Schooling beyond gender stereotypes
Author: Victoria Holdsworth
Article Date: 13 Nov 2007
"We need educational reform, skills development and to change mindsets" - Jyotsna Jha
Education plays a vital role in shaping, questioning and reinforcing the identities of boys and girls, in addition to helping shape perceptions about gender relations and equality in society outside the classroom.
A schoolgirl growing up in Pakistan bound by the gender norms of women in her country or an adolescent boy in the Seychelles, facing peer pressure to physically strong rather than academic, have very different expectations.
Across all the Commonwealth's 53 countries, the impact of gender stereotyping is evident. It can restrict educational achievement, job prospects and, in turn, reinforce the very norms that feed gender inequality in all its forms.
In order to break this pattern, a child's secondary school years are critical. On the cusp of adulthood and in an age group critical to identity formation and decision making, intervention can have its strongest impact here.
Secondary schools have a major responsibility to question the processes that promote unequal gender relations and to adopt practices that help break stereotypes.
But while much has been done at policy level to identify these patterns, research commissioned by the Education Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat has found that these policies are not translating into practice.
"To change this, you need institutional reform and skills development. You also need to change mindsets," said Jyotsna Jha, Education Advisor at the Secretariat.
At workshop in the Seychelles in June, the Education Section and representatives and government nominees from seven Commonwealth countries met to discuss this research and look for ways to implement their findings.
"Most countries' schooling processes reinforce existing stereotypes we see in society and do not question them," said Dr Jha.
"We have to remember that teachers are the products of divided societies, too."
The workshop was an opportunity to review the research undertaken in India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Samoa, Seychelles and Trinidad and Tobago. The research was based on in-depth case studies of four to five schools in each country.
"Reports from different countries showed different results, ranging from boys' underachievement -- which is a trend in several Commonwealth countries -- to countries where girls are not being encouraged to step outside their cultural norms," Dr Jha explained.
"Even where they get access to education, their schooling is not preparing them to question these stereotypes."
Snapshots from two of the studies reinforce the need for change:
In Pakistan, one schoolgirl told researchers: "We females are like a white handkerchief; any small mark of ink on it will be very visible.
Despite the equity measures taken by the schools in Pakistan, researchers found that boys and girls have different learning opportunities inside the classroom. Girls remain invisible by being task oriented and demonstrated utmost obedience to the teachers.
Teachers and the principals of all four schools studied, held preconceived notions of their students' capabilities and their attitude towards learning on the basis of gender. This was reflected in teachers' pedagogical practices.
In the Seychelles, a schoolboy reported: "Being a boy means being lucky, as you do not have to deliver babies."
The findings showed a large amount of consensus on what constitutes a typical Seychellois man/boy and woman/girl. Boys saw themselves as strong, brave, intelligent -- the provider and protector. Girls saw themselves as being mature, responsible, multi-skilled but physically weak and needing protection.
Researchers observed that girls were given a larger proportion of family responsibilities such as looking after siblings and doing household chores. Parents got boys do the 'outside jobs' and girls the 'inside jobs'. This resulted in boys having more leisure time.
In terms of teacher expectations, both male and female staff in the schools held more positive images of girls. Boys were considered lazy and disruptive.
The Secretariat's Education Section is planning to produce a synthesis report of all the studies in book form to support educators in Commonwealth countries.
"The book will be applicable beyond the countries involved in the research. These issues and recommendations are equally relevant to the education of boys and girls," said Dr Jha.
This will be followed up be action projects in selected schools in these countries and the documented experiences of the action project interventions will serve as a Resource Book for engendering the classroom and schooling processes in the Commonwealth and beyond.