Education for Sustainable Widows’ Empowerment: Evidence from Southwest Nigeria

George, T. O. and Chukwuedozie, O. (2013) Education for Sustainable Widows’ Empowerment: Evidence from Southwest Nigeria. International Journal of Education and Research, 1 (10). pp. 1-20. ISSN 2201-6333 (Print) ISSN: 2201-6740 (Online)

PDF Download (130kB)

Abstract

Education is acknowledged as a vital tool for the attainment of sustainable transformation and inclusive societal development. Through acquisition of basic skills, knowledge formal/informal, various segments of the population especially widows (married women) who have lost their husband can be empowered to be self-reliant and economically independent in-spite of the vacuum created by the loss of the supposedly “breadwinner”. Education occupies a unique position in the national development programme of any nation. It is also acknowledged as the bedrock of socioeconomic and political advancement of countries (Barro, 1991; National Bureau of Statistics-NBS, 2006). This is because education helps to unfetter and empowers people to economic and social freedom. It equally helps in transforming human capital for economic advancement. Thus, educated individuals are seen to be crucial catalyst for any economy (Schultz, 1960; Becker, 1962). A growing concern is the increasing number of widows in rural southwest Nigeria unable to read or write with lack of basic skills. The paper examines the role of education as a vital tool for widows’ empowerment, other obstacles to widows’ empowerment in Nigeria with a view to suggesting policy options for the way forward. The paper engages mainly secondary sources of data and utilizes relevant sociological theories to buttress the crucial role of education in widows’ empowerment drive

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Education, formal/Informal, Widows, Empowerment, sustainable transformation, societal development
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Mrs Patricia Nwokealisi
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2015 20:49
Last Modified:	05 Apr 2015 20:49
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/4629

Actions (login required)

View Item