Effects of domestic gender roles on performance of pupils in in public primary school in GarbaTula district

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the domestic gender roles and their effect on pupils’ academic performance in public primary schools in Garba Tula district. Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. The study employed a descriptive survey. The sample comprised of 17 headteachers, 187 teachers and 217 pupils. Questionnaires and document analysis were used to gather data for the study. Findings indicated that the pupils were involved in gender roles. The roles performed by the boys were those that were for men such as herding the livestock and protecting the community while those performed by the girls were those of the mothers which included cooking, fetching water and firewood, cleaning and washing and looking after the young ones. There was a relationship between pupil’s involvement in the domestic roles and academic performance. The more the pupils were involved in the domestic roles, the more they were late for schools, the more they were not able to complete assignments and therefore the more their education was affected. Data revealed that gender roles had an impact on the school performance of pupils. Pupils had to arrive to school late, were not able to complete assignments, went to school tired and all these affected their studies hence leading to poor performance. There were differences in involvement of boys and girls in the gender domestic roles with girls being the most affected. vi Based in the findings it was recommended that parents should be sensitized on the importance of education of their children hence should allow pupils go to school. They should also , get involved in the education of their children and monitor their progress. It was also recommended that boarding schools be set up where pupils would learn without interruptions of domestic roles. It was also recommended that that there should be provision of necessary physical facilities which are gender sensitive so that children especially girls may be encouraged to learn. Further it was recommended that the provincial administration should enforce the law regarding education of children. Taking the limitations and delimitations of the study, it was suggested that a study to establish the relationship between parental involvement in their children’s’ education and academic performance be conducted. It was also recommended that a study to identify other factors that influence academic performance of pupils in nomadic areas be conducted. Finally since this study was conducted in one administrative division, a similar study should be conducted in other areas to test whether it yields same results.