucial theoretical construct distinguishing adult education from other pedagogical approaches as a field of study. Garrison has proposed a selfdirected learning concept that integrates self-management such as contextual control, self-monitoring and motivational dimensions etc. ( see Garrison 1997, p.18-33). References Albrecht, D and Ziderman, A (1993) Student Loans: An effective instrument for cost recovery in higher education? The World Bank Research observer, Vol.8.No.8, 71-93 Bello, W. Structural Adjustment Programs: “Success” For Whom? Available at: http://www.converge.org.nz/prim/structur.htm. Berry, J.W. (1976) Human ecology and cognitive style. New York: Wiley and Sons Bray, M and Lillis, K (eds)(1988) Community Financing of Education: Issues and Policy Implications in Less Developed Countries, Oxford: Pergamon Press Colclough, C (1990) Raising additional resources for education in developing countries: Are graduate payroll taxes superior to student loans? International Journal of Educational Development, Vol.24, No.2-3, 169-180 Coclough, C(ed) (1997) Marketing education and health in developing countries, Oxford: Clarendon Press Cornea, G.A at al (1987) Adjustment with a human face: Protecting the vulnerable and promoting growth, Oxford: Clarendon House Carr-Hill, R.A (ed)(2001) Adult literacy programs in Uganda, The World Bank, First printing Dawson, J.L.M (1967) Cultural and physiological influences upon spatial-perceptual processes in West Africa, Part I. International Journal of Psychology, 2,115-128 Engberg-Pedersen et al(eds)(1996) Limits of adjustment in Africa : The effects of economic liberalization, 1986-1994 Gerard, L et al(1998) Expansion of private secondary education:Experience and prospects in Tanzania, Development Research Group, The World Bank Grooteart, C (1994) Education, poverty, and structural change in Africa: Lessons from Cote D‟Ivore, International Journal of Education development, Vol.14, No.2, 131-142 Haynes (1980) Curriculum, Democracy, and Evaluation, Teachers College Record, Vol.88, No.1 Hinchliff, K (1989-90) Economic austerity, structural adjustment and education: The case of Nigeria, IDS Bulletin, and Vols. 20-21 Horton, R. (1967) African traditional thought and western science. Africa, 37,157-187 Hvitfeldt,C.(1986) Traditional culture, perceptual style, and learning: The classroom behavior of Hmong adults, Adult Education Quarterly,36,65-77 Jimenez, E (1986) The public subsidization have educational and health in developing countries: A review of equity and efficiency, The World Bank Research Observer, Vol.1, No.1 Jimenez, E et al (1991) The relative efficiency of private and public schools in developing countries, The World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 6, No.2, 205-218 72

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Johnson, T (2003) Fostering transformative learning and social action in Liberia: New Perspectives for the 21st Century. An unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Lacrosse University, USA. Johnston, P (1989) Constructive and evaluation and the improvement of teaching and learning, Teachers College Record, Vol.90, No.4. Klees, S (1984) The need for a political economy of education: A response to Thobani, Comparative Education Review, Vol.28, and No.3 Lavy, V (1992) School supply constraints and children‟s educational outcomes in rural Ghana, Journal of development economics, Vol.51, 291-314 McMahon, W (1988) Potential resource recovery in higher education in the developing countries and the parent‟s expected contribution, Economics of Education Review, Vol.7, No.1, 135-152 Mettetal, G (2001) the what, why and how of classroom action research, Vol.2, No.1 Mingat, A and Tan, J(1986) Expanding education through user charges: What can be achieved in Malawi and other LCDs? Economics of Education Review, Vol.5,No.3 Mosley, P., Harrigan, J and Toye, J (1991) Aid and power: The World Bank and policy-based lending, Vol, 1, London: Routledge Ogbu, J (1981) “Black education: A cultural-ecological perspective. “In Black Families edited by H.P. McAdoo Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage Publication Pscharopoulos, G(1977) The perverse effects of public subsidization of education or how equitable is free education? Comparative Education Review, Vol.21,No.1 Reimers, F(1994) Education and structural adjustment in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, International Journal of Educational Development, Vol.14,No.2,119-129 Rodrik, D (1990) How should structural adjustment programs be designed? World Development, Vol.18, No.7, 933-947 Sahn, D(1992) Public expenditures in sub-Saharan Africa during a period of economic reforms, World Development , Vol.20,No.5, 673-693 Samoff, J (1987) School expansion in Tanzania: Private initiatives and public policy, Comparative Education Review, Vol.31, No.3 Samoff J (1990) The politics of privatization in Tanzania, International of education and development, Vol.10, No.1, 1-15 Soros, G (1998) The crisis of global capitalism: Open society endangered, Great Britain: Little Brown and Company Talik,J.B.G (1997) Lessons from cost recovery in education in Colclough, C (ed) Marketing educational and health in developing countries, Oxford: Clarendon Press Tomkinson, B (2002) Teaching science and engineering in English program: A reflective approach to teaching and learning, UMIST Teaching and Learning Support Center World Bank (1986) Financing education in developing countries: An exploration of policy options ------------------(1988) Education in sub-Saharan Africa, Washington DC.

