Socio-cultural Factors Influencing Women Participation in the Management of Primary School Education in Rongo Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Participation of women in the management of primary school education in Kenya has been noted to be elusive despite numerous calls for affirmative action to enhance women participation in the education sector. In Rongo Sub-County, women are seriously under represented especially in primary school management where there are only 8(11.7%) female head teachers out of 68, 15(20.8%) deputy head teachers out of 72, 94(23%) School Management Committee female members out of 408, 4(15.3%) Sub- County Education Board female members out of 26, and only 3(17.64%) female Sub- County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers out of 17. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of socio-cultural factors on women participation in the management of primary school education in Rongo Sub-County. A conceptual framework based on the concept that socio-cultural factors (independent variable) should be overcome in order to enhance women participation in headship, school committees, subject panels, affirmative action and improved academic performance (dependent variables) in primary education in Rongo Sub-County. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The study population consisted of 60 male head teachers, 8 female head teachers, 57 male deputy head teachers, 15 female deputy head teachers, 329 male teachers, 382 female teachers, 314 male BOM and 94 female BOM members from the five zones of Rongo Sub-County. Simple random sampling and saturated sampling were used to select 52 male head teachers, 8 female head teachers, 50 deputy male head teachers, 15 female deputy head teachers, 77 male teachers, 191 female teachers, 173 male BOM and 76 female BOM. The instruments for data collection were questionnaire, interview schedules and document analysis guides. Reliability was established by piloting in three schools where test-retest method was used whereby Pearson r of 0.7 and above was considered to correct the inconsistencies, ambiguity and weaknesses noted in the instruments. The study established that socio-cultural factors like gender bias in the promotion of teachers, female teachers sacrificing their roles as wives and mothers for professional career of leadership and women needing to seek their husbands consent to take leadership in schools had a high influence on participation of women in management of primary education. The study recommended that the women and government agencies should create awareness on women empowerment and leadership through sensitization campaigns. The findings of this study may be useful to stakeholders in education on issues of gender equity in management of education.