OBSTACLES TO RURAL SCHOOL AT-TENDANCE IN ANNAPURNA, NEPAL
Mäkinen, Lyydia (2017-11-21)
OBSTACLES TO RURAL SCHOOL AT-TENDANCE IN ANNAPURNA, NEPAL
(21.11.2017)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
suljettu
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2017120855498
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2017120855498
Tiivistelmä
Education is both a human right and a key to sustainable change and develop-ment. Access to education and the quality of education, varies greatly around the world and within nations. The main obstacles to school enrollment and at-tendance in developing countries seem to be; poor learning environments for students, the low quality of education provided by the state, difficulties experi-enced in the journey to school, financial poverty, attitudes towards education in the homes of students, gender inequality and discrimination among social clas-ses.
The main purpose of this research was to explore the obstacles affecting school attendance in rural area schools within the Annapurna region of Nepal and in comparing the obstacles between gender and social class. The study focused on students in grades 7 to 10, in order to better examine the transition period from basic education to secondary education.
Research data was collected at two schools in mountainous, rural areas of the Annapurna region in Nepal. Data collection was primarily carried out with stu-dents as a group-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed with both quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition to this, the research included two semi-structured focused face-to-face interview surveys conducted with school staff members and analyzed with quantitative methods.
According to the research, the students’ school attendance suffered from signif-icant difficulties that were caused by financial issues, parents who did not priori-tize their children’s education, a long and unsafe journey to school, the poor quality of teaching and the poor quality of infrastructure at the schools. When comparing the experiences between genders, it became apparent that there were no major differences to the obstacles faced by male and female students in attending school. However, when separated into their social class groups, it was clear that Dalit caste students experienced significantly more obstacles posed by financial concerns at home and their parents’ often refusing to allow them to attend school.
These results provided a meaningful base for further study and the implementa-tion of potential development programs in the area. Further study should focus on solutions for overcoming the main obstacles and on reducing the gap be-tween social class groups. The study did not include children that do not enroll in school at all and therefore, further studies should also focus on including this group.
Keywords: Nepal, obstacles to school attendance, rural area education, educa-tion in developing countries, educational development
The main purpose of this research was to explore the obstacles affecting school attendance in rural area schools within the Annapurna region of Nepal and in comparing the obstacles between gender and social class. The study focused on students in grades 7 to 10, in order to better examine the transition period from basic education to secondary education.
Research data was collected at two schools in mountainous, rural areas of the Annapurna region in Nepal. Data collection was primarily carried out with stu-dents as a group-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed with both quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition to this, the research included two semi-structured focused face-to-face interview surveys conducted with school staff members and analyzed with quantitative methods.
According to the research, the students’ school attendance suffered from signif-icant difficulties that were caused by financial issues, parents who did not priori-tize their children’s education, a long and unsafe journey to school, the poor quality of teaching and the poor quality of infrastructure at the schools. When comparing the experiences between genders, it became apparent that there were no major differences to the obstacles faced by male and female students in attending school. However, when separated into their social class groups, it was clear that Dalit caste students experienced significantly more obstacles posed by financial concerns at home and their parents’ often refusing to allow them to attend school.
These results provided a meaningful base for further study and the implementa-tion of potential development programs in the area. Further study should focus on solutions for overcoming the main obstacles and on reducing the gap be-tween social class groups. The study did not include children that do not enroll in school at all and therefore, further studies should also focus on including this group.
Keywords: Nepal, obstacles to school attendance, rural area education, educa-tion in developing countries, educational development