Index

Abstract

Child and consanguineous marriages among students from ethnic minorities have consequences and risks for schools, families, and society. This study's primary purpose is to research the perception, appraisal, and factors influencing educational initiatives to avoid child and consanguineous marriage among secondary school students from ethnic minority groups. This study surveyed 106 administrators, teachers, and students from secondary schools in Dien Bien province, Vietnam, using three questionnaires designed to measure perception, evaluation, and factors influencing educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage. To examine data, a descriptive analysis was performed. The results indicate that the administrators, teachers, and students of secondary schools for ethnic minority affairs have an average understanding of the role of educational activities in preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage. In secondary schools for ethnic minority affairs, administrators, teachers, and students lack a strong understanding of the role of educational activities in preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage; many students and teachers are indifferent to programs for preventing child and consanguineous marriage. This study contributes to the overall discourse of administrators at secondary schools for ethnic minority issues applying a variety of educational materials, forms, and strategies to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage among students.

Keywords: Child marriage, Consanguineous marriage, Ethnic minority, Secondary school, Vietnam.

Received: 12 September 2022 / Revised: 21 October 2022 / Accepted: 8 November 2022 / Published:2 December 2022

Contribution/ Originality

This research contributes to the theoretical framework of teaching pupils from secondary schools serving ethnic minority populations to prevent violence and sexual abuse. The findings of this research provide more insight into the conceptual underpinnings of the topic's intended educational interventions, which aimed to curtail the practice of child and consanguineous marriage.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Child Marriage

Child marriage, which is defined as the union of a minor younger than 18 years of age, is an ancient worldwide phenomenon. Over 60 million females under the age of 18 are married, including approximately 31 million in South Asia, 14 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 6.6 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (Nour, 2009). Marriage at a young age is unclear and may or may not indicate the presence of children. Additionally, what one individual deems early may be deemed late by another. A kid bride glorifies the operation, suggesting a celebration and a bride who is thrilled to begin a romantic relationship with her husband. However, the majority of brides do not know or have never met their fiancé (Nour, 2006).

In a number of nations, the legal age of marriage is 18; however, some governments do not strictly enforce these regulations. Some couples marry at birth; in such cases, the girl is taken to her husband's household at the age of seven (Bruce & Clark, 2004). The practice has been linked to numerous psychological and health risks (UNICEF, 2001), including vesicovaginal fistulae (Akpan, 2003) and a higher risk of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), in part because early marriage frequently eliminates a girl's ability to abstain from sex, thereby increasing the frequency of sexual activity while decreasing the use of contraceptives (Clark, 2004). Child marriage also significantly influences education, as most females who marry as children must drop out of school (Lloyd & Mensch, 2008). In Bangladesh, Field and Ambrus (2008) discovered that for every additional year of delay in the age of marriage, a girl gains an average of .22 additional years of schooling and a 5.6% increase in the likelihood of literacy.

Most married girls are out of school and have little to no say in whether or not they should return to school, restricting their reading, numeracy, and financial capabilities (International Center for Research on Women, 2011; UK, 2011; Vogelstein, 2013). Early marriage alters the educational trajectory of young women. Frequently, formal schooling and education come to an end, preventing students from obtaining the information and skills necessary for life, including not able to contribute as productive members of their homes and communities. In addition, they are cut off from the social network and support system that schools provide. The earlier a female gets married, the more probable she is to have a poor level of education (Parsons et al., 2015). According to Field and Ambrus (2008) and Nguyen and Wodon (2015) each year of early marriage before the age of 18 is associated with a decline of 4–6 percentage points in the likelihood of secondary school completion for females and in certain circumstances, an influence on literacy as well.

According to Nour (2009) after marriage, girls are brought to their husband's household, where they assume the responsibilities of wife, housekeeper, and mother. These new residences may be situated in a distinct town or hamlet. Thus, females face rejection, solitude, and melancholy. Some females understand that in order to survive, they must adapt to their new environment and display fecundity. They lose their youth and the chance to play, have friendships, and receive an education. Both young women and their kids are negatively affected by marriage at a relatively young age (Kamal, Hassan, Alam, & Ying, 2015). This includes a higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), cervical cancer, malaria, mother and infant mortality during childbirth, and obstetric fistulas (Nour, 2006). In addition to unwanted pregnancy, premature birth, delivery of kids with low birth weight, fetal death, and domestic violence, early marriage negatively affects young women (Santhya, 2011). Girls aged 15 to 19 are twice as likely to die from problems connected to pregnancy (International Center for Research on Women., 2012). On average, women who marry early will be exposed to the danger of pregnancy for a longer length of time, which typically results in a higher risk of induced abortion and more fertility owing to a lack of contraception use. Additionally, child marriage has direct effects on girls' education, mental health, human rights, and economic survival (Walker, 2012). Thus, child marriage has significant negative social and health repercussions to warrant accelerating its extinction (Jones, 2001).

