An insect under the elephant: Maasai perception of education in relation to their culture

Abstract

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.