CONDUCTING A GENDER REVIEW IN EDUCATION:

Programme Guidance Note and Tool

UNICEF Education Section, Programme Division, New York

Introduction

In the Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP), UNICEF Country Offices are encouraged to conduct a Gender Review in education in all countries that have not been through a gender-based Education Sector Analysis since 2000.

This guidance note is designed to assist with the process of conducting a Gender Review as a means of analyzing the situation and identifying key intervention points to realize every child's right to learn in rights-based, child-friendly, gender sensitive schools. The template for the Gender Review (Annex I) is offered as a tool that Country Offices may wish to make use of if they are planning to conduct a gender-based review of the education sector.

What is the purpose of the Gender Review?

The purpose of the Gender Review is to identify key gender issues, and the extent and nature of discrimination in education. Drawing on the overall Situation Analysis, programme experience and the findings of the Gender Review, UNICEF Country Offices should be in a strong position to identify areas in girls' education (in enrolment, attendance, completion and achievement) for which interventions for equality are necessary. The information gathered during the Review process and the gaps identified will therefore help to inform the design, management and implementation of programmes in girls' education.

What is the context of the Gender Review?

The context of a review of gender issues in education is UNICEF's recognition that one of the largest obstacles to the achievement of Education for All is gender discrimination. In response, there is commitment to the promotion of equality in education through quality education.

What are the main components of the Gender Review?

The template provided for the Gender Review is made up of two main components: statistical tables and a gender analysis of quality issues.

1. Statistical Tables

In order to make measured progress towards the transformation of education systems so that they become gender-sensitive throughout, and in order to work towards the overall achievement of gender equality in education, Country Offices will need to build a full picture of the political, financial and cultural influences on education from a gender perspective.

Therefore, in the Gender Review each Country Office should include gender disaggregated national and sub-national level data, including on access related issues, as well as information on trends coming to the surface through the Situation Analysis.

2. A gender-based examination of quality issues

The template is organized around the UNICEF Quality Framework. In practical terms, this means a gender-based examination of the five dimensions of quality: what the learner brings to education; the content of education; teaching and learning processes; the learning environment; and learning outcomes.

What are some of the gender dimensions of the Quality Framework?

UNICEF's experience in recent years has led to a rethink what is meant by "quality education". A new framework is in place, with the aim of responding to the learner as a holistic being with a full range of human rights. In practical terms, there are five dimensions of quality with which UNICEF is concerned:

1.  What the Learner Brings.

Learners must be healthy, well-nourished, and ready to participate and learn. Learning begins at birth, but even there not everything is equal. Children born female are more likely to be discriminated against from the start of their lives. In some cases they receive less care, both in terms of nurturing and in terms of food.

In other cases, caregivers communicate from the earliest stages that they have different expectations of girls and boys, and that girls and boys have different entitlements. And, increasingly, evidence is mounting on the relationship between expectations and performance in education. Those children raised to expect less of themselves and without sense of the basic human rights to which they are entitled, are less ready to participate and learn. A commitment to quality requires that all children have the opportunity to take best advantage of learning opportunities. It requires that early socialization activities encourage boys to take on and share what previously would have been seen as traditional female roles. Research has also shown that access to quality early learning opportunities and early childhood experiences through home or centre-based programmes will increase the probability of girls' enrolment and retention in primary school.

2.  Content

Content is one of the more conventionally accepted elements of quality education. Content needs to reflect the activities and values of both boys and girls. Therefore most content needs to be strengthened, and male bias in curricula and materials eliminated. Gender stereotypes in materials means that girls are often silenced by their absence. There is a need for relevant curricula that is responsive to the developmental stages of children, and materials for literacy, numeracy, and life skills-based education which move beyond what has been traditionally offered. The development of life skills for communication, interaction, decision-making, critical thinking, self management and coping, and their application to important social and health issues such as nutrition, HIV/AIDS, peace, rights, gender equality and respect for and appreciation of diversity can help young people to develop healthy relationships and extend their potential. The prioritization of life skills learning areas will depend on a given country context. Life skills-based education and the commitment to gender equality can make a long-term difference with regard to the lifetime achievements of girls and a shift away from stereotyping.

The content of education also needs to be context-relevant, to take into account the languages and experiences children bring to school, and to ensure access to national languages and more global content and expanded partnerships for further learning. UNICEF would like to see governments adopt student-centred, non-discriminatory and standards-based curriculum frameworks. UNICEF is also mindful of the fact that in a given situation, contextual realities often lead to compromises in curriculum frameworks and constraints in implementation. Therefore, UNICEF strongly advocates for a balanced curriculum, and one that favours girls and other marginalized groups rather than discriminates against them.

3.  Processes

Quality educational processes require well-trained teachers able to use effective child-centred teaching and learning methods in all learning areas. In order to promote critical thinking, negotiation and decision-making skills for intellectual and psychosocial development, and the building of esteem among learners, good quality processes need to exist. Activity-oriented teaching and learning, addressing issues of disparity and discrimination, and participatory learning processes that promote gender sensitivity are all part of the active learning methodology.

Yet in many schools the situation is stagnant, uninspiring and dependent on rote learning. Within the same classroom girls and boys, or rich and poor students, often have very different and inequitable learning experiences. Harassment is common. In particular, classroom processes are very susceptible to unintended gender discrimination, such as teachers calling on boys more than on girls, or assigning science to boys and arts to girls. These practices can reinforce negative gender relations and discriminatory early learning practices.

