Tanzanian Children’s Perceptions of Education and Their Role in Society: Views of the Children 2007

This 51-page study was published by Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) and the Research and Analysis Working Group of the MKUKUTA Monitoring System of the Ministry of Finance And Economic Affairs, and funded by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Tanzania. It is the result of participatory research with children in Tanzania. According to the authors, as the "consumers" of education, children provide useful information for those working for and with children – from policy makers to teachers.

This report contains children’s opinions on a range of issues related to education, such as school services (including healthcare, water supply, and food), textbooks, performance by teachers, discipline, extra charges, and their desired improvements to education. Researchers also asked for their opinions on their social and economic contributions to their families and communities, their desire for and access to information, formal and informal ways they are listened to, and their aspirations for the future. This publication is a sister report to the MKUKUTA Monitoring System’s annual "Views of the People" report.

Methodology
The survey involved the participation of 512 children aged 7 to 14 years from ten regions, urban and rural, and from across varying socio-economic backgrounds on mainland Tanzania. The research tool was developed in a participatory way involving various stakeholders. Potential topics were identified, and a children’s workshop was held to obtain their opinions on the topics, as well as how to open up discussion in a simple, accessible way. From this workshop, the list of topics was refined to focus on education/schooling and the position of children within society. This was further refined into a series of both qualitative and quantitative research questions that were matched to particular participatory tools researchers would use to elicit the kinds of responses they were seeking. Examples of these tools include:

• For quantitative questions (yes or no): Responses were gathered by a show of hands, or "voting" with small seeds, stones, or whatever was locally available. Alternately, the game "the sun shines on" would be played, where children would move in a loose circle. The facilitator would say something like, “the sun shines on those who pay school contributions” and those for whom the answer was yes would move to the centre of the circle.
• For qualitative questions: Children performed scenes from their daily interactions in role plays.
• For mixed answers: Opinion lines were used. A line is marked on the ground, and children are told that at one end their teachers are kind, listen to them, and help them, and, on the other end, teachers are disciplinary figures you are afraid of. The children are asked to place themselves on the line according to their estimation of their teachers. This gives quantitative response (70% of children feel their teachers are more helpful than disciplinarian) and qualitative response (children discussing amongst themselves where they should be).

Key Findings

The report's key findings can be grouped into five categories: perceptions, education, participation in society, communication, and future aspirations. Each category is briefly summarised below:

• Perceptions: Researchers found that children see things differently as compared to adults and that children have opinions that provide a valuable perspective to be taken into account by adults.
• Education: Children emphasised that most learning was top-down, with the teacher writing on the blackboard and children taking notes. Textbooks are highly valued and liked, but the lack of adequate supply is frustrating for the children. They were able to clearly express what they wanted in a teacher, and noted that their teachers sometimes failed to meet basic contractual obligations. They found corporal punishment regulations were not being adhered to, and that contributions in cash and in kind were expected in all the schools.
• Participation in society: Children are active economically and socially and undertake a wide range of activities that directly benefit the family and society.
• Communication: Overall, they expressed a limited range of communication with parents. Researchers found that children get information from a wide range of sources, but that radio was very significant for them. They also found that, in general, children were not listened to by their teachers, as the perception that teachers are there to explain, and children should be listening to them, is prevalent. A possible exception is in mosques and churches.
• Future aspirations:Children have a diverse range of aspirations for future jobs, including governing the country in some way, serving in defense forces, becoming businesspeople, or engaging in skilled or semi-skilled trade.

Researchers concluded that children want to be listened to and taken notice of, that they want to be taught by teachers who like children and teaching, and that children need to be heard. They also concluded that children enjoy being consulted, sometimes taking specific action in response to an identified problem, and that this demonstrates an interest in social participation that should be nurtured.