COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GENDER DIFFERENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES IN THE WEST MAMPRUSI DISTRICT OF THE NORTHERN REGION

Abstract

Education is an important tool to the socio-economic development of countries and educational policy makers guided by this importance, design policies to harness its benefits. The concern of countries like Ghana is the attainment of gender and location parity in education especially the full course of basic school as contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and thus enshrined in their constitutions to guarantee universal education. Policy makers and researchers alike are preoccupied with how to find remediable solution to, or insightful examination of, educational disparity. The literature is, therefore, replete with a number of theories and prepositions which are sometimes conflicting and limited in measurement thereby making full appraisal difficult. This study uses the concurrent mixed method, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques, to determine the significance of gender-location difference in primary school enrolment, the probability of enrolling female or male, the significant household determinants of female enrolment and why households are inclined to certain enrolment preference in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region. The findings revealed that there was no significant gender difference in enrolment in rural or urban communities and between the two though the probability of enrolling female in primary school is 0.32 and male 0.68. There was more likelihood of female being enrolled in rural than urban communities though not on every measure. The number of male and female children of school-age in the household composition. income level of household head, number of female children already enrolled in school and the enrolment decision-maker were found as significant determinants of female enrolment. Perceptions, cultural and economic considerations informed household enrolment decisions. As a result. further research on demand and supply side enrolment determinants, civic education on the benefits of equal education, female empowerment interventions among others are recommended.