Parents’ Attitudes To Girls’ Education

The indicator uses a series of statements to assess the extent to which the target parents/guardians are supportive of girls’ education. The statements cover the main reasons why parents do not send, or stop sending their daughters to school. The supportive attitudes of parents are crucial for improving girls’ education and contributing to their empowerment.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of the parents/guardians:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Introduction: Now I am going to read different statements. Please show me on this paper the

face that best represents how you feel about each statement [show the scale provided at the bottom of this page and explain how it works, including the meaning of each face]. There are no right or wrong answers – please answer according to your feelings about each statement.

Q1: Which of these four faces [point to the scale] best represents your feelings about the following statement? ‘It is important that boys have more education than girls.’

A1: strongly agree / slightly agree / slightly disagree / strongly disagree

Q2: Which of these four faces [point to the scale] best represents your feelings about the following statement? ‘When a girl marries, she should keep going to school, even if she has to take care of their husband and household.’

A2: strongly agree / slightly agree / slightly disagree / strongly disagree

Q3: Which of these four faces [point to the scale] best represents your feelings about the following statement? ‘Daughters should go to school only if they are not needed to help at home.’ 

A3: strongly agree / slightly agree / slightly disagree / strongly disagree

Q4: Which of these four faces [point to the scale] best represents your feelings about the following statement? ‘Families should spend the same amount of money on educating their daughters as they spend on educating their sons.’

A4: strongly agree / slightly agree / slightly disagree / strongly disagree  

Take the following steps to calculate the indicator’s value:

  1) In the case of Q1 and Q3, provide 1 point for each response “slightly disagree” and 2 points for each response “strongly disagree”. In the case of Q2 and Q4, provide 1 point for each response “slightly agree” and 2 points for each response “strongly agree”.

  2) Count the total number of points per respondent (the minimum can be zero, the maximum can be 8).

  3) Count the number of respondents who scored at least 4 points.

  4) Divide the number of respondents who scored at least 4 points by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregate the data by the respondent’s gender (this is very important), age group, ethnicity, education level, and other factors depending on the local context.

1) Tell the enumerators that if the respondent did not understand the question, they should read it slowly again. They should not rephrase the statement as it might change its meaning.

2) The visual scale is used to make it easier for the respondent to choose the response that best represents her/his feelings. The happiest face means that the respondent “strongly disagrees” while the most unhappy face mean that s/he “strongly disagrees”. If you use the scale, write below each face its meaning (e.g. “strongly agree”) in a language the enumerators and respondents are familiar with. If you do not wish to use the visual scale, you will have to ask the respondent: Would you say that you strongly agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement? [include the given statement].

3) Ensure that the proportion of male and female parent-respondents reflects their true representation in the local population. If your concern is primarily about the (negative) attitudes of fathers (or mothers), consider conducting the interviews with them only.