Maasai students’ encounter with formal education: their experiences with and perceptions of schooling processes in Monduli, Tanzania

Employing an ethnographic research design, this study examined the Maasai students’ experiences with and their perceptions of formal schooling processes in Monduli, Tanzania. The study drew on classroom observations, interviews with four (4) heads of schools, and focus groups with 31 teachers and 70 students. The results demonstrated the predominance of teacher-centred and rote-learning approaches, as well as poor interactions between students and teachers in the classrooms. Equally, the results revealed not only tough and challenging school experiences for the Maasai students due to the lack of support from parents, long walking distances, and the absence of midday meals but also strong cultural tensions caused by difficulties in reconciling the requirements of the traditional life with those of the formal schooling. Alongside fundamental reforms in educational policies and practices, the findings suggest the need for school-based professional development programmes, which can sensitise teachers working in Maasailand to culturally responsive curricula and learner-centred pedagogies for the Maasai students in the classroom contexts.