Barriers, opportunities, and enablers to educate girls from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): A systematic review of literature

• Published in: Children and youth services review 2020-11, Vol.118, p.105350, Article 105350
• Main Authors: Thamminaina, Apparao, Kanungo, Pallavi, Mohanty, Seemita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Education; Girls; India; Literature reviews; Particularly vulnerable tribal group; School; Systematic review; Vulnerability; Women's education
• ISSN: 0190-7409; 1873-7765
• DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105350

•Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of India are the least developed.•The female literacy rate among PVTGs is the lowest in India.•Sense of insecurity, lack of female teachers, and incidents of abuse are barriers.•Language, lack of parental engagement, and poor infrastructure are challenges.•A blend of traditional knowledge and national curricular framework is needed. This study aims to provide insight into educating girls from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India. It synthesizes themes to understand the barriers, opportunities, and the enablers that ensue alongside their educational journey. The paper employs the SPIDER tool for systematic review, JabRef, to remove duplicate articles, and Rayyan QCRI to present the selected articles as results. Finally, the elements from the SQUIRE 2.0 was applied for evaluating the quality of results. Only 45 articles from those published from 2011 to 2019 were found suitable. Findings highlight the lack of educational advancement among the PVTG girls even though SDG-4 ensures quality education to all. In summary, most researchers have emphasised on overall tribal education, while very few have focused on either tribal or PVTG girls’ education. Similarly, readers from various corners of the world have exposure to articles that are either based on health or ethno-medicinal practices of the PVTGs. This study would be useful both for academic research and policy framework as the study synthesizes a broad range of published research. The study fills the gap by assembling evidence from literature and integrates the findings for a clear understanding of the significance of education for PVTG girls.