Girl-Child Formal Education: A Strategy in Mitigating Male-Based Supremacy Syndrome in the Traditional IGBO Society

Introduction

Formal education/schooling remains a verified instrument in mitigating socio-cultural prejudices. Karram (2023) sustains that formal education simultaneously address problem of gender inequality on multiple levels - economic, social, political, health and cultural. Further, Lakhotiya (2023) sustains that, formal education plays crucial roles in advancing gender equality by empowering individuals, challenging stereotypes, fostering inclusive environments, and advocating for equal opportunities. By this, formal education creates avenue where everybody (including the girl-child) has equal legal access to basic necessities of life. Though scholars established that all educational systems including formal education are significant for societal transformations, but to determine each of their related proportions remain uncertain because driving home a comprehensive definition of education will always leave the researcher to contrasting views. One of the recognized techniques to address this conceptual issue was given by Chazan (2022). It suggests that the meaning of education could be approached considering three perspectives: first descriptive, which involves explaining the nature and meaning of the term using various words to clarify either the essence of the phenomenon or how the term should be interpreted. Second programmatic, that advocates or prescribes a specific belief about what education ought to be or achieve. This dimension considers less the intrinsic nature or language of education but more focused on promoting a particular educational practice deemed desirable. Third. stipulative definitions which serve a utilitarian purpose, functioning as linguistic agreements or pacts that facilitate smooth discussions without requiring constant reiteration of the definition. Though Chazan (2022)’s suggestion is relevant, it is limited in giving feasible techniques that can facilitate the regular articulation of this concept.

Based on the search for the meaning of education, scientists and researchers have deployed a widely accepted method. This engages linguistic derivation search through a well-known approach called ‘etymology’. While this method is considered relevant in grasping educational concepts, the frequency tends to be misleading due to the potential ambiguity arising from its application, as it may not always yield a clear and specific definition. Education, from the linguistic origin could be traced back to its Latin roots, encompassing various terms such as ‘educare’, signifying the process of nurturing and upbringing; ‘educere,’ indicating the act of drawing out or revealing; ‘educo,’ suggesting leading out of; and ‘educatum,’ representing the act of teaching or instruction. The mixt interpretations offered through these linguistic roots highlight the challenge of establishing a cohesive definition of education. As a point of departure, the linguistic trace ‘educare’ – ‘to lead out’ assumed to have captured the perspectives of experts, form the base in comprehending the meaning of education in this study. This seems paramount since the goal is to guide searching minds through the misery of curiosity (Arslan, 2018). In addition, the dependency on derivative root is to offer original interpretation rather than relying on a mere scholastic definition.

Being ‘to lead out’, formal schooling fit well in this dimension because it sustains a well-structured and organized processes in acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values during the instructional process. This brings to limelight the school setting when discussing formal education (Öz & Kayalar (2021). This includes the development of the child’s latent faculties through structured curriculum by the processes of reading and writing under schooling system. Though the central focus of this chapter is on the impacts of girl-child education in eliminating male base supremacy in the Igbo traditional society, the study has furnished students with the creative skills, ideas, beliefs and expressions that every gender is an agent of social development. This begins with brief descriptions of study purpose, research questions, methodology, literature review, theoretical framework and discussions. This description is not intended to be a complete course in historical development on gender inequality but will raise awareness of the issues involved in male-based syndrome and the impacts of formal education which is also inclusive.