Gender Bias in Education Rights in the World - Research Proposal Example

Proposed study Gender bias in education rights in the world; the impact of educating the Boy child at the expense of the Girl child in this age and time. Current studies on this topic today 1. Schools mainly for female students in Bangkok 2. What does feminity impact on a girl’s educational credentials in Australia 3. Why is their Gender inequality in access to Education in Rwanda 4. Policies for gender equality in education standards in Bangkok 5. The impact of Girl child education in Africa A Brief Review of Research Methods and Research Processes used by these studies As much as the research on The Girl child’s education in Africa is growing day by day researchers need to know that the scope of their findings differ in relation to remoteness as well as culture of people in the locality they are doing their research. Some research papers were very narrow in scope while others tend to generalize issues yet the boy child is also affected in this age and times due to reasons such as being orphaned at an early stage and the need to fend for the rest of their siblings. Thus as more studies are being conducted about the girl child the boy child remains an endangered species. (Chattopadhay, 2007) Its true that girls from abject poverty are more venerable to being denied basic education in Africa but those from a different environment are given all the support they need. It’s therefore prudent not to generalize all girls in Africa as being denied the right to a good education. Therefore because of the wide scope and the diversity involved in such a study it’s always prudent to come up with lead questions that will enable you to conduct this research without any bias. (Punch, 1998:p155) Strengths and Weaknesses of each individual study in Research Methods and Research Processes The study on Schools mainly for female students in Bangkok had the following Strengths The research focused on particular communities and avoided making wide scope assumptions that have characterized various studies in the past. This enabled them to come up with factual findings. By coming up with factual evidence this enables policy makers in this case the government and other development partners to come up with tangible goals that will leave an impact on the targeted communities rather than coming up with another study that may not be factual as such. This particular study also came out strongly to make it clear that all the genders are venerable since their learning environments are the same and only the attitudes of their communities and parents should be changed to enhance education in their locality. The study on Schools mainly for female students in Bangkok had the following weaknesses It made assumptions that are made collaterally to include a whole system when it’s only a locality that had been researched in a whole region. While its findings were meant for a particular environment it advocated for the same to be implemented elsewhere yet the condition on the ground was not the same. This is because the living conditions of girls and there families differ from community to community. The study on what does feminity impact on a girl’s educational credentials in Australia had Weaknesses as outlined below It had lots of generalizations; this is because many studies on girl child education had been conducted before and this was just but a build up on what was on the ground. Yet the Woman in this study wasn’t telling her story but that of the previous generation. Because of this it thus holds no place in social science. (Reinharz, 1992). The study on what does feminity impact on a girl’s educational credentials in Australia had Strengths as outlined below The case study was particular in nature for it focused on one locality that of Western Australia and brought out the cultural effects on the girl child education in that part of the country. In addition to that the fact that this particular study acknowledges the limitations of experience on girls in education as well as on historical grounds as a result of subjective and recalls filtering is a plus in itself. The study on Why is their Gender inequality in access to Education in Rwanda had the following Weaknesses The study was based on national grid figures and thus tended to be general rather than particular thus not providing the rationale for localized factual findings. If there would have been some personal interviews with both teachers and girls at the grass roots level in a particular location in addition to the documented study they have this would have provided richer information that could stand the test of time. While calling for affirmative action on the girl child education was a step in the right direction calling for all girls with some grades below the cutoff mark to be considered for a place in tertiary institutions was a little based misplaces since some girls in towns have a serene learning environment and even beat boys in the same exams. Thus the importance of being particular about a certain locality. The study on why is their Gender inequality in access to Education in Rwanda had the following Strengths This study was conducted on ethical grounds since all the concerned parties were informed on what questions they were expected to answer and given time to consent to this before the study was conducted. This is because the data being derived from them was about them for their own good. The use of pie charts, graphs and tables to showcase information retrieved from the national grid was not only authentic but also gives the reader information at their fingertips without necessarily having to read through the