PROCESO DE PRODUCCIÓN

This research used a qualitative approach, strengthened by feminist research techniques in addition to ethnographic considerations. Bryman (2001) defines qualitative research, as “a research strategy that usually emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data….it is inductivist, constructionist and interpretivist” (p. 264). An important consideration, which informed the choice of qualitative methodology, is the need to gain an in-depth picture of the perceptions and experiences

74 of students, teachers, parents, and education officials about gender inequalities in education. This means examining the diverse views and experiences of gender disparities between boys and girls in school, and the factors that contribute to the ways in which they are perceived. Thus, since issues about context and experiences are important to the different perceptions and experiences the research requires the use of qualitative approaches. As Greene (1994) points out:

When… information needs comprise multiple perspectives, contextualised meanings, or the experience of programme participation… then qualitative methods should be employed (Greene, 1994: 539).

This implies the use of naturalistic research approaches (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985; Greene, 1994; David and Sutton, 2004) which has the potential to reveal the influence of context (social, institution, personal etc.) on perceptions and practices. Its goal is to understand social reality on its own terms “as it really is”. Taken in its simplest form, naturalism seeks rich description of people and interaction as they exist and unfold in their natural settings (Gubrium and Holstein, 1999). Thus, it stresses the socially constructed nature of reality. The approach of naturalistic inquiry, as Maykut and Morehouse (1994) point out, requires the researcher to be part of the investigation through observation and in-depth interviewing but also to be removed from the research situation to rethink the meanings of the experience.

It is intended that findings from the research would help to point out changes that would have greater chances of success and be acceptable to teachers, students and educational officials as a means of eliminating or bridging the gender gap in Ghanaian schools. This however would mean paying attention to the perceptions of those involved in using the results to suggest changes that are responsive to actual needs and concerns. In this respect, the research could be described as “responsive evaluation” (Stake, 1994). Since it seeks to uncover and address the concerns of key participants towards the promotion of gender equity in the Ghanaian educational system. Greene (1994) is also of the view that improvements are “more likely if local rather than remote concerns are

75 addressed…and if local rather than remote values are explicated and used to make judgments (p. 539). In this study for example, it is important to examine specific educational policies and interventions and their effectiveness in addressing gender inequality in the Ghanaian educational set up.

Another consideration for the choice of qualitative approach stemmed from the recognition that a laissez-faire, distant or purely quantitative research approach would not probe below the surface of issues. It is therefore important to be in sufficient contact with research subjects and the settings to understand fully the issues inherent in the system, which the research seeks to unravel. In many African cultures, there is the tendency towards an „affirmative‟ view of life as reported by Stephens (1990) in his study of Nigeria. This affirmative attitude often is intended “to minimize points of disagreement and….to harmonise possible conflicting perspectives” (Stephens, 1990:146). To reduce such influence it is necessary to place myself into the study situation where responses could be validated, if necessary, for their truth-value. This calls for a closer association and the use of more open-ended and in-depth research approaches. My decision to adopt a qualitative research approach therefore, was the need for a research strategy that would not only enhance our understanding of gender discrimination against girls in the Ghanaian education sector, but also in response to calls for more qualitative approaches to research into educational problems particularly in developing countries to further understanding (Fuller and Heyneman, 1989; Agyemang, 1991; Akyeampong and Murphy, 1997).

The final consideration stemmed from the lack of adequate research into gender inequalities in education, particularly the discrimination against girls in schools in Ghana, which is sensitive to context and reflects „insiders‟ accounts or participant experience of schooling in Ghana. The lack of such research is a problem in a wider educational research culture in Ghana, which seems to place more emphasis and value on quantitative research approaches than on its qualitative counterpart (Agyeman, 1991). Agyeman is of the view that this over emphasis and reliance on quantitative research approaches has contributed to a blunted analysis of education in African societies and has led to policy measures based on misinformation. The result of this, he adds, is the

76 lack of better understanding of the experience of teaching, learning, and other educational phenomena that constitute the internal system of the educational enterprise in most African societies. Supporting Agyeman‟s view Griffiths and Parker-Jenkins (1994) writing about the methodological and ethical dilemmas they faced in doing research exploring school attendance and gender issues in schooling in Ghana, argue that quantitative survey-type research will have limited value if “…..high-level qualitative work has not been done to discover what categories, terminology and forms of approach should be employed” (p. 455). My view is that there is lack of this preliminary qualitative work amongst the educational research community in Ghana on gender inequalities in schools. Though quantitative approaches have the potential to establish some existing patterns of gender inequalities in the Ghanaian education sector, nevertheless, they often fail to provide insight into unintended consequences and to address the concerns of those directly affected by gender discrimination in schools (Merriam, 1988).

This research was informed by a feminist standpoint and research process. Feminist research brings gender to the foreground and endeavours to understand the perspectives of women and girls (Scantlebury, 2005; Stanley and Wise, 1983; Reinharz, 1992; Oakley, 1981). Feminist researchers argue that the exclusive use of a quantitative approach does not portray the real situation of women and girls. They advocate for in- depth interviewing as it allows for a more balanced and democratic conversation between researcher and participant than is the case in traditional inquiry methods. Complex and interrelated issues such as the effects of imbalance power relations, societal belief systems, and impact of poverty on girls' schooling require more in-depth study to explore the reasons for inequalities in education in order to identify appropriate measures to reduce disparities. Feminist research also considers ethical issues in research processes as very important and openly accepts the subjectivity of the researcher‟s and participants‟ perspectives in the research process (Scantlebury, 2005; Oakley, 1981; Stanley and Wise, 1983).

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