Understanding Linkages between Culture, Gender and Education in Rural Honduras

Because this blog will serve as a forum for me to share my research process with you, it seems appropriate to begin by explaining why I am in Honduras and what I will be doing here. Through a generous grant from the Fulbright Program, I will spend the next nine months in Copán Ruinas, Honduras conducting educational research in local schools. Most of this first entry is pulled directly from the research proposal that I submitted to the Fulbright Program a year ago. I have made a few adjustments here and there, as my project is already evolving, but the proposal does convey a general sense of what I will be doing here in Copán Ruinas for the next nine months.

Several Latin American countries have achieved gender parity in their primary education systems. Honduras is among the countries that have achieved this parity and, in fact, girls are now more likely than boys to enroll in and complete school at the primary level (United Nations, 2007). Although the progress made for the education of girls should be applauded, high dropout and grade repetition rates among both girls and boys continue to plague the Honduran education system. The goal of this project is to facilitate understanding of the strengths and limitations of current educational strategies employed in four schools within rural Honduras. This understanding is critical to development of innovative education practices responsive to gender and likely to promote the timely completion of primary school for both boys and girls.

After working as a teacher for three years in the public education system in the Mississippi Delta, I have learned that boys and girls face a unique set of obstacles hindering their academic success. Prior to my work as an educator, my involvement with Amnesty International and its Women’s Human Rights Program led me to similar conclusions – women and girls face many challenges that are gender-specific. However, as a teacher, I now understand that men and boys also face gender-specific barriers to academic success. In the United States, we are slowly beginning to understand that to support the educational success of all students, gender-specific teaching and retention strategies must be employed. This project will strive to enhance researcher and community understanding of the ways in which gender shapes the educational experience for primary students in Honduras in order to develop culturally appropriate, gender-specific policies and practices. I believe this understanding will directly assist educational institutions and educators within Honduras; ultimately, this knowledge is relevant to educational improvement and retention efforts across cultures.

In the next nine months, I will engage in participatory action research utilizing qualitative methods at four primary schools in the municipality of Copán Ruinas, spending approximately two months at each school. Through extensive observation in classrooms and school environments generally, I will examine instructional practices and school culture. I will also conduct semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, parents, and community and school leaders in each area to gauge attitudes, perceptions and expectations regarding education. My research questions will be refined through dialogue with and involvement of participants. As my findings begin to coalesce, I intend to actively share them with each community through informal methods as well as formal strategies such as a series of meetings with parents, teachers, school officials, and other local organizations working with the education system. I especially hope to share my discoveries with my participants, who, ideally, will view my research as an opportunity for mutual learning.

References:

United Nations (2007). Millennium Development Goals Indicators. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.

Video clip of me explaining my project:

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