Abstract:
Fifteen students and three faculty members from The Ohio State University-Agricultural Technical Institute (Ohio State-ATI) in collaboration with 10 more students from The Ohio State University-Columbus, Kenyon College, and The College of Wooster traveled to Ho, Ghana to investigate what obstacles impede girls' primary education. The group constructed a survey in a pre-travel class and interviewed over 130 women and 60 girls. The researchers discovered that 98.0% of respondents agree that Ghana needs to put more emphasis on girls' education and that moving forward in development will require both societal support and personal development. The biggest impediments to educating girls is the cost (54.4%), even in so-called public schools, followed by the recognition that large families make it difficult for parents to have money to invest in their girls (11.4%) and, hence, girls must work at home, in the market, or in the field (11.4%). Changing this reality will require public support (16.4%) and forward thinking on the part of the community (6.6%). Additionally, a key factor in this survey process was the benefits to our students. They reported that this study offered them a means to discuss substantive issues with local women in scripted conversations, to develop self-confidence, and to learn the effect of different life opportunities.
Keywords:
girls' education, Ho, Ghana, student survey
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