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Women and National Development: The Nigerian Experience Andrew F. Uduigwomen Godfrey O. Ozumba University of Calabar Abstract According to Ucheaga (1999), when Aristotle declared in his Politics that men were more intelligent than and superior to women, and that it was the natural function of the men to rule while the women should be subordinate, little did he know that he was laying a philosophical foundation for a male chauvinistic society that has wrought tremendous damage to the development potentials of women. In recent times, however, women world over have come into positive focus probably because of the realization of what the world could have been missing by not involving them more positively. The position of women indeed constitutes one of the indices of progress and development in any given society. Thus, women are a potent tool for positive change and development in any society, depending on how they are treated and the opportunities given to them to actualize their latent potentialities. In spite of the constraints imposed on them by harmful traditions and customs, the centrality of women to national development cannot be overemphasized. The declaration in 1975 by the United Nations Organization as the International Year for Women and 1976 - 1985 as the decade for women are the noble contribution of the organization towards the emancipation of women. This paper argues that in spite of the misconceptions arising from cultural and religious biases as to the role of Nigerian women to national development, a study of Nigerian history reveals a catalogue of achievements by Nigerian women in all sectors of our national life. It is the contention of this paper that, if the 1991 provisional census in Nigeria which shows that women constitute about half of the total population of Nigeria is anything to go by, it therefore means that half of Nigeria‟s population do not really count in development process. The paper therefore opines that Nigeria‟s development will be incomplete if women are excluded from active participation in development process in full collaboration with their male counterparts. What is National Development? The concept of national development is a composite of two words „national‟ and „development.‟ „National‟ is an adjective of the noun word „nation,‟ which means pertaining to a nation, public, attached to one‟s own country. Whereas nation stands for a body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same government (Patterson, 1990). Development simply means the act or process of developing, expansion or growth. Development has been seen as being closely related in meaning to growth. Amao-Kehinde (2000) thinks differently. He says that the main difference between growth and development lies in the fact that while growth does not follow a particular sequence, development follows a directional pattern. The truth is that while growth connotes development, development equally implies some form of growth which is more difficult to measure except through the indices of growth. Growth is more or less quantitative while development is qualitative and multifaceted. Little wonder Goldthorpe (1975) declares that,