Administrative and systemic processes also need to work efficiently to support quality teaching through on-time payment of teachers, equitable pay scales and equal opportunities for advancement. Professional self-development of teachers should be encouraged, including the use of teacher resource facilities. Teachers themselves may develop codes of practice on their responsibilities to children.

  1. The Learning Environment

The classroom environment should be welcoming, supportive, healthy and conducive to meaningful learning. It should be non threatening and non-violent and supportive to emotional and intellectual growth. Learning also goes beyond the classroom, and the overall learning environment directly affects the quality of learning. There must be adequate hygiene and sanitation facilities, access to recreational facilities for boys and girls, and, if possible, accessible health and nutrition services. School policies and their implementation must promote physical and mental health, safety, and security (both in school and on the way to school), as well as non-discrimination of girls and women teachers.

Improved analysis of girls’ education has led to a much better understanding of the impact of the broader environment in which learning takes place on girls’ participation and achievement in basic education. For example, there is evidence that good sanitation contributes to girls’ attendance, which, in turn, can affect girls’ attainment. A major obstacle to girls’ participation and persistence in basic education is the issue of safety and security in the learning environment. Lack of safety and security may be very obvious in terms of physical danger, such as beatings or rape. More insidious are the invisible forms of harassment and violence that are exerted against children who are “different” or female. These vary from bullying, to girls being made responsible for school maintenance tasks at the expense of learning, to denial of physical exercise, to sexual harassment.

  1. Learning Outcomes

To determine if a quality education has been acquired it is essential that there be defined learning outcomes that demonstrate what students know and can do as a result of their education. In order to fairly judge the achievement of learners, the other dimensions of quality should be in place so that the learner has had the opportunity to develop to his or her full potential. Learning outcomes are receiving more attention among educators and policymakers, as there is growing evidence in developing countries that children often do not learn what it is expected that they should learn. UNICEF promotes nationally-defined learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy and life skills-based education in a range of learning areas. For life skills-based education, the focus is on student progress in terms of their knowledge, attitude and skills development, and within particular learning areas. Notwithstanding, at the school level, and at the level of the learner, it is very important to consider incremental progress. A "top" school may produce the best results, and a child who has benefited from all the best opportunities may be a high achiever in absolute terms. But a previously low achieving school may also make exponential improvements over time, and a child who has been marginalized and discriminated against may make enormous strides with the benefit of quality education.

Quality learning outcomes link directly to quality curriculum development and learning materials as well as teaching processes, areas in which gender issues feature prominently. In assessment of learning outcomes, too, gender can come into play as there is sufficient evidence to indicate that many of the means of assessment carry inherent bias, particularly against girls.

What methodology should be used for the Gender Review?

Country Offices will decide exactly what methodology to use, but Education Officers should keep in mind two important considerations during the Gender Review process if they use the tool provided by Headquarters:

  1. The Gender Review has been designed as a desk review based on available information. It is possible that not all the information required will be available (or perhaps pertinent to a local context). In cases where the information is unavailable, Education Officers are not expected to launch a research project in order to be able to provide the required data/facts. Analysis of what information cannot be provided may also lead to identification of areas in which future action is required. As the template provided is for a desk review, it is suggested that up to 4 weeks be allocated to its completion.
  1. Education Officers may wish to insert additional questions and information into the review in order to reflect the local context.

The template for the Gender Review is a tool that Country Offices may wish to use if they have not already undertaken a gender-based review of the Education Sector. The template contains an extensive list of questions, both qualitative and quantitative.

Against which indicators will the results and analysis be measured?

The Education Section is in the process of finalizing a small raft of credible indicators against which progress towards achieving our goals can be measured. In the case of the Gender Review, Country Offices should look specifically to Target II of the MTSP Girls' Education organizational priority, and use the information they collect to assess whether there are:

·  Effective and gender sensitive teaching and learning processes

·  Gender-appropriate learning materials, curricula and learning outcomes

·  Healthy, safe, inclusive, protective and gender-sensitive learning environments.

Actions taken as a result of a Gender Review will also contribute towards measuring progress against other MTSP girls' education indicators relating to access, quality and achievement, and further details will be provided in a subsequent technical note on indicators for the MTSP.

What is the timeframe?

Every country should have undertaken a Gender Review preferably by the end of 2002. They will be asked to undertake a further Review in 2005.

With a strong initial Review, and regular updating of the baseline information, Country Offices will be in an excellent position to monitor effectively changes over time, progress towards the achievement of all three MTSP targets relating to girls' education, and results in the struggle to achieve gender equality in education.

Who should undertake the Review?

Country Offices will decide who will undertake the Review, but it is strongly recommended that it be carried out by UNICEF Education Officers or Focal Points in close consultation with counterparts and partners at all levels. The involvement of the people participating in the systems that are being analyzed is essential to continuous improvement.

What is the follow up to the Gender Review?

Once the Review is completed, a copy can be shared with the Regional Education Advisor and the Education Section in NYHQ. The information gathered during the Review process, and the gaps identified, should be used to inform the design, management and implementation of projects and programmes in girls' education. The Review should give a broader picture of the types of discrimination that can be experienced in education and that may emerge. UNICEF Country Offices will then be in a position, where necessary, to sharpen the programming focus in girls' education in order to accelerate progress towards robust and sustainable results.