An assessment of parental support to the girl child education in Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region

Abstract

The study which used descriptive survey design was basically to assess parental support to the girl child education in Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region. A sample of 302 girls and their entire parents which formed 22% of the total population from 11 public schools in the Ntonso circuit were used for the study. The girls were randomly selected whereas their parents were purposively sampled. The instrument used for data collection was a set of questionnaires with an average reliability coefficient of 0.91, using Cronbach alpha formula. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Percentages, frequencies and tables were used accordingly.Findings from the study revealed that disallowing girls to participate in puberty rites during school hours; discouraging early marriage; helping the girls to do homework; giving of the requisite psychological need of love and paying approved levies and dues by GES/PTA were the major kinds of support parents provided for the girls. It also emerged the study that girls’ enrolment decline in the district due to the negative community perception about girl child education. The major challenges parents faced in their role of supporting the girl child was: gender roles assigned to females by society; and misconceptions and cultural beliefs held by the society. Finally, it was recommended that parents should support their children in diverse ways, policy makers to enact bye-laws as guidelines for parents, and chief and elders to advice the indigenes about the usefulness of girl education.