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The very term development and its derivatives need be handled with caution... It is misleading in so far as it suggests that what is at stake is something quantitative... Ultimately, what is at stake is something qualitative, a transition between two fundamentally different forms of life. This is perhaps why some economists themselves find development an elusive concept, and they tend to refer to it as conditions or processes which lie in the realm of psychology or sociology rather than economics. It is seen to consist in the transformation of a tradition - or authoritybound society into a modern, innovating, experimenting, progressing one. It is seen as belonging to mental, social, economic, political and technological categories. Economists have defined development in terms of Gross National Product. This has been discountenanced. W. W. Rostow in his famous definition of development saw it as involving five stages namely, the transition from the traditional society, the pre-conditions for take-off, the take-off, the drive to maturity and the age of high mass consumption (Goldthorpe, 1975). Some others have seen development as the lavish use of energy as we have in the use of machines, heat engines in industrial societies. Udo Etuk (1998) sees the word „development‟ as a neutral concept with respect to its connotations. He however avers that when development is used today, especially in political and economic discourses, it generally signals a change from a less desirable to a more desirable condition. He opts for the conception of development as including several indices including the per capita income of the population, the economic growth rate, the level of life expectancy, the level of school enrolment, the level of industrial production measured against primary production and the range of commodities produced by a people both for internal consumption and for export. This means that for a nation to be said to have attained a state of development, it must be characterised by economic productivity, high standards of living, technological advancement, stable political order, the presence of basic human needs such as food, clothing and shelter, high levels of literacy and education. For Walter Rodney a society develops economically as its members increase jointly their capacity for dealing with the environment. This capacity is dependent on the extent to which they put that understanding into practice by devising tools, and on the manner in which work is organized (Rodney cited in Ucheaga, 1999). Ucheaga (1999) stresses that full-fledged development can only be fully realised through free and composite participation of the males and females. For her a more realistic way of assessing development is from its humanity and humaneness. That is, from the point of the general welfare of human beings. This will include meeting the basic needs of members of a nation and rising above the level of mere subsistence. National development therefore implies the aggregate appropriation of all the afore-mentioned indices of development in more purposeful, integrated, sustained and result-oriented way in order to achieve the highest possible level of living for the members or citizens of a nation. Nigeria as

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a nation is still very far from achieving this level of living for the mass of her people. The great majority of urban and rural dwellers are still very poor, lacking the basic necessities of life and are partially or fully disconnected from the use, enjoyment or operation of modern technological facilities which enhance the quality of life. Many have no access to internet facilities, computers, cellphones, etc. These expectations may be seen as luxuries where the basic needs like portable water, good road network, constant electricity supply, good and reliable transport system, accommodation, food and education are still distant objects of enjoyment for the majority of our people. Since development is seen as the process whereby an economy undergoes social and economic transformations which are geared towards an improvement in the quality of life of citizens, all the strata of the population should be mobilized for the achievement of this ideal. Women should indeed be incorporated into national development so that the best form of development can be achieved with men and women as stakeholders (Osuman, 89). The Status of Nigerian Women: Past and Present The status of Nigerian women in the past, to say the least, has been anything but glorious. Women in the past were neglected, discriminated against and inferiorized. As Hassan Kakah (2000) has pointed out, even in the best of times, the conditions of women have always been a cause of worry and concern throughout history. He goes further to assert that despite their overwhelming numerical strength, in spite of serving as the anvils of labour and productivity, these strengths have never translated into real power for women in society. When we talk of the past we must cast our minds down memory lane to the historically reconstructible past. Women appear to have all along lived under the subjection of men. The history of Nigerian past has been that of a male dominated society. But it does seem as if in the past, in spite of the domination of the men, there seems to have been a tacit, unwritten agreement as to the different roles men and women should play. Women seemed not to have bothered about the social structure and their place in it. As Gloria Chukukere (1997) opines, African (Nigerian) women in her tribal past had, in addition to her revered roles of wife and mother, well defined social and political functions within the society. This is suggested to be the reason why she has not reached out for emancipation in the militant or aggressive manner of her European counterpart. The woman in traditional Nigerian society served as home administrators. Her duties included cooking, feeding the family members and keeping the family tidy. Economically, the traditional Nigerian woman contributed to her family budget. In agriculture, she weeded and tended the crops, often growing vegetables and fruits. In politics, women in their corporate feminine groups served as opinion moulders or as pressure groups to influence political actions in certain directions. Morally, they could through joint effort fight against injustice. However, the condition of Nigerian women in the Northern part of the country was more humiliating and undeserving. As Malama Hassu Iro Kaita (1972) has revealed, in the past,

