An Exploration of School-Community Collaboration in Curbing Child Marriages Among Girls in Three Selected Primary Schools of Chama District of Zambia

Abstract

This study sought to explore school-community collaboration in curbing child marriages among girls in three primary schools in Chama District of Muchinga Province of Zambia. A descriptive research design was used in this study. The study sample size included three head teachers, three chiefs, three Guidance and Counselling teachers, three religious leaders, three girls who were victims of child marriage, three parents to the victims of child marriage and seventeen grade seven girls making the total of thirty-five participants. Purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques were used to sample the participants. Data was generated using interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis then it was analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis techniques based on emerging themes from the study. The study revealed that schools do not collaborate well with some members of the community in the fight against child marriage. The study further revealed that most of the challenges experienced by schools and communities in curbing child marriages were because of cultural practices, threats, family ties and misunderstanding of human rights. The study recommended need for the government to address these challenges so that collaboration is enhanced between schools and communities. The study further recommended that similar studies be conducted on a large scale for the purpose of establishing what prevails in other Districts.