text. The study on Policies for gender equality in education standards in Bangkok had strengths as outlined below This study was emphatic and particular thus enabling the readers to get factual information without necessarily asking from a third party. There was no generalization of facts and as a result the study’s findings can be implemented in a particular area without necessarily jeopardizing the budget allocations of another location that could be more or less severe depending with facts on the ground. The study on Policies for gender equality in education standards in Bangkok had Weaknesses as outlined below This research did not meet the threshold of being referred as ethical since the interviews carried out are not documented and if any we don’t know if they followed the required procedures. The study on the impact of Girl child education in Africa had the following strengths The use of Tabulated information from authentic organizations over a period of time on the disparities in gender performance in Education gave this study a plus. By making use of percentages and pie charts to show the differences in the boy and girl performances in the education sector the study enables one to get the differences at a glance rather than going through the whole text. The study on the impact of Girl child education in Africa had the following weaknesses The generalization of information rather than giving names of particular communities or locations where the study was conducted was very rampant making the findings not factual. This is because a girl in a big town like Lagos with all the social amenities and a rich background has everything to help her fulfill her dreams in education unlike one in remote parts of Kano plains from a poor background. The Insight I get on these studies Am inspired that as a result of these studies most countries have now implemented free primary education in order to ensure that the United Nations statute of universal Basic education to all is met. Title of Proposed Research Study Gender bias in education rights in the world; the impact of educating the boy child at the expense of the girl child today. Purpose of the Research Study The globe is a verse with various technological advancements and while all countries continue to make strides in their socio-economic sectors with adverse improvements in their respective education sectors. The education of the girl child in some countries particularly the third world counties still remains a pipe dream. As a matter of fact its these advancements in science that even widen the gap of gender bias in accessing Education. The purpose of this study is to address these concerns and come up with amicable self driven solutions to help the Girl child access not only basic education that is of universal suffrage but tertiary education as well. Research Paradaghim An overriding objective of the research at hand will mainly address gender biases concerning education that demean the girl child and come up with Affirmative action to solve this situation. Because of this I choose to use a qualitative approach rather than a quantitative one. This is because this approach will entail the use of interdisciplinary manuscripts where ill be needed to not only analyze but read data on this subject as well. (Usher et al., 1997).The design used here is interpretative since the researcher is not a neutral, authoritative observer but person on the ground locally and historically conducting interviews. (Denzin, 1994). Why a Qualitative Approach is Appropriate In this interpretative framework other paradigm used to read and interpret data that has lots of narrative and vocal accounts are social semiotics, discourse analysis and inductive analysis. (Miles and Hubermann: 1984)This interpretive approach is the best to dig into a topic as wide as gender bias in education circles since there are diverse attitudinal and emotive answers to this topic due to cultural diversity. (Patton, 1990:14).Because this methodology will seek to interpret answers from current and previous generations of girls in schools the interpretive mode is the best since it’s multitasking in nature. The adoption of a qualitative approach will enable me to visualize how phenomena on this complex issue are digested from different perspectives across the same events. This approach will enable me to comprehend other peoples understanding of the complex concepts in this study. The perspective here is how particular individuals comprehend their surrounding environment and subsequently how they finally react on their preconceived notions. My main area of concern would be to reveal the meaning obstructed by empirical observations. Description of the Research Methods ill use to conduct my research study and Why They are Appropriate Data Collection from documents and Artifacts Ill embark on collecting data on various projects that have ever been done on this study this includes books, reports from workshops and conferences, government documents, newsletters and even news items on this matter as documented in various newspapers. The analyzing of these documents will be done concurrently with interviews to provide a basis of digesting historical case studies on generations that have gone by and building strong basis on it to face the current challenges. It’s important to make a thin line between documents and artifacts. While documents such as reports and bulletins are intentionally, made for this study.Artefacts may be neutral and none relative to the study for they are made for a different purpose. Though they become important to the study since they are independent and have been generated without any regard to the study. These