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Northern women were excluded from Western education. The result was early marriages and unquantifiable degradation and depreciation of their human worth. They were mere appendages and child-producing machines in their cultural enclosures (purdah). Women were only seen but not heard and suffered total disenfranchisement. It is, however, interesting to note that with the taking root of Western education in all parts of Nigeria, there have been frantic efforts at redeeming the women-folk from their state of serfdom and incommunicado. Women‟s liberation, enlightenment and educational movements have arisen, championing the cause of women‟s emancipation in Nigeria. Today, we can boast of women as featuring in almost all areas of human endeavour. Women have distinguished themselves in managerial, administrative, political, academic, legal, medical, engineering, teaching and many other professions. Women seem to be gradually asserting themselves and taking their place in national development. The Role of Nigerian Women in National Development Women in Nigeria have come a long way and have continually asserted themselves in the following areas of economics, social development, politics, and in managerial and professional areas. 1.

Women and Economic Development

The 1976 - 1985 declaration by the United Nations as the decade for women and genuine efforts aimed at making them to have a sense of belonging opened the way for actualization of the creative genius of women. This has positively influenced the presence of Nigerian women in international fora such as the 1985 Nairobi World Conference, which actually marked the end of the decade for women. The conference afforded Nigerian women to participate in signing the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This marked the removal of all obstacles that retard women‟s participation in national development. Back home in Nigeria, women in development got a boost by the establishment of the Better Life for Rural Women Development (later renamed Better Life for Rural Dwellers as a result of criticism) in 1987 by the then First Lady, Mrs. Maryam Babangida. In line with the global trend on women development, the Better Life programme focused attention mainly on rural women. One major achievement of this programme was that it led to the establishment of the National Commission for Women by Decree 30 of 1989 which was later replaced by Decree 42 of 1992. Whatever the weakness of the programme, it is on record that it gained international recognition especially when Mrs. Babangida received the Hunger Price award in 1991. In her speech at the award, Mrs. Babangida stated that the programme was aimed at producing the new woman, who is sufficiently equipped to respond to the challenges of finding fulfilment in life (Kukah, 2000). Unfortunately, the programme got drowned when it was hijacked by the elite. In 1994, following the United Nation‟s declaration of International Year of the Family, occasioned by the global economic and social upheaval, the then First Lady Mrs. Maryam Sani Abacha, established the Family Support Programme and later Family Economic Advancement Programme. The Programme embraced both the rural and urban dwellers and its benefits

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extended to the men and indeed the whole family. This was based on the understanding that the welfare of every human being, his actions and dispositions are tied up with that of his family and kinship. In essence the Family Support Programme was unique compared to past programmes because it addressed local needs and realities of our time and placed the family on the right pedestal for effective role in national development. Moreso that its aim was the emancipation of families, particularly women, from the grip of poverty, disease, ignorance and servitude (Oruche, 2004). It must be stated that the position of the Nigerian women has been elevated through the leadership role of these First Ladies and the establishment of these lofty programmes. Consequently, Nigerian women were in Beijing, China and later in Nigeria for the African First Ladies‟ Summit. Apart from the women who have been empowered by the benefit of formal education, there are the unknown heroines who populate the rural areas and whose economic activities are vital to the survival of Nigeria as a nation. The rural women are actively engaged in farming, food processing, weaving petty trading, pottery, etc. Nigerian rural women are credited with being strong, industrious and enterprising. Although they constitute a force to be reckoned with in the economic development of the country, nevertheless, socio-cultural and educational constraints have contributed to their being marginalised in the economic development process of the country. But Nigeria could not hope to develop economically when half of its population has been hindered from contributing its quota on account of gender. In the area of agriculture, Nigerian rural women produce, process and market a large proportion of the food produced in the country, but the land tenure laws in some areas of the country have prevented them from acquiring and owning land. Women‟s production level in agriculture has been on the decline because of their use of obsolete farming methods and tools. Consequently, they are forced to engage in back-breaking labour to be able to produce enough food to feed their families and store as excess. As if to further compound their woes, banking practices make it a bit difficult for them to obtain loans on their own cognizance (Euler-Ajayi, 1989). Their counterparts in the urban economic front are mostly engaged as self-employed seamstresses, petty traders, contractors, hairdressers, food hawkers, etc. These women, especially the petty traders perform a distributive function by aiding in the distribution of commodities from one location to another. Some of the women have become sole breadwinners for their family as a result of the economic bastardization which has made their husbands to lose their jobs. Thus, the women are playing a significant role in the economic development of Nigeria. 2.

