E309 BLOCK 5 week 28.1& 28.2
despite the tendency for globalisation to promote uniform practice around the world, variations inevitably arise, thanks to differences of culture, tradition, history and national expectations and the locally rooted ways in which teachers interpret the curriculum.
This week - opportunity to explore the gap between words and reality.
challenging to schools and teachers around the world, not just in relatively poor countries.
MDGs were largely taken to apply to poorer countries, all countries are expected to aim to achieve the SDGs.
SDG4
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
all the usual but for EMA...
4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
UK illegal to discriminate due to : age, trans, disability, gender, married/civil partner, pregnant/ mat leave, race, disability, sexual orientation (gov. uk, 2018 cited in MM)
SDG4...Although gender is prominent (and is the subject of another of the SDGs), certain factors which tend to be of particular relevance to women do not feature; these include marital status and pregnancy. Religion, gender identity and sexuality are also absent and age discrimination addressed only in the aspiration for ‘lifelong learning’.
some elements are attached to firm outcomes, for example that all children should ‘complete … primary and secondary education’, others aspire only to access or increased numbers.
Gender equality
Looking at what is known about the state of education for girls it is hardly surprising that gender figures so strongly in SDG4. The facts include the following (adapted from Knapp Herz and Sperling, 2004):
Of the 104 million 6–11-year-old children not currently in school, 60 million are girls.
Of the 150 million currently enrolled children who will drop out before completing primary school, 100 million are girls.
In Sub-Saharan Africa 54% of girls do not complete primary education and the figures are much higher in some countries (e.g. 90% in Chad).
In South Asia, 40% of girls from poor backgrounds do not complete even the first year of primary education.
Figures for secondary education are even worse, e.g. only 17% of girls in Africa are enrolled in secondary school.
Girls in rural areas fare much worse than their urban sisters, e.g. in Pakistan the primary school completion rate for boys is twice as high as for girls, but in rural areas this rises to three times.
Countries like the UK have a long history of educational policy and practices that have disadvantaged girls. ????? In recent years there has been some concern that boys are now achieving less well than their sisters in national assessments at both secondary and primary level.
there is more to school than exam success and preparing for the job market. MM
relatively few girls are studying subjects that are associated with higher paid jobs such as maths, technology, sciences, economics and engineering. just KEHS lol
YET
(Institute of Physics, 2013) found that for every girl taking physics ‘A’ level there were almost four boys. MM
Better educated girls and young women are healthier and when they become mothers their children are healthier.
even without all of the ‘developmental and economic goodies’ that come from girls’ education, we should care about educating girls because it is inherently valuable to them and is their right.
(Sahni, 2015, in King and Winthrop, 2015, p. viii) cited in MM
education for girls is clearly justified on the grounds of both rights and economic benefit (human capital)
Direct costs include school fees, which may be equal to 30% of a poor family’s income,
While fees may be the same for both genders, indirect costs may be greater for girls, eg :appropriate modest clothing or to be accompanied by an escort. really interesting !!
unavoidable indirect fees for items such as PTA membership and supplementary teaching and indirect costs such as transport and clothing.
in many societies, girls ‘marry out’ of the family, meaning any benefits fall to others (Knapp Herz and Sperling, 2004). cited in MM...Wow!! but true!
other issues
no single sex toilets and nowhere to change sanitary pads
gender biased pedagogy and textbooks
no role models
gender expectations impacting on self-esteem, self-confidence and aspirations
school-related gender-based violence (e.g. ‘sex for grades’).
(global level) proposition that girls should receive an education equal to that of boys may appear to be as indisputable as it is simple.
(local level) fraught with complications.
low and middle income countries (LMIC).
acronym
girls enrolled in schools where they are not safe are unlikely to attend for long. Moreover, school attendance is of no value if the quality of education offered is poor.
KENYA AV
Such skills help girls avoid early marriages, pregnancies, and even deal more effectively with harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation. text
barriers she lists: poverty, long distances, early enforced marriage, FGM, social/ cultural taboos & gender stereotypes that 'girls aren't educated'
my opinion : HIV & AIDS - not issues we associate with kids, girls, education. So sad...another world!
one size does not fit all. even 'marginalised' girls differ ; eg. some hunters/ gathers, some nomads, some fishing.
Mentoring schemes and girls’ clubs give girls opportunities to talk freely about the kinds of challenges outlined above and to support them in finding solutions.
‘What is working: evidence on addressing girls’ education’ on pages: xi, xiv and xv in this working paper, ‘Today’s challenges for girls’ education’
really important : High-quality and gender-sensitive curricula and learning materials.
Six recent reviews of hundreds of impact evaluations of education interventions find that programs that train, support, and motivate teachers are among the most effective. For example, in the United States, having a good teacher is equivalent to the average gain in learning of one school year; having a great teacher means advancing 1.5 grade levels or more.
Bangladesh Female Secondary Stipend Program, which dates back to 1982 and to which researchers attribute the country’s impressive increase in girls’ education. To continue to receive the stipend, each girl must maintain a minimum 75 percent atten- dance rate, at least a 45 percent score in the annual school exams, and must remain unmarried until she obtains the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or reaches age 18 (Raynor and Wesson, 2006).
safety- give girls a bike= 30% rise in girls' enrolment and reduced the gender gap in age-appropriate secondary school enrollment by 40 percent (Muralidharan and Prakash, 2013).