Author(s)

Echendu Blessing Nkiruka

Affiliation(s)

Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Corresponding Author

Echendu Blessing Nkiruka

ABSTRACT

This study investigated gender roles and family values as correlate of girl-child educational development in Ikwerre ethnic group of Rivers State, Nigeria. Employing a correlational research design, the research focused on a population of 265,400 parents comprising of 152800 men and 112600 women from four communities across two Local Government Areas: Obio/Akpor (Rumuodomaya and Choba) and Port Harcourt (Rumuokwuta and Ogbunabali). A two-stage sampling method was used to select 400 participants, including 225 fathers and 175 mothers, based on the Taro Yamane formula. Data collection involved two self-structured questionnaires: the Girl-Child Gender Roles and Family Values Questionnaire (G-CGRFVQ) and the Girl-Child Educational Development Questionnaire (G-CEDQ), both validated by experts with reliability coefficients of 0.76 and 0.78. Out of 400 distributed copies, 241 were returned, yielding a 60.25% return rate. The study employed statistical methods, including mean, standard deviation, and regression analyses, to address the research questions. Specific hypotheses were tested using multiple regression with analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a 0.05 significance level, supplemented by simple regression with t-tests to establish joint correlation significance. Findings revealed that in Ikwerre ethnic group, gender roles (20.7%) and family values (14.6%) individually have limited correlation to girl-child educational development but their combined effect (30.6%) is moderate, highlighting the need for increased support. It was therefore concluded and recommended that comprehensive reforms addressing educational policy, community engagement, and targeted educational programmes providing mentorship and tutoring support for disadvantaged girls are essential to improve girl-child education in Ikwerre ethnic group of Rivers State, Nigeria.

KEYWORDS

Girl-Child education; Gender roles; Family values; Educational development; Ikwerre ethnic group

CITE THIS PAPER

Echendu Blessing Nkiruka. Gender roles and family values as correlate of girl-child educational development in Ikwerre ethnic group of Rivers State, Nigeria. World Journal of Educational Studies. 2025, 3(1): 27-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/wjes3031.

REFERENCES

[1] Elewa, C. Girl-Child Education and Its Socio-Economic Implications for Sustainable Development in Rivers State of Nigeria. Journal of Education in Developing Areas, 2020, 27(1): 293-301.

[2] Wami, K C. Community participation in enhancing effective girl child education in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers state. International Journal of Education and Social Science Research, 2023, 6(5): 398-411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37500/IJESSR.2023.6526.

[3] Ogide, V. Burdened from birth: How societal norms steal girls’ futures. Girls aged 5-14 spend a staggering 160 million more hours than boys of the same age range every day on unpaid care and domestic work. CDD West Africa. 2024. Retrieved from https://www.cddwestafrica.org/blog/burdened-from-birth-how-societal-norms-steal-girls-futures/

[4] Thompson, N C, Onyekwere, L A. Girl child education and sustainable development of different clans in Ikwerre local government area, Rivers state, Nigeria. American Journal of Social and Humanitarian Research, 2022, 3(8). DOI: https://doi.org/10.31150/ajshr.v3i8.1435.

[5] Echendu, B N. Cultural status of the girl-child and its implications for educational development in Ikwerre ethnic group of Rivers state (Master's dissertation, University of Port Harcourt). 2018.

[6] Okanezi, B, Saviour, F. C. Retrospection of the influence of culture on formal education acquisition in Rundele (Ndele) Kingdom of Rivers state, Nigeria. International Journal of Progressive Sciences and Technologies, 2023, 38(1): 280-286.

[7] Barni, D, Fiorilli, C, Romano, L, et al. Gender prejudice within the family: The relation between parents' sexism and their socialization values. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022, 13, 846016.

[8] akubova, P M. The effects of traditional gender norms on the fate of girls' education in Tajikistan (Master's thesis, North Dakota State University). 2020.

[9] Evans, D K, Mendez Acosta, A, Yuan, F. Girls’ Education at Scale. The World Bank Research Observer, 2024, 39(1): 47-74.

[10] Atakpo, E T, Obed-Chukwuka, A N, Akpotu, E N. Household characteristics and investment in girl child education. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2024, 8(5): 1908-1917.

[11] Mensah, E O. Husband is a priority: Gender roles, patriarchy and the naming of female children in Nigeria. Gender Issues, 2023, 40(1): 44-64.

[12] Abubakar, H A. Factors influencing girl-child education in Nigeria (A case study of Yobe state). African Journal of Business and Economic Development, 2023, 3(1): 119-131.

[13] Agi, C W, Emelie, C. Influence of early marriage on academic achievement of female adolescent students in public senior secondary schools in Rivers state. International Journal of Innovative Psychology and Social Development, 2023, 11(4): 58-70.

[14] Wilson, G. The causes and effects of rural poverty in Rivers state: Ikwerre communities' perspective. Covenant Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20370/cjbss.v0i0.917.

[15] Biokoro, B O, Obata, R O, Ghavwan, O O. Perspective of feminism on the girl-child and women education in Delta State, Nigeria.International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, 2023, 6(09): 44-54.

[16] Edith, O, Maureen, B N. Gender issues and its effect on the development of the girl child in Ogbunabali community in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria. European Journal of Experimental Biology, 2012, 2(6): 2188-2191.

[17] Kataeva, Z. Gender and the navigation of STEM careers in higher education institutions: Narratives of female faculty in post-Soviet Tajikistan. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2024, 54(1): 55-73.

[18] Obiakor, M I. The extent of sex education in safeguarding girl-child virginity in junior secondary school in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers state. Global Research for New World Order, 2023, 1(1): 12-12.

[19] Opoku, A A. A comprehensive analysis of the free senior high school (SHS) policy in Ghana using policy triangle framework (Master’s thesis, University of Windsor). 2025.

[20] Owusu, C A. Effects of education on family practices among Ashantis in Ghana: The case of Kumasi metropolis (Master’s thesis, University of Iceland). 2024.

[21] Olonade, O Y, Oyibode, B O, Idowu, B O, et al. Understanding gender issues in Nigeria: the imperative for sustainable development. Heliyon, 2021, 7(7).

[22] Shafi, B. Traditional thinking and attitude of parents towards female education. Dialogue (Pakistan), 2015, 10(1).

[23] Lewis, M. Gender role socialization: An intergenerational analysis of role predictors (Research project, Vaxjo University). 2006.

[24] Lips, H M. Gender: the basics. Routledge. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315178233.

[25] Umeghalu, E O, Onyeike, V C. Management of positive classroom and school safety as a correlate of teachers’ effectiveness in unity schools in south-eastern states, Nigeria. European International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Management Studies, 2022, 2(05): 146-168.

[26] Ojobah, C, Osuala, I Q. Parents perspective on female education in Ogba: ONELGA, Rivers state, Nigeria. Gender Studies Association of Nigeria, 2020, 3(4): 265.

[27] Okere, M. Towards achieving sustainable development in nigeria: the girl-child education factor. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 2021, 3(11): 32-38.

[28] Onyido, J A, Osigwe, J N. Girl-child education: The key for value reorientation and nation building. Multidisciplinary Journal of Academic Excellence, 2017, 17(1): 1-14.