Women and Social Development

As mothers, women have continued to play a great role in the socialisation process. Apart from nurturing the young ones who are the future leaders of the nation, they also help to pass community‟s values to them. Even before the arrival of the whiteman with his mission to civilize the natives, women had devised various cures for ailments that affected their young ones such as fever, dysentery and cough. Though they lacked training in Medicine and Home Economics, they had knowledge of roots and herbs that could effect cure and knew the

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importance of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, oils and fats in the nutrition of the family. They employed roots and herbs and breastfeeding as a means of family planning. Known or unknown to them, they did their utmost best to ensure better health for themselves and their families. However, these have not been adequate as available statistical data on infant mortality and maternal deaths show an upward trend despite government‟s programmes aimed at reducing these (Euler-Ajayi, 1989). But this is no time for Nigerian women to sit and count their woes, but rather they should rise up and face the challenges. On the part of the government, something must be done to ensure that women and children are not marginalised as they constitute the nation‟s greatest human resources. We must commend the country‟s First Ladies whose programmes have touched the lives of women and children. Presently, we have the Childcare Trust of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, the Campaign Against Women Trafficking and Child Labour by the wife of the Vice-President Mrs. Titi Atiku Abubakar, and so many others by wives of state governors. These programmes have no doubt elevated the position of women in Nigeria. Theirs is no longer a struggle for emancipation or recognition but for an opportunity to manifest their ingenuity and, thus, contribute to nation building (Eruche, 2004). 3.

Women and Political Development

Little as it may be, women in Nigeria like other developing countries, have for a long time successfully participated in politics. Worthy of mention here are such names as Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Hajiya Gambo, Ebun Oyegbola, Iyabo Anishulowo, Franca Afegbua, Cecilia Ekpenyong, Bucknor-Akerele, Sarah Jibril, Florence Ita-Giwa, and a host of other political heroines. The Nigerian Constitution guarantees every citizen the rights to vote and be voted for, irrespective of birth, sex, religion, ethnic group, etc. Section 15(2) of the 1999 Constitution states that “discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, circumstances of birth, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association shall be prohibited.” We must commend the efforts of President Olusegun Obasanjo and some State Governors in giving women opportunities to serve as honourable ministers, special advisers, commissioners, board members, chief justices and speakers of State Houses of Assembly. Today, women in their various positions have made commendable impacts. This has gone a long way to confirm the saying that „what a man can do, a woman can do perhaps even better.‟ It is, however, sad to say that Nigerian women still suffer discrimination in the area of politics partly because of socio-cultural and religious constraints which condition them to think that politics is a no-go area for them. Some male chauvinists confine their wives to their homes and refuse to permit them to participate actively in public life. Politics requires time. A woman who is bugged down by domestic activities cannot hope to pursue a successful career in politics. Women are also to blame for their non-involvement in politics. Some women have negative attitude towards politics. They regard it as a dirty game that should be avoided like the plague. If their interest is to be protected, and as citizens on an equal footing with the men, it is their civic and political responsibility to actively participate in politics.

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4.

