Perceptions of University of Calabar Professional Women on the Attainment of Peaceful Society through Gender Education in Cross River State, Nigeria

The present study investigated the perceptions of academic women in the University of Calabar on the possible strategies for the attainment of a peaceful society through educating the girl child in Cross River State, Nigeria. Subjects were a random sample of 180 out of 393 women academics in the University of Calabar, Nigeria, cutting across the 10 faculties in the university, with varied years of teaching experience. Their ages ranged from 35 to 58 years, with a mean of 46.2 and a standard deviation of 3.6. A questionnaire was designed by the researchers to collect data for this study. A reliability index of ‘r’ 0.68 was obtained for questionnaire consistency using a test-retest method. In each faculty visited for data collection, all female Lecturers available and willing to participate in the study responded to the questionnaire and returned them on the spot. Frequencies and percentages were used to summarise the data. The findings indicate that: provision of scholarship to females; educating parents/community leaders on the value of women education in nation building; formulating and enforcing policies that will de-emphasise early marriage and commercial sex and the use of women role models to motivate the girl-child were very popular approaches considered by subjects. The implications for peace and security in society are discussed. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n1p12