Gender disparity and parental influence on secondary school achievement in Nasarawa state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study focuses on gender inequalities and the influence of parents on their girl-child performance in science in Nasarawa State. 100 students, 60 science teachers and 140 parents participated in the study. Questionnaire, oral interview and short objective test were used to generate data for this study. Results show that the causes of backwardness of girl-child in science education are poverty, ignorance, and illiteracy of their parents, cultural and religious factors were also detected. It was also discovered that parents tend to encourage their boys to choose science subject at their senior level while the girls are advised to choose commercial or Art subjects. It was also evident that boys perform better than girls in science. The negative effect of gender disparity was observed and methods such as collaborative strategies which can increase gender-friendly environment for learning science were suggested.