Women in Managerial and Professional Development

In Nigeria as well as other developing countries of the world, women who have had opportunity to lead and are still leading in various establishments have not been seen to perform below their male counterparts. Today, a great percentage of women in Nigeria have risen against all odds to the peak of their chosen professions and careers. Many of them are teachers, doctors, engineers, pilots, justices, economists, accountants, bankers, lawyers, vice-chancellors, etc. In short, quite a number of women have made their marks in both public and private sectors of the economy. Although the number of women occupying managerial positions or exercising decision-making powers is still grossly inadequate, nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction. Women must not give up. They can do better if given adequate preparation. Conclusion Given the important place of women in the survival of any nation, Nigeria‟s development will be incomplete without the active participation of women alongside their male counterparts. Women‟s great potentials cannot be properly tapped and harnessed for the common good of the country except the traditions and customs that relegate them to the background are completely removed. Plato had recommended in his Republic the removal of all occupational restrictions based on sex. To quote him, There is therefore, no administrative occupation which is peculiar to women as men or man as man; natural capacities are similarly distributed in each sex and it is natural for women to take part in all occupations as well as men...(Quoted in Ucheaga, 1999) Here Plato was advocating the integration of the male and female in the development process. This integration can only be achieved in Nigeria if certain assumptions and beliefs that place the men above the women are done away with. Evidences abound all over the world that prove that „what a man can do, a woman can perhaps even do better.‟ The Nigerian political system should as a matter of urgency work out a more equitable means of harmonizing the diverse talents and energies of its womenfolk. Low level of education, male prejudices, retrogressive traditions and practices and various complexes will continue to influence the ways both men and women perceive their roles. Given the fact men have benefited greatly from these skewed arrangements which have been further boosted by colonialism, religion and tradition, they will not let off the hook easily. Government on its part should put in place institutions and structures that enhance capacity building such as access to education and access to economic empowerment. We contend that women‟s issues are better resolved in a political structure that provides a level playing field and ensures justice for all. Collaboration, partnership, interdependence and complementarity of men and women are the only means for full and accelerated national development.

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References Adaralegbe, A. (1972). “Introduction to the Papers on Education of Women,” in Adaralegbe, A. (ed). A Philosophy for Nigerian Education. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. Amao-Kehinde, A. O. (2000). A Course Text on Human Development and Learning. Lagos: Obaroh and Ogbinaka Publishers Ltd. Chukukere, G. (1995). Gender Voices and Choices: Redefining Women in Contemporary African Fiction. Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing Company Ltd. Etuk, U. (1998). “Ethical Conditions of Human Development in Twenty First Century Africa,” in Oladipo, O. Remaking Africa: Challenges of the Twenty First Century. Ibadan: Hope Publications. Euler-Ajayi, O. (1989). “Training Women: A Reflection on the Nigerian Experience,” in Education Today, Vol. 3, No. 1. GoldThorpe, J. E. (1975). The Sociology of the Third World: Disparity and Involvement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jibowu, D. (1972). “Education of Women,” in Adaralegbe, A. (ed). A Philosophy of Nigerian Education. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. Kaita, M. H. I. (1972). “Women‟s Education in Nigeria,” in Adaralegbe, A. (ed). A Philosophy of Nigerian Education. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. Kukah, M. H. (2000). Democracy and Civil Society. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Ltd. Oruche, J. O. (May 12, 2004). “Women and National Development,” in Vanguard Newspaper. Oshita, O. O. (1999). “Philosophy of Education and National Development,” in Uduigwomen, A. F. and Ogbinaka, O. (ed). Philosophy and Education. Lagos: Obaroh and Ogbinaka Publishers Ltd. Osuman, G. I. (1997). The Education of Women in Developing Countries. Makurdi: Osuman and Co. Nigeria. Patterson, R. F. (1990). Concise English Dictionary. London: Tophi Books. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ucheaga, D. N. (1999). “The Centrality of Women to Development in Nigeria,” in Ozumba, G. O. et al (ed). Nigeria: Citizenship Education. Aba: Vitalis Books.

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