Life Histories: Women Teachers
Interview Schedule (45 minute interviews)
1. Experiences of life as a child:
Where were you born and grew up?Can you tell me something about your position-in the family e.g. eldest daughter? Responsibilities?
Parents life? Occupation?
Extended family life?
Memory of a positive/happy experience; difficult/sad time?
2. Experiences of life at primary school:
Where did you go to school?What memories do you have of school?
What support/encouragement/sacrifices did your parents give with regard to your schooling?
What factors contributed to your success at school?
Do you remember girls dropping out of school? Causes? What happened to them?
3. Experiences of life after primary school:
How much more schooling did you do?What career thoughts did you have then?
What was happening to your siblings?
Responsibilities at home?
Parents and family's view of your schooling?
Girls friends? Did they all follow you through schooling?
What motivated you at school and home?
4. Experiences of life as a teacher trainee:
Where did you study?What memories do you have of this?
What was teaching practice like?
Why did you go into teaching?
Family's reaction to your training? What were your friends doing?
What was the education system like then?
5. Experiences of life as a teacher:
Did you go straight into teaching?What memories do you have of your first school job?
What plans did you have for teaching? Career?
Was teaching easy for women then?
Was the life of a teacher very different then?
6. Experiences of life as a teacher now:
Describe your teaching now.What are the good and bad aspects of the job?
How do you see your career developing?
How does teaching relate to your home and family life? What will you be doing in ten years time?
7. Views of girls dropping out of school:
(refer to completed questionnaire)Why do girls drop out?
Can you tell us about on girl's experiences? Causes and what happened to her?
What policies exist to help girls?
Do you think the situation is the same all over Ghana? Is your school typical of schools in this area?
What do you think GES and the District Education Office should do?
Anything you would like to say that we haven't talked about?
FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS: Girls in School/Girls out of school Procedure
1. Select a group of 6 - 8 P6 girls and JSS 1 girls. Interview P6 and JSS 1 separately.
2. As far as possible have the female class teacher chair the discussion. Girls should be encouraged to discuss the following:
Is girl drop-outs a problem in this school?
What are the causes?
How could the school help?
How could families and the Community help?
What happens to the girls who drop out?
3. The teacher should encourage the group to talk about why they don't have problems and who helps them do well at school?
4. 30-45 minutes is probably enough time for one discussion.
5. The teacher should decide whether to use the first language or English.
6. The headteacher should of course be kept informed at all times.
7. Refer to the guide on how to conduct Focus Group Interviews and summarise for the teachers.
Other School Data
Data is to be collected from FIVE schools e.g. THREE Primary and TWO JSS.
Schools should be chosen because they have a big problem with drop outs or because they have few problems in this area.
Interview the headteacher.
Interview the PTA chairman and head of school Welfare Committee if it exists.
Check you have enrolment figures and exam results.
Try and visit the school a few times to observe teaching and talk to teachers. Build up a picture of the school.
Note the problems and successes of the school.
Meet with the P6 teacher (s) and suggest class write a short essay on why children drop out of school. Discuss prize for best essays.
Identify with school help girls who have dropped out. Discuss how and where they can be interviewed. Can parents be contacted?
Keep a good record of data collected for each school e.g. who interviewed, follow up visits to be undertaken etc. The following checklist can help:
SCHOOL A
1 Teachers interviewed
Who? 1. 2. 3.
Questionnaire administered?
Interview conducted? Transcribed?
Follow up?
2 Headteacher interviewed
Who?
When?
Follow up?
3 P6/JSS1 Class visited
Focus group interviews
When?
Follow up?
Essay administered? Collected?
4 School PTA Head interviewed
Who?
When?
Follow up?
5 School Observation
When?
Field notes written up?
Follow up?
6 School Enrolment and Exam data
Collected?
Follow up?
Collect anything else of interest
GIRLS OUT OF SCHOOL INTERVIEW DATA
Procedure
Decisions will need to be taken about how to identify drop-out girls and whether it is best to try and interview them individually or as a group. The class teacher might not be the most appropriate person to interview them. I would like to be able to draw up individual profiles of girls.
