An Exploration of the Impact of Afan Oromo Proverbs on Females’ Education (with Particular Reference to Ginchi High School)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to see the impact of some Afan Oromo
proverbs on females’ education. The proverbs were first collected from native Afan
Oromo speakers and evaluated by fourth year Afan Oromo speaking students of
Faculty of Education, Bahir Dar University for test of validity. A total of 80 (60
female and 20 male) students of grades 9 and 10 were selected from Ginichi High
School using simple random sampling technique. Incidental sampling techniques
were employed to select old people in Ginichi town. Two data collection
instruments, interview and questionnaire, were used. The interview was presented
in Afan Oromo. The questionnaire was employed to check whether or not boys and
girls know the available Afan Oromo proverbs and to assess their views of the
impacts on females' education. A qualitative method of data analysis was
employed. The results indicated that almost all the boys and girls a) know the listed
sample of Afan Oromo proverbs; b) believe that such proverbs are the reflections of
the negative attitudes of the society towards females in general and female
education in particular; and c) believe that the proverbs have negative impacts on
females’ education.