Schooling and Pastoralists’ Livelihoods: A Tanzanian Case-Study

Previous research on education amongst pastoralists has concentrated mainly on the reasons for their comparatively low rates of enrolment and attainment. This thesis examines education in pastoralist areas more critically. It is based on fourteen months of fieldwork carried out between 2003 and 2006 in a predominantly agro-pastoralist Maasai area in Monduli District in northern Tanzania. Quantitative and qualitative data are used to explore the nature of the schooling process and the ways in which schooling has influenced pastoralism and pastoralists’ livelihoods. Theoretical approaches which view schooling as a diverse collection of socially situated practices embedded in a local context, as well as approaches which see ‘development’ as a discursive practice, are drawn on. Various actors have shaped the schooling process, including the Tanzanian government, teachers, non-Maasai in-migrants, and Maasai. The results of this process are shown to have been affected by discursive contestations, mediated by local constraints and opportunities. The schooling process in pastoralist areas in Tanzania has been informed by discourses of pastoral development that are not supportive of extensive pastoralism. Involvement of Maasai children in schooling has consequently brought practical as well as ideological challenges for those trying to maintain successful and sustainable pastoralist livelihoods. This thesis argues that the schooling process in this area has influenced livelihood choices and thus the practice and viability of pastoralism. Through examining the ideological basis, practices, and consequences of schooling, as well as through an analysis of the formulation of education policies, this thesis seeks to inform and stimulate current debate surrounding education provision for pastoralists.