Analysis of Research Paradigm -"Educating Girls in Bangladesh: Watering a Neighbor's Tree?" Janet Raynor by Elizabeth Jabarin

Paradigm

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:08:10 UTC

Raynor (2005) believes, in the "empowerment and equality of girls and woman" (p.10). The belief is that by implementing the Female Stipend Programme (FSP) that there would justice for girls' education and that they would be given a second chance. She points out through her own experience that the people's support or lack their of for girls' education are what drive programs like the Female Stipend Programme (FSP) to be 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable.'

Above all, and most importantly because she focuses on the points of views of the people as a guide to her research and uses interpretive case studies, her knowledge claim could mostly be described as a blend of social constructivism and interpretivism (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 22). Her use of data is only to increase understanding of the research subject and her concepts and variables consistently incorporate the stakeholders perspectives.

Research Goals

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:10 UTC

"To understand how girls' education is regarded and what is its perceived purpose" (Raynor, para 4. p.1).
To analyze the "attitudes towards the FSP and the program's effects on social attitudes" (Raynor, para 2, p.1).
To identify an improvement in secondary school enrollment rates for girls.
To determine if there is a difference between perspectives of children vs. adults and girls and women vs. boys and men.

Research Questions

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:23 UTC

1. How has the FSP helped girls' secondary school enrollment rates?

2."Does girls' education strengthen traditional gendered roles or lead to empowerment? Is it seen to be beneficial or detrimental to the individual girl, to boys and men, and to society as a whole?"
3. "Is girls' education regarded now as a need, a right, or a luxury, and what is its perceived purpose?"
4. "Is maintenance of cultural values seen to be more important than formal education for girls? Do dominant social groups use 'culture' as an argument to preserve the status quo? "

(Raynor, para 3, p.1)

Epistemology

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:30 UTC

-Raynor's (2005) views are subjective:

1. Even with higher enrolments of girls, the viewpoints of the people have a major impact on girls education and whether it is detrimental or not.

2. The educational gender gap is evident not only in rural areas but throughout Bangledash.

3. Raynor (2005) believes that teachers play a crucial role and that women teachers should encourage girls' enrolment.

Ontology

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:41 UTC

Raynor (2005) had been in the education sector in Bangladash for 12 years, and specifically involved in the secondary-level programme in eastern Bangladash where she experienced meetings of resistance to girls' education.

Her study is based on constructivism as she relates her own experience to understanding the viewpoints of the individuals interviewed. (Dennis & Lincoln, 2011, p.100).

I also believe that she shares a critical theorist perspective as well, since she incorporates historical realism and understands that by explaining the background and history of the subject, we as the reader gather that she believes the reasons for girls' education to be in the position it is today is "shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic, and gender values" (Dennis & Lincoln 2011, p. 98).

Methods

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:48 UTC

Raynor (2005) methods to analyze the FSP case study include:

- Interviews, Questionnaires, Observation, Review of Documentation,

Interviews: 41 conducted with "six-secondary school girls, four secondary-school boys, nine mothers, five father, nine head-teachers, and ten 'implementors.'"Most were from wealthy families (Raynor, 2005).

Questionnaires: 456 respondents, mainly given to groups of students and teachers within the designated thana. "233 by girls, 166 boys, 15 females teachers, 31 male teachers, and five 'others'" (Raynor, 2005).

Methodology

ejabarin — 2015-01-16 23:09:54 UTC

She utilizes the historical information about girls' education in Bangladash to show that changes haven't been made for more than 100 years. Her methodology is to start from the root of the problem in the history and work towards the Female Stipend Programme launched in 1994.

She uses quantitative facts to begin and then finished with her qualitative research. The purpose of presenting more qualitative research was that she was not seeking to show the success rates of the FSP in numbers but rather the viewpoints of the individuals affected by it.
Raynor (2005) is able to show the positive results that most agreed that empowering girls' education would enable them to take up paid employment. She shows through statistics that this is crucial to the poor economy of Bangladash.
Raynor (2005) also compares the ideas of woman vs. girls and boys vs. men's opinion on girls' education.

Resources

ejabarin — 2015-01-17 23:33:21 UTC

Denzin, Norman and Yvonna Lincoln. 2011. "Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research," inDenzinand Lincoln, Eds.The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: Sage.
Denzin, N. and Lincoln, Y (Eds.) (2000). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Raynor, Janet. 2005. "Educating Girls in Bangladesh: Watering a Neighbor's Tree?" in SheilaAikmanand ElaineUnterhalter, Eds. Beyond Access: Transforming Policy and Practice for Gender Equality in Education.OxfamGB

ejabarin — 2015-01-18 14:09:52 UTC