INEQUALITY IN GENDER ROLES, A CHALLENGE TO OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING: A CASE OF FEMALE STUDENTS IN DIPLOMA IN PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION – THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA
Abstract
Open and Distance Learning could not only help in gender equality and women empowerment, but also may facilitate the effectiveness and strengthening of women education. However, there is little knowledge on how gender roles affect performance of girls/women education. The paper set out to examine whether inequality in gender roles affect women’s education, find out types of domestic chores that women normally engage with and how they affect their academic progress and assess whether women have assistance in performing domestic chores or not. The study was carried out at The Open University of Tanzania, Tanga Regional center. Fifty-one (51) Female students pursuing Diploma in Primary Teacher Education were involved. Questionnaire survey and documentary review methods were employed in data collection. A quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20th version). While qualitative information was analyzed using content analysis. The study observed that majority of the respondents (71%) agreed that inequality in division of household roles affect their academic carriers. Food preparation, washing clothes, house cleanness and family care mentioned as the main domestic chores that attribute to poor academic progress among DPTE female students at the OUT. The study concludes that division of household roles should be restructured so as to refrain women from domestic chores that constraints their participation in education.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.379
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