include; uniforms, report cards and even gifts. Participants and Recruits I will embark on recruiting participants on this study from both urban and remote areas so as to get the different views on how the girl child’s education is affected in these two different environments. I will also seek to recruit parents and teachers from both the rural areas as well as the urban areas to hear from them the different challenges they face in educating a girl child in these two different settings. Through this approach a story from diverse generations and from different perspectives will be the final output thus resulting to formation of attitudes and characters that have the foundation of a live performance. (Reinharz, 1992:44).Il rely on previous data done on this study to find interviewees who are rich in information and would seek to let them give me leads on potentially good sources. The Carrying out of Interviews Six months will be enough time to meet all the participants and interview them. This time span will enable me to make various trips both to the recruits’ school and homes in the rural and urban settings.Il divide the interviews between group interviews for scanty details and individual interviews where ill seek to fact find greater details. By use of a cassette recorder ill seek the consent of all the participants to record these interviews for recording purposes. Since the function of these interviews is to get the root course of failed expectations as concerns the girl Childs education. It’s possible to provide a premise of a rich interview that gets off the surface talk and moves deeper to a dynamic discussion that is full of thoughts and ideas. (Maykut 1994, p80.) Background Information for this Study Improving the girl child’s access to not just basic education but even tertiary education is a step in the right direction in this age and times in order to attain gender equality. It’s crucial that this is done in order to foresee the reality of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) rather than see them become a mirage not only in Africa but in the whole world. Educating women and the girl child goes into the pipeline to reduce a number of detriments to their own developments which have been caused by illetracy.These include poverty, high mother to child mortality rates and high birth rates. Education will increase the capacity to have good health standards since the women’s human rights will be highly promoted and this rejuvenates their fight for better living standards increasingly linking them to better opportunities. Educating the girl child is also an important weapon in the gallant fight against HIV/AIDS Spread rates in the world. As much as the importance of educating the girl child has been recognized and appreciated efforts to do so are still being stifled by cultural and societal norms that have resulted in the retention of the status quo in many communities in the world today which see the girl as a tool of bringing wealth through marriage and thus don’t bother to invest much in them as they see this as a waste of resources. While provision of an enabling environment for access to basic education in many countries is one thing getting the girls top school is completely a different thing altogether. Many nations have the infrastructure, the resources and the capacity to fight illiteracy and provide education to all genders without bias but cultural and societal norms are still a stumbling block to ensuring equality in gender education. Its for this reason that I embark on this study to get insights that will provide a lasting solution to this debacle. Sample Queries 1. What is the role of your parents in your plight? 2. Have you reported this matter to the authorities? 3. If given a chance to go to school now would you take it? 4. Can you find the main cultures and norms that hinder girls from going to school in your community? 5. What were your teachers’ approaches towards your plight? 6. Did your mother and sisters go through the same plight? 7. What did you want to become after finishing school? Data Analysis Interviews Initial; while conducting the interviews ill concentrate on getting any differences to answers to the main question.Il also want to see the similarities in their narration.Il l also provide a platform for the participants to read their data in a subsequent interview so as to enable another participants to comment and ask questions. This allows the impetus to classify the participants as multicoated narrators. (Quartz, 1992a, p.190).The interactions will forgo any personal opinions about the subject topic to allow the integration of differences in opinion to the project’s main text. Miles and Hubbermen approach that is consistence with interpretive paradigm would apply in this context because it offers a systematic process of collecting, arranging and analyzing data. Against all the pieces of data initially collected ill have to put names and tags to identify them the process of placing these descriptive codes will enable me have a feel for the data. It’s very crucial to directly record new ideas as they unfold. Glaser (1978:83). This is emphasized by punch who states that it’s better to stop coding as soon as a new idea unfolds in order to record it. (Punch, 1998:207). The next stage of Data analysis will now involve developing proposals from the comparative and conclusive process. This is done to convert what has been gotten into ready digestible material i.e. convert the data into information. This abstracting and comparison tool is the most important in the whole process. The commonality in such kind of Analysis derives from it continuously dwelling on emergent advanced level ideas