Analysing the causes of continuing under representation of females doing biology at advanced level despite being empowered by the government: a case study of secondary schools in Kiira Municipality Wakiso

Abstract

This study sought to analyse the causes of low female student enrollment still occurring in advanced secondary school biology programs despite of the previous government initiative to empower girl child education, in order to develop strategies and interventions that promote greater female participation and success in biology education. The general objectives of the study include; (i) to analyse the impact of government empowerment towards girl child enrolment to A level Biology, (ii) To explore the socio-cultural factors influencing low female students' enrolment in a level Biology, (iii) to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of female students towards biology as a subject, (iv) to examine the role of educational policies, curriculum, and teaching practices in promoting or hindering female students' participation in Biology and (v) develop recommendations and strategies to address the gender disparity in biology enrollment and promote the inclusion of more female students. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative approach provided ways of discerning, examining, comparing and contrasting, and interpreting meaningful patterns or themes. Qualitative approach involved examining the assembled relevant data to determine how research questions were answered at hand. Quantitative data analysis helped to analyze and categorize frequencies and percentages. Simple descriptive tabulations were used for quantitative analysis. The study findings revealed that students perceive the difficulty level of Biology compared to other subjects with 38 %. It emphasized the importance of creating inclusive learning environments that challenge gender stereotypes and encourage female students to actively engage in science education. The results of this study concluded that the prevailing attitudes towards girls’ education and their enrollment in science subjects have influenced the cultural, social, and economic factors. These have hindered girls’ participation in science education. For example their attitudes are deeply rooted in cultural norms and beliefs that favor traditional gender roles, often leading to limited opportunities for girls to pursue science subjects. This study recommends that the school administrators, it is recommended that they do not shy away from inspecting teachers’ schemes of work and lesson plans in Biology. This should be emphasized during appraisal sessions to help improve teacher effectiveness and hence student learning.