Factors affecting girls learning in co-educational secondary schools in Malawi A Case Study of Zomba District

This study was conducted in four rural secondary schools in Zomba district, located in the southern part of Malawi. The study was aimed at identifying factors affecting girls learning in four rural co-educational or mixed-sex secondary schools and the ways in which these factors can be solved to promote girls learning in Malawi secondary schools. The study was guided by Jackson and Pearson's (2010) gender relations framework. The qualitative research method, which employed a case study design, was used. The participants were four head teachers, four teachers, and twenty girl students. Data was collected through interviews and classroom lesson observation by the teachers in order to provide methodological triangulation. The data was analysed using the inductive thematic content analysis method. The findings of the study revealed the following: lack of role models and mentors for girls in schools; inadequate sanitation facilities for girls; sexual harassment of girls by male teachers and boy colleagues; poor relationship between the teachers and among the students themselves; gender-biased classroom practices; and gender-insensitive allocation of responsibilities for maintaining the school compounds. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations are made in order to promote girls' education in Malawi secondary schools. These recommendations have implications both in Malawi and beyond.