1.2. Consanguineous Marriage

One billion of the world's population is expected to reside in societies that favor consanguine marriage (Bittles & Black, 2010; Modell & Darr, 2002). In the majority of societies in North Africa, the Middle East, and West Asia, consanguineous marriage is a practice that is honored (Bittles & Black, 2015; Hamamy et al., 2011; Tadmouri et al., 2009). Consanguineous marriage is described as a relationship between persons who are second cousins or more closely related (Bittles, 2001). The kids of a consanguineous wedding are predicted to inherit identical gene copies from both parents. This includes first cousin, first cousin once removed, and second cousin relationships. Although first-cousin marriage has been widely used to maintain family wealth and land ownership, the highest prevalence of consanguineous unions is in poor rural communities with low levels of maternal education, young age at marriage and first birth, short birth intervals, and longer reproductive spans (Bittles, Mason, Greene, & Rao, 1991; Bittles, 1994; Khlat, 1997). These characteristics are connected with greater family sizes and higher newborn and early childhood death rates. Fertility of consanguineous spouses and neonatal and childhood illness and mortality in their offspring is the consanguinity outcomes that have been the subject of most research. The bulk of research suggests that first cousins have more offspring, a phenomenon that is typically attributed to a younger start to reproduction and to reproductive compensation, i.e., the replacement of children who die at a young age (Bittles, Grant, Sullivan, & Hussain, 2002). Regarding early mortality, a multi-national meta-analysis of deaths from late pregnancy to approximately ten years of age revealed a 4.4% excess mortality among first cousin offspring (Bittles & Neel, 1994), whereas a study of first cousin offspring in early to mid-20th century Italy estimated excess of 3.5% deaths (Cavalli-Sforza, Moroni, & Zei, 2004).

Depending on ethnicity, religion, culture, and location, the incidence of consanguinity and the rates of marriage between first cousins vary greatly within and between cultures and communities (Hamamy, 2011). Actual grounds for preferring consanguineous marriages are mostly societal in nature. In communities with a high rate of consanguinity, sociological studies indicate that consanguineous marriage may strengthen the stability of couples due to the compatibility between husband and wife, who share the same social relationships after marriage as before, as well as the couple's compatibility with other family members (Hamamy, 2011). The negative impact of consanguineous marriage in terms of higher genetic risks to the kids might be weighed against the potential social and economic advantages by health care professionals and genetics specialists (Hamamy et al., 2011).

2. METHODS

Three different Secondary Schools for Ethnic Minority Affairs were visited in order to conduct a survey with a total of 106 participants. These schools were the Nua Ngam Commune Secondary School for Ethnic Minority Affairs, Muong Nha Commune Secondary School for Ethnic Minority Affairs, and Phu Luong Commune Secondary School for Ethnic Minority Affairs. The participants included eight administrators, six staff members responsible for day-boarding students, and 92 teachers.

2.1. Measurement

Three questionnaires were created to measure Perception, Evaluation, and Factors Influencing Educational Activities to Prevent Child Marriage and Consanguineous Marriage. All 106 participants were asked to fulfill three questionnaires, with a response rate of 100% (Dillman, 2000).

2.2. Analysis

The survey forms were built with three possibilities in mind, and the scoring procedure as follows:

According to the mean score, it may be conventional:

3. RESULTS

Table 1 shows the perception of educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage. Four items mean score ranking from the highest to the lowest as follows: (1) Assist students in recognizing the repercussions of child marriage and consanguineous marriage, including reproductive health; the lives of mothers and children; population quality, breed decline, human resource quality; poverty; illiteracy. Students adhere to the laws and regulations of schools and classes, as well as the regulations of the Marriage and Family Law (ranking no.1, M = 2.38); (2)Help the school improve the quality of teaching in order for kids to create and develop a whole personality (ranking no.2, M = 2.28); (3)Assisting parents of students to be well-informed about the repercussions of child marriage and consanguineous marriage; the advantages of getting married at the legal age; and how to coordinate with educational forces in educating children and children in the community to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage (ranking no.3, M = 2.21); (4)Contributing to the future education and training of a group of young intellectuals, harmonious development in the following areas: ethics; wisdom; physical; beauty; work skills; self-mastery, overcoming all of life's challenges (ranking no.4, M = 1.99).

Table 1. Perception of educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage (N = 106).
Item
Unimportant
Average
Important
M
R
n
%
n
%
n
%
Assists students in understanding the ramifications of child marriage and consanguineous marriage and in adhering to school and class restrictions as well as the Marriage and Family Law.
18
17.0
30
28.3
58
54.7
2.38
1
Assisting parents of students to be well-informed about the repercussions of child marriage and consanguineous marriage; the advantages of getting married at the legal age; and how to coordinate with educational forces in educating children and children in the community to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage.
28
26.4
28
26.4
50
80.6
2.21
3
Help the school improve the quality of teaching in order for kids to create and develop a whole personality.
23
21.7
30
28.3
53
85.5
2.28
2
Contributing to a group of young minds' future education and training, harmonious development in the following areas, and overcoming all life's problems.
35
33.0
37
34.9
34
54.8
1.99
4

Note: n: number of participants; %: percentage; M: mean; R: ranking.

Table 2 shows the evaluation of educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage. Six items mean score ranking from the highest to the lowest are as follows: (1)Establishing the school's steering group for child marriage and consanguineous marriage prevention (ranking no.1, M = 2.43); (2)Establishing a School Psychology Counseling Group (ranking no.2, M = 2.31); (3)Assign special responsibilities to education forces in order to avoid child and consanguineous marriage (ranking no.3, M = 2.23); (4)Creating conditions for forces to participate effectively in educating students on preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage (ranking no.4, M = 2.16); (5) Develop a structure for collaboration between families, schools, local authorities, and social organizations in the implementation of educational programs to avoid child and consanguineous marriages among students (ranking no.5, M = 1.99); (6)Teacher capacity building to avoid child and consanguineous marriages through education (ranking no.6, M = 1.79).

Table 2. Evaluation of educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage (N = 106).
Item
Not good
Average
Good
M
R
n
%
n
%
n
%
Establishing the school's steering group for child marriage and consanguineous marriage prevention.
16
15.1
28
26.4
62
58.5
2.43
1
Establishing a school psychology counseling group.
15
14.2
43
40.6
48
45.3
2.31
2
Assign special responsibilities to education forces in order to avoid child and consanguineous marriage.
22
20.8
38
35.8
46
43.4
2.23
3
Teacher capacity building to avoid child and consanguineous marriages through education.
48
45.3
32
30.2
26
24.5
1.79
6
Creating conditions for forces to participate effectively in educating students on preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage.
26
24.5
37
34.9
43
40.6
2.16
4
To prevent student consanguineous marriages, establish a system for family, school, local government, and social organization partnership on educational initiatives.
38
35.8
31
29.2
37
34.9
1.99
5

Note: n: number of participants; %: percentage; M: mean; R: ranking.

Table 3 shows the factors influencing educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage. Four items mean score ranking, in subjective factors, from the highest to the lowest as follows: (1)Awareness of child marriage and consanguineous marriage among managers and teachers (ranking no.1, M = 2.63); (2)The capacity of the principal to regulate educational activities and avoid child and consanguineous marriages among students (ranking no.2, M = 2.54); (3)Teachers' ability to conduct educational initiatives to prevent child and consanguineous marriage among students (ranking no.3, M = 2.26); (4)The perspectives of students on child marriage and consanguineous marriage (ranking no.4, M = 2.17).

Table 3. Factors influencing educational activities to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage (N = 106).
Item
Not influence
Average
Influence
M
R
n
%
n
%
n
%
Subjective factors
Awareness of child marriage and consanguineous marriage among managers and teachers.
7
6.6
25
23.6
74
69.8
2.63
1
The perspectives of students on child marriage and consanguineous marriage.
32
30.2
24
22.6
50
47.2
2.17
4
The capacity of the principal to regulate educational activities and avoid child and consanguineous marriages among students.
12
11.3
25
23.6
69
65.1
2.54
2
Teachers' ability to conduct educational initiatives to prevent child and consanguineous marriage among students.
25
23.6
28
26.4
53
50.0
2.26
3
Objective factors
Social influence.
27
25.5
31
29.2
48
45.3
2.20
4
Family-oriented learning environment.
12
11.3
25
23.6
69
65.1
2.54
1
Local traditions and customs.
9
8.5
30
28.3
67
63.2
2.55
2
School infrastructure.
22
20.8
29
27.4
55
51.9
2.31
3

Note: n: number of participants; %: percentage; M: mean; R: ranking.

Four items mean score ranking, in objective factors, from the highest to the lowest as follow: (1) Family-oriented learning environment (ranking no.1, M = 2.54); (2) Local traditions and customs (ranking no.2, M = 2.55); (3) School infrastructure (ranking no.3, M = 2.31); (4) Social influence (ranking no.4, M = 2.20).

4. DISCUSSION

The administrators, teachers, and students of Dien Bien secondary school for ethnic minority affairs are only averagely aware of the function of educational activities in preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage Table 1. However, the content of the survey is still useful, as it “assists students in understanding the ramifications of child marriage and consanguineous marriage and in adhering to school and class restrictions as well as the Marriage and Family Law”. This item has the highest rating with M = 2.38. Thus, it can be observed that administrators, teachers, and staff have correctly defined the educational content and tasks of the educational mission in general. Administrators, instructors, and staff in schools have implemented educational activities directed at learners, for learners, with the goal of fostering their development based on a determination of the appropriate material and educational objectives. Consequently, educational measures to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage in the school environment had an initial favorable effect on the consciousness of a portion of students.

"Contributing to the future education and training of a group of young intellectuals, harmonious development in the following areas: ethics; wisdom; physical; beauty; work skills; self-mastery, overcoming all of life's challenges" are the four items listed lowest on the important level (M = 1.99). This topic serves a crucial role in preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage through education nowadays. To develop society, it is necessary to focus on human resources, educate and train a young generation that is both virtuous and talented, have sufficient health, live and work in accordance with the constitution and law, and have the will and courage to eradicate the backward and archaic in order to build a civilized, democratic, and progressive society. However, this content has not been fully and correctly comprehended, and many teachers and students are still apathetic; therefore, the secondary school for ethnic minority affairs' guiding principles must alter and enhance teachers' and students' awareness. Students are educated on the function, significance, and value of educational activities, so assisting schools and society in eradicating child marriage and consanguineous marriage and fostering sustainable development for a civilized, beautiful, and wealthy society.

The school principals have executed all six items listed in Table 2 on planning educational activities to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage among students. Each content has a specific function at each level. The first step in implementation is establishing the school's steering committee for child marriage and consanguineous marriage prevention. The foundation of this school's steering group is predicated on the school year plan developed by the rector, in accordance with the guiding documents of the competent authorities, the Department of Education and Training being the closest. The school's steering group is responsible for advising, orienting, formulating action plans, inspecting, and overseeing the school's educational activities. The next goal is to establish a School Psychology Counseling Group. The majority of schools currently include a counseling team to support school psychology and assist children with psychological disorders, puberty-related issues, and sexual development. However, the functioning of this organization is ineffective since the consulting team members lack in-depth training and professional abilities; hence, they have not earned the trust of students who require counseling.

To prevent child and consanguineous marriage, management should give education forces special duties. When arranging the implementation, it is vital to disseminate the plan's content to each member of the pedagogical council and to request that instructors and staff execute tasks synchronously, uniformly, cooperatively, and in support of one another. Assign teachers, subject instructors, and employees in charge of part-boarding children to coordinate the implementation and dissemination of educational programs to students and their parents. Next, conditions must be creating conditions for forces to participate effectively in educating students on preventing child marriage and consanguineous marriage. Develop a structure for collaboration between families, schools, local authorities, and social organizations in the implementation of educational programs to avoid child and consanguineous marriages among students. And teacher capacity building to avoid child and consanguineous marriages through education. The aforementioned situational analysis demonstrates that, when conducting educational activities for students at secondary school for ethnic minority affairs, school administrators must propagate and increase awareness for forces participating in educational activities to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage in school.

The key element, under subjective factors, with the greatest impact on educational efforts to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage for students in secondary school for ethnic minority issues, is awareness of child marriage and consanguineous marriage among managers and teachers. Each principal's level of awareness, level of thought, and level of management is reflected in his or her management decisions. According to the explanation of some administrators, teachers who were interviewed stated that schools, administrators, and teachers take better care of students than their own children, from studying to eating and sleeping. Numerous children drop out of school to get married (child marriage) at the request of their parents, because of ethnic and local customs, because of undesired pregnancy, etc. In this instance, the majority of teachers and schools failed to persuade kids to return to class and learning continued. The principal's ability to regulate education and prevent child and consanguineous marriages is the second factor. In addition to the perceptions of administrators and instructors, the managerial ability of the principal impacts the success or failure of educational activities in schools, as well as their type, scope, and efficacy. The third factor is teachers' ability to prevent child and consanguineous marriages. Under the leadership of the principal, for educational activities to be as effective as envisaged, cooperation with the teaching staff is required. Teachers are individuals who directly carry out educational activities for students; who operate as a liaison between the Board of Directors and students; and who, on behalf of the principal, express the principal's will to students through structured educational activities. Teachers can only perform effectively if they possess the requisite pedagogical skills and credentials. Therefore, the effectiveness of educational initiatives to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage for students is highly dependent on each instructor's perceptiveness and organizational skills. The fourth component is student views on child and consanguineous marriage. Educational activities target students, but survey results show product quality. Its influence is low. The majority of students have erroneous knowledge of child marriage and consanguineous marriage and have not participated in this educational activity. Many youngsters enjoy dropping out of school and getting married (child marriage).

In addition to subjective variables, objective factors have a considerable impact on managing and planning instructional activities at secondary school for ethnic minority affairs to avoid child marriage and consanguineous marriage. First, the home educational environment affects the school's child marriage and consanguineous marriage prevention efforts. Ethnic minorities in upland areas continue to face severe economic challenges; many parents are unaware of the benefits of education and intellectual advancement and do not push their children to attend school but want them to reside there. On the other hand, the language barrier is one of the most significant obstacles inhibiting the learning abilities and perception of ethnic minority students, causing them to be unable to keep up with their classmates, resulting in hatred of learning and dropping out of school. For many years, ethnic minorities with poor educational attainment and limited understanding and legal awareness have regarded it acceptable for children to get married and have children at a very young age.

Second, local norms and practices make it difficult for educational authorities to prevent the underage marriage and consanguineous marriage among ethnic minority secondary school students. The customs and practices of ethnic minorities have existed for many generations and are firmly ingrained in people's consciousness; they significantly impact the lives and activities of the majority of ethnic minorities. For ethnic minorities, marriage is conducted mostly according to conventions and practices; the marriage requires only the agreement of the village chief or the parents of both parties, as well as the testimony of the family, relatives, and neighbors.

Thirdly, school infrastructure, every mountain family wants children and grandchildren as soon as possible, heirs, and young marriages to have more workers. We must mobilize specific human and material resources in order to conduct any educational activity. Ethnic minority secondary schools differ from normal secondary schools in that the majority of students are children of ethnic minorities, their homes are far away, and the roads are bad, requiring them to eat and remain at school. If the amenities are not assured, male and female students will not be provided with separate living quarters, resulting in an uncontrollable situation. Many of such students who remain close for an extended period of time are attracted towards each other sexually and get into unexpected consequences. Such incidents indirectly boost child marriage while students are still in school.

The current social environment is constantly in flux, creating chances for young people to grow and engage with one another in any location and at any time. With the advancement of science and technology, individuals now have an additional means of receiving knowledge. The proliferation of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Zalo, etc., makes it simple for social community members to obtain new information from friends or society. However, the benefits are accompanied by negative physical and mental health effects. With such a social milieu, there are a number of negative influences on educational activities and the prevention of child marriage and consanguineous marriage in today's secondary schools.

5. CONCLUSION

In secondary schools for ethnic minority issues, the development and management of educational programs to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage among students have been prioritized. Many efforts are made to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage, although some themes have not yet received sufficient consideration. Future research should further investigate the elements impacting the planned educational efforts to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage and propose models or programs to prevent child marriage and consanguineous marriage.

Funding: This research is supported by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (Grant number: B2020-TNA-08).

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ Contributions: Both authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study.

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