This dissertation is a phenomenological study that sought to understand girls’ educational experiences from the voices and from the perspective of selected stakeholders, particularly girls, at the Akuapim South District of Ghana. Notwithstanding the exponential increase in mass education since Ghana’s independence, educational differentials between boys and girls persisted. The issue is exacerbated by the weaknesses in the quantitative approaches used to address problems in education, which often lack the ability to highlight the day-to-day experiences and the quality of girls’ educational experiences. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study was conducted in four selected rural/urban communities in the Akuapim South District. Data collection was done through focus groups, interviews, and direct observation. Participants for the study included teachers, community leaders, parents, education officers, and girls.
From the four communities studied, I found consistency in the stories and challenges girls continue to face in their education. In their own voices, girls and other stakeholders reported that their education is inhibited by lack of financial support, workload at home, negative parental attitudes’, inadequate school infrastructure, negative teachers’ attitudes and low expectation of girls, sexual maturation, as well as attitudes of male students. There were several differences between the views of girls and teachers, parents, and other participants of the study. The insight from the girls’ perspectives justifies the importance paying attention to the voices of children in developing programs which affect them. Furthermore, the study found that the problems girls face is not because of the lack of programs; rather, it is because of the inadequacies, lack of effectiveness, lack of comprehensiveness, and poor quality of programs as well.
The study concludes that girls’ educational problems are complex, intertwined, and multifaceted, situated in the home, school, and community as well as a result of the inadequacies in state-run programs. Reaching the goal of quality education for all by 2015 in Ghana will depend on the collaborative effort of the international community, the state, parents and community involvement, and teachers’ commitment and support. The effort should take the form of adequate financial support, change in attitude toward girls’ education, improvement in teacher training and incentives, and effective system of monitoring.