Abstract:
The contributions of individuals towards a nation’s development cannot be underestimated. Nevertheless,
research has proven that gender roles could create some setbacks to the extent that some individuals may
not be able to reach the optimum in higher education. This correlational study explored whether the interplay
of some female gender roles affected persistence as female students juggled with studies. A total of 21 study
centres with female enrolment of a 100 and above were purposively selected. Using simple random sampling,
a sample of 441 female students were drawn from two distance education institutions in Ghana. The study
employed the correlational research design. A questionnaire was used to collect data and analysed using
descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. It was revealed that female students
had family roles they performed. The study found that there was a positive correlation between persistence
and familial roles among the participants. This implied that as the level of familial roles of the respondents
increased, their persistence increased as well, thus revealing some level of resilience towards the progression
of their education. It was therefore recommended that administrators of distance education institutions
equipped female students with the needed knowledge and support to ensure the effective management of
their familial roles.
