Abstract:
Institutions play a crucial role in students’ educational process. This study was conducted in Mvomero district to assess the effect of informal institutions on educational engagement of female students in ward secondary schools. Data were collected through survey, document review, focus group discussion and key-informant interviews. Purposive sampling was used whereby ward secondary schools were a target. Then study respondents were randomly selected. A sample of 80 respondents was interviewed. The collected data were analyzed by using statistical package for social science (SPSS) computer program for quantitative data, and content analysis for textual data. The results indicated that informal rules (socio-cultural practices and traditional norms) affected female student’s educational engagement; the majority of respondents viewed the institutions as an obstacle. As such, various measures were recommended to be taken by different stakeholders such as NGOs, government agencies, teachers, parents, guardians and students themselves to ensure informal rules including social-cultural and traditional norms are regulated to make female students optimize their educational opportunities.
