AN ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION IN THE ABURA-ASEBU-KWAMANKESE DISTRICT

ABSTRACT The study sought to assess the support offered by the community for girl child education in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district of Ghana using the descriptive design. The instrument used for the study was questionnaire which comprised Likert scale type questions. A sample size of 364 respondents was drawn from adult members of the community comprising Traditional Leaders, Teaching Staff at the District Education Office, Non-Governmental Organizations, Development Partners, Faith-Based Organizations, and Other Government Departments. The rest were Head teachers, Teachers, PTA and SMC Executives. The instrument for the study was pilot-tested to estimate its reliability. The pilot-test was done at the Assin South District because it shared similar characteristics with the study area. The pilot-test yielded different reliability coefficients for different sections of the instrument, which ranged from 0.64 to 0.86. The study found that the level of community support was not encouraging. Kinds of support provided were in four major areas of financial, academic, infrastructural, and advocacy/collaboration. All kinds of support were rated as highly relevant, most of them were never provided. Parental poverty, overburdened household chores, teenage pregnancy were the three most rated factors which impacted highly on girl-child education, while sexual harassment was the least rated. The community had a positive perception about female education. The study recommends that the DEO should sensitize parents and the community to increase their support for girl-child education in the district.