Access, equity, and outcomes: Women students’ participation in Nigerian higher education

Abstract

Education in the Third World has often been viewed as a means for social change and upward mobility, yet increased exposure to formal education may simply exacerbate local patterns of societal inequities. While many Third World countries have national policies in place which expand universal primary, if not secondary levels of education, attempts to extend patterns of access to higher levels of education remain problematic, particularly with regard to women. Although Third World nations such as Nigeria have embarked upon schemes to promote universal education at the primary level, the probability of a student remaining in school appears closely related to a variety of factors including gender, class and geographic location. In particular, we know that class can be a powerful factor affecting access to schooling, educational attainment and career expectations, yet it is unclear how class and gender interact with regard to education.