RADIO BROADCAST AND POLITICAL EDUCATION

AN APPRAISAL OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS IN IMO STATE

Abstract

The study is on radio broadcast and political education: An appraisal of women participation in politics in Imo State. The objectives of this study were to: find out Imo State women’s level of awareness about Heartland FM “Politics and Women” radio programme; ascertain Imo State women’s knowledge level of political participation through radio programme; and find out the influence of Heartland FM “Politics and Women” radio programme in the political participation of women in Imo State. The study was anchored on agenda setting theory. Sequential explanatory research method was used for this study. A sample size of 385 was drawn from the population of 2,534,468, using Australian calculator. Multi-stage sampling technique was used in this study. Questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used for data collection. Findings revealed that Imo State women’s level of awareness of Heartland FM “Politics and Women” programme is minimal at 49%. Also, it was found that exposure to radio has positively influenced Imo State women’s participation in the political processes at 84.7%. The researchers recommended that political stakeholders should pay attention to radio programmes that encourage women participation in
the political process by sponsoring such programmes.