while putting together more data at tangible level. So that making comparisons at the first abstraction level will result into fact finding more levels of abstraction in the data. Documents Documents are real and factual for they are produced for a certain context. Right from the word go the girl child was treated with care and told to avoid conduct with men and in cases where they went to school they had to be protected by there elder brothers. Report documents show that as soon as the elder brother cleared school they also ceased to go to school due to fear of being abused. The most crucial question in using documents is what readers need to know in order to verify that they are factual. (Punch, 1998:231-232) Ethical Issues and My strategies of dealing with them i.e. my Ethical approval arrangements This study will ensure that all interviews meet the set out protocols for carrying out interviews where all participants will be informed through letter and all questions will be asked after they have consented to participate in the study through appending their signatures. After giving them all information concerning the study and the reasons why they have been chosen through a cover letter their privacy and anonymity will be guaranteed. This is because al kinds of community studies have ethical issues since they entail consent and access to data from people about people. (Punch, 2000) All archival information and documents from schools and other sources will be used with utmost care and the various sources will be guaranteed good care of their materials. The Strengths and Weaknesses of My study The weakness of my study comes from the fact that case studies hold no place at all in the history of social science (Reinharz, 1992).As much as most critics would classify my study to be very general. I draw my strengths from the resourceful remarks of Punch who declares that well researched projects particularly where we don’t have any clue due to remoteness of the case at hand have a crucial role to play (Punch, 1998:155). This study also accepts the fact that some people may have forgotten exactly what took place in the past especially for women who went through this plight silently but have now made it in life thanks to the intervention of the government and various NGOs.However its very much possible to record the actual plight of a girl who has been denied education at the expense of her brother so that she may be married off to bring wealth to the family. An assortment of classified interviews with both parents and teachers of the girl child in addition to having one with the girl child will provide a rich source of data that will enable one to interpret it in regard to studies that have been done before about this subject matter. A brief Estimation of the Budget, Working Hours, Required Time Span and Other Recourses needed For My study To carry out my study comfortably ill need 5 working hours for each day of the study, and a time span of six months to finish the study.Inaddition ill need the following in my budget; Tapes; $100 Traveling: $1200 Photocopying; $350 Research Timetable 2012January; Permission to government press attempt to find out factual records of any documentation on my study. February; conduct my initial interviews and fact find on getting more interviewees March: Conduct my second set of interviews after transcribing data while revising the first three chapters i.e. Rational, Research methods and design and the literature review April: Complete doing my transcriptions and start drafting the analysis chapter May: Identify coding and look for themes in addition to drafting and revising theory and implication chapters June: Prepare for submission as I revise theory and Data analysis chapters. References: Chattopadhay T (2007) Single sex schools for Girls and Gender equality in Education, UNESCO Bangkok. Accesedon14thMay2011at;http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/127_128/AdvocacyBrief_Single_Sex_Schools.pdf Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. As found at; www.personal.psu.edu/wxh139/Quality.htm on 15th May 2011 Maykut, P. and Morehouse, R. (1994) Beginning Qualitative Research, A Philosophic and Practical Guide, London: Falmer.As found at; www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-4/jones.html on 16th May 2011 Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M. (1984) Qualitative Data Analysis, London: Sage Publications. As found at: www.criticalmethods.org/qbib.htm Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. 2nd edn, Newbury Park, CA: Sage. As found at: toolkit.pellinstitute.org/references On 15th May 2011 Punch, K. (1998) Introduction to Social Research. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, London, California, New Delhi: Sage. As found at: http://www.education.uwa.edu.au/students/research/?a=75328 on 14th May 2011 Punch, K. (2000) Developing Effective Research Proposals, London, California, New Delhi: Sage. As found at; www.mdurohtak.ac.in/pdf/Syllabus_pdf/M.../m%20phil%20Economics.pdf on 16th May 2011 Quartz (1992) Proposed Study. Degree of Doctor of Education. The University of Western Australia (Quartz, 1992a, p.190).As found at; www3.amherst.edu/~jwhagadorn/publications/Diss.pdf on 16th May 2011 Reinharz, S. (1992) Feminist Methods in Social Research, New York : Oxford University Press. As found at www.nwu.ac.za/export/sites/default/nwu/p-saeduc/.../forty_years_on.pdf on 15th May 2011 Usher, R., Bryant, I. and Johnston, R. (1997) Adult Education and the Postmodern Challenge: Learning Beyond the Limits, London: Routledge.As found at; www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000983.htm On 14th May 2011 Read More