Resolving Inner Cultural Conflicts toward Education in Pastoral East Africa: A Grounded Theory Study

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explain the perceptions of semi-nomadic pastoralists in East Africa, who self-identified as having the characteristics of the most vulnerable, and who were educationally successful. This study identified motivating factors that contributed to resiliency while in the pursuit of an education. Findings suggest that even though students from this background utilize these motivating factors they are still faced with inner cultural tensions that can be insurmountable. Emergent theory suggests that inner cultural conflicts toward education are resolved when push/pull factors were combined with a sense of something beyond themselves, allowing for transcultural migration. Keywords: Pastoralists, Semi-nomadic, Vulnerable Children, Education, Resiliency, Grounded Theory, Tanzania, East Africa Pastoralists in East Africa have many different mother tongues. Their cultures are unique having developed independently for many generations. These are proud people. When some outsiders speak of education for rural tribes they convey the impression that this civilizing influence will make pastoralists better people. However, education is seen by some as a threat to traditional culture. The history of this region repeatedly speaks of domination by industrialized states and the use of education to both improve lives as well as train a labor force for exploitation. In spite of the latter, some see education as a means of moving toward a better life, an improved life. They see it as a natural extension of a progressive people, necessary to maintain a desirable place in this world. The problem addressed by this study was that, as Kratli (2001) reports, inadequate attention has been directed toward education and other development activities as they apply to specific community context. We were intrigued by this context that included perceptions of education held by pastoralists as well as the barriers they faced. As researchers, we were, of course, aware of the arguments. Our interests led us to study the thoughts of those pastoralists who had made a commitment to being educated. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explain the perceptions of semi-nomadic pastoralists in East Africa who self-identified as having the characteristics of the most vulnerable and who were educationally successful. Perhaps this research will be useful for individuals or organizations interested in education in East Africa, especially if interested in how to best support those struggling to be educationally successful. We began our study with an interest in the barriers the most vulnerable students faced and how they overcame those barriers. Why were they so radically determined to be successful students, while most of their peers were not? Slowly, as we learned more through our research process, we refocused our study on one distinct population and reworked our guiding questions. What were the perceptions of those who self-identified as having the characteristics of the most vulnerable, were educationally successful, and who were from semi-nomadic pastoralist tribes? We knew they were resilient, but why were they resilient, and how was this resiliency manifested? What, if any, unique factors were involved?