Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer and its Influence on Gender Norms in Tharu Families of Saptari District: An Ethnographic Study
| dc.contributor.advisor | Assoc. Prof. Indra Mani Rai, PhD | |
| dc.contributor.author | Thapa, Rachana | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-08-12T08:30:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-06 | |
| dc.description | This ethnographic study explores how the transmission of knowledge across generations forms and influences gender roles in the Tharu society in Saptari District. The Tharu are one of Nepal's indigenous communities with very strong cultural practices in daily life; information, values, livelihood skills, and social expectations seem to be transmitted through everyday interactions within families. While previous studies have largely focused on gender or Indigenous knowledge individually, less attention has been paid to how intergenerational transmission also shapes, reinforces, and even changes gender roles within Tharu households. The study essentially used an ethnographic research approach based on an interpretivist paradigm and was also informed by gender schema theory, feminist family theory, and intersectionality. The information was collected through participant observation, informal conversation, and in-depth interviews, and then continued through active involvement with multigenerational Tharu families. The research really looked at how various generations communicate, talk things out, and pass on everyday practices and information, and how gender expectations are carried through the everyday routine. The findings reveal that gender roles are mostly taught through informal interactions and processes within the family. Elders, especially parents and grandparents, are important for passing on cultural values, livelihood skills, and gendered expectations through observation, participation, storytelling, songs, and shared family routines. The study also observed that social developments such as schooling, labor migration, mechanization, digitalization, and broader economic changes are straining traditional gender expectations. In the younger generation, individuals are starting to question and renegotiate expectations around household responsibilities, education, occupation, and who gets to decide. Consequently, the transfer of knowledge across generations serves both as a mechanism for preserving cultural practices and as a forum for resisting and gradually transforming gender norms. The study shows that indigenous knowledge systems and informal family learning methods need recognition because they help to understand the development and change of gender norms throughout history. The educational and development programs need to recognize family knowledge and community learning methods, according to the study, which aims to achieve gender equality and social inclusion. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14301/690 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kathmandu University School of Education | |
| dc.title | Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer and its Influence on Gender Norms in Tharu Families of Saptari District: An Ethnographic Study | |
| dc.type | Dissertation | |
| local.school.department | Department of Development Studies | |
| local.school.level | M.Phil. | |
| local.school.name | SOED |