‘The Impact of Mother’s Education on Family Size’

‘The Impact of Mother’s Education on Family Size’

The stresses of climate change and explosive state of demographic transition in developing countries like the Gambia pose great challenge to sustainable development. As a result, there is need for orienting education in these countries for sustainable development in order to help them improve the capacity of their people to address environment and development issues. For countries with high fertility rates like the Gambia, girls’ education is paramount for sustainable development because an educated girl is likely to increase her personal earnings potential, and be more likely to delay marriage and pregnancy. Consequently, educating girls has been shown to reduce population growth and, thus, to less population pressures on the environment.

It is in this context that the study wants to determine the type and level of education that modifies fertility levels in the Gambia. An attempt would be made to find out the minimum period of schooling required for the mother to make an impact on family size; and the relationship between the type of school attended (English or Arabic) by the mother and family size. To collect information about ‘The Impact of Mother’s Education on Family Size’ the descriptive survey method of collecting data would be employed. The main tool for data collection would be that of questionnaire survey. The data collection would be based on personal information collected from mothers of different categories (Illiterates with no formal education, Basic Cycle School Graduates Arabic & English, Grade 12 Graduates Arabic & English, and Tertiary Institution Graduates). A total of 300 (50 from each category) married respondents would be selected to fill the questionnaires.

Being a micro level research, the results of the study would be applicable only to the study area; however, the study can serve as a useful indicator of direction to pursue more rigorous investigations on the impact of mother’s education on fertility in the Gambia; which will be useful in guiding educational planners, policy designers and other stakeholders in providing relevant and quality education for sustainable development.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF SETTLEMENTS IN THE GAMBIA

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF SETTLEMENTS IN THE GAMBIA

Introduction

The primary interest of geography is the study of interrelationships between people and their habitats. In a regional setting, the habitat comprises not merely the territory of the settlements but also the spatial linkages between the settlements in a region. Settlements are products of humans and environment interacting in a heuristic process of adaptation and response[1]. The net result is a highly variable and complex matrix of human and environmental attributes which are in a constant process of change. This aspect of change links geography with history in exploring the past and the present aspects of settlements.

The settlement pattern forms the basis of any cultural landscape; therefore, it is important to trace the evolution of settlements in the Gambia for better appreciation of the country’s cultural landscape. The present landscape had been evolving from the time of the arrival of the first settlers[2] and its study from a historical geographical viewpoint allows the contribution of each stage in its evolution to be illustrated. Before colonial rule, the Soninke- Marabout wars dictated settlement pattern in many parts of the country as villagers were scattered or relocated by the wars. During the colonial period the rural settlements were reoriented for security and administrative control as the same people were separated by new boundaries. In the post colonial period, improved communication, a more diversified economy, and less traditional conservatism influence rural settlement patterns.

The Research Objective and methodology

Rural settlements in the Gambia are characterized by illiteracy, traditionalism, and an agricultural economy.  Consequently, much of the information about the settlements origin and evolution is in the oral form. Thus, this study aims at carrying out a historical geographical review of settlement evolution from pre-colonial rule to the present, to provide a better understanding of rural life for government policy formulation purposes and to promote our understanding of rural society in the past.

This study seeks to explore the origin and evolution of settlements in the Gambia. The study will be organised into three sections, each of which is based upon particular forms of evidence. Thus, the first part will utilize oral historical accounts, place name and other forms of evidence to establish settlement patterns in the pre-colonial period. The second part makes a detailed study of the colonial period records, and the final part uses a wide range of documents to chart the post-colonial progress of settlement colonization, settlement initiation and expansion.

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[1] Ramachandran R (1989): Urbanization and Urban Systems in India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi

[2] Sonko-Godwin, P(1988) Ethnic Groups of The Gambia: A Brief History. Sunrise Publishers, Banjul

RESEARCH PROPORSAL FOR THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON THE ETHNO-LINGUISTIC TRANSFORMATION OF SOME GAMBIAN FAMILIES

RESEARCH PROPORSAL FOR THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON THE ETHNO-LINGUISTIC TRANSFORMATION OF SOME GAMBIAN FAMILIES

Introduction

Ethnicity is a sense of ethnic uniqueness which entails the subjective or symbolic use by a group of people of any aspect of culture in order to differentiate themselves from other groups. [1] Ethnic groups are, therefore identified on the basis of cultural differences such as language, attitude toward marriage and parenting, food habits, and so forth. Ethnic groups are recognized based on their distinctive traits which usually originate from the “homeland”; the prominent in the Gambian societies being language. The other important symbol of ethnic identity in the Gambian societies is the family name which is due to the fact that surname is usually used as an indicator of ethnic background.[2] Surnames are used in the Gambian societies for ethnic identification because they are indicators of parentage and place of origin.

As migration is not merely a relocation of people but is a process which modifies the area of origin, the area of destination and the way of life of the migrant[3], many families in the Gambia experienced transformation of their ethno-linguistic identity due to migration. Ethnic identity is assumed to change depending on social context and is strongly activated by migration across culture. Migration of peoples into the present day Gambia has been going on for centuries, the detail of which is beyond the scope of this study, but the ethno-linguistic transformation of the Gambian families is related to this process of migration. This is due to the liberal outlook of the Gambian societies and their capacity to take within their fold people of varying cultural and linguistic hues. The most significant manifestation of this is the spread of the surname across different ethno-linguistic groups.

The Research Objective and methodology

Scholarship on the ethno-linguistic transformation of families in the Gambia is largely absent due to lack of research concerning the ethno-linguistic transformation of families in the Gambia. This constitutes a gap in our understanding of the Gambian society. Through case studies on the transformation of different families, this research aims at improving our understanding of the fact that the Gambia is a “melting pot” of ethno-linguistic groups and thus encourages the appreciation of our diversity in unity. Through the case studies of different families, this research will demonstrate that ethnic differences in the Gambia should not be a source of discord as the same families are spread among different ethno-linguistic groups.

In order to establish the relationship between people of the same surname found in different ethno-linguistic groups, case studies will be conducted concurrently on the Njies of Kolli Kunda in Kiang West, Jobes of Karantaba in Jarra west, and Jammehs of Bakau. Field work will be carried out at the places of study through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews about families’ history and place of origin. Some of the research questions will include among others, what are reasons for the migration of their forebears? How did changes in the ethno-linguistic identities occurred? What are the effects of these changes? To what extent did the transformed families maintained links with their siblings at their place of origin? How are they perceived by their siblings at their place of origin? Etc

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[1] De-Vos G, Romanucci-Rose L(1975): Ethnic Identity: Cultural Continuities and Chance, May Field Population Company, Palo Alto California

[2] Waters MC, (1989): The everyday use of surname to determine ethnic ancestry, Qualitative Sociology, volume 12, issue 3, pp. 303-324

[3] Beaujeu-Garnier, J. (1966) cited in Chandna (2008): Geography of Population Concept Determinants and Patterns, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi