Gender disparity in education among the Maasai Community A Survey Of Narok County

Abstract

Writing legibly and writing with adequate speed to keep up with issues related to gender disparity in education among the Maasai which demands are necessary tools to improve the indigenous needs of the people. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing the gender disparity in Education among the Maasai community. Gender disparity in education in public primary schools in Narok county, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; to establish the extent to which conflicts affect contact time, to determine the extent to which teaching/learning resources affect pupils’ performance, to examine the extent to which availability of qualified teachers affect pupils‟ performance and to establish the extent to which drought influence pupils‟ physical needs. The study adopted the Structuralism theory and applied descriptive survey research design. 75% of the population was used as sample to participate in the study. The target population was 28 head teachers, 260 teachers, 500 parents and 300 school drop-outs. The sample totals were 20 head teachers, 185 teachers, 40 parents and 43 school drop-outs. The research findings reveal that majority of head teachers and teachers are males indicating there is no gender balance. Further findings reveal that frequent conflicts have an effect on contact time. It was found that Pupil book ratio is mainly one to five, showing acute shortage. The study established that there was a teacher shortage due to the fact that most classes have an enrolment of fifty pupils and above. The study also established that drought has an influence on pupils‟ physical needs due to its impoverishing effect on families. The study concluded that teachers need motivation in order for them to work in the remote areas of Narok County and that drought has serious effects on the physical needs of the learners. The study recommended that the government should employ enough teachers, revive the School Feeding Programme and also provide adequate teaching/learning resources. The study suggests that a study be carried out to investigate the impact of gender inequality on quality education among the pastoralist community.