An insect under the elephant: Maasai perception of education in relation to their culture
Master thesis
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3082151Utgivelsesdato
2023Metadata
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Sammendrag
The theme for this master’s thesis is education and culture. The overall objective of this thesis
was to do an in-depth study of a group of Maasai on how they perceive secondary and higher
education in relation to their culture. The Maasai are well known in tourism, but very little
research has been conducted involving them. The Maasai are historically known to be
reluctant to accept formal education, but this seems to be changing. The Maasai traditional
lifestyle is under pressure due to globalization, climate change, and ongoing land conflicts.
This thesis explores if these changes have affected their acceptance of formal education.
The data was collected during one-and-a-half-month fieldwork conducted in Northern
Tanzania. The first three weeks were spent in a secondary school with predominantly Maasai
students, where I had field conversations and participatory observation. The following weeks
were spent in a rural Maasai village, where I conducted interviews, field conversations, and
participatory observation.
To understand how the Maasai perceive secondary and higher education in relation to their
culture, I have examined what factors make them embrace or be reluctant towards education
and how they view the importance and relevance of education. In addition, I have used
Bourdieu´s forms of capital to discuss how the Maasais can gain or lose capital due to
education and discussed culture through Thomas Hylland Eriksen's definitions.
The main conclusion is that the Maasai perceive secondary and higher education as necessary
to maintain their culture and traditional lifestyle. While some Maasais might still be reluctant
towards formal education, it is considered an essential key to the Maasai culture´s existence.
Beskrivelse
Master of Social Science in Education
Department of Pedagogy, Religion and Social Science Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports