The following research problem was investigated: Why is it that some women have managed to obtain a tertiary level education in an environment where such educational attainment for women is extremely rare? The study was conducted in Malawi, with women students enrolled at Chancellor College. This country was chosen because it has a very low literacy rate for women, and because it is among the 25 Least Developed Countries in the Third World. The most salient factors influencing the high rate of educational attainment of these respondents were found to be the women's own visions, coupled with their desire to obtain professional wage-earning careers. Their motivation to pursue high educational attainment was to be able to provide for the well-being of present and/or future family members.
The educational attainment of these women was also influenced by family members, in particular, mothers, fathers, and older sisters. Some peers and teachers were also sources of support for these women. Most importantly, these respondents were successful in their pursuit of high educational attainment in spite of difficult obstacles. The obstacles they encountered but were able to overcome included: unreliable educational access procedures, school rules and classroom practices, pressure to be traditional, and gender-stereotyping. An important finding of this study was the positive role played by single-sex secondary schools in the academic achievement and educational attainment of women in this context.
