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Gender inequality in curriculum exposes indications that female and male learners are not treated equally in various types of curriculum. There are two types of curricula: formal and informal. Formal curricula are introduced by a government or an educational institution. Moreover, they are defined as sets of objectives, content, resources and assessment. Informal curricula, also defined as hidden or unofficial, refer to attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, behaviours and undeclared agendas underlying the learning process. These are formulated by individuals, families, societies, religions, cultures and traditions. [1]
More particularly, gender inequality is apparent in the curriculum of both schools and Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs). Physical education (PE) is particularly delicate, as gender equality issues coming from preconceived stereotyping of boys and girls often arise. It is often believed that boys are better at physical exercise than girls and that these are better at 'home' activities including sewing and cooking. This belief prevails in many cultures around the world and is not bound to one culture only. [1]
Some curricular objectives show that the language used is gender biased. Indeed, it can happen that the language itself can communicate the status of being male or female, and the status of being assertive or submissive. In many cultures, 'being male' is expressed in language as being confident. In Japan, according to Pavlenko, [2] female Japanese learners are led 'to see English as a language of empowerment. The students state that ... the pronoun system of English allow[s] them to position and express themselves differently as more independent individuals than when speaking Japanese.' This example clearly shows how languages, reflecting cultures, are the basis for introducing gender inequalities highlighting the curricula. [1]
Many Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) around the world, which set curricula, that is; teaching diplomas, show a worrying shortcoming regarding issues of gender equality. For instance, students who prove being prepared to become schoolteachers are taught on education theories, the psychology of learning, teaching methodologies and class management, among others and one or two practical courses. There is no highlight on gender equality-related issues in their training. Even courses on curriculum design ignore these issues. This omission is highly problematic and should be addressed by curriculum designers of TEIs. It is important that gender equality issues are part of the curriculum in order to help future teachers to be more sensitive about gender equality issues. Thus when they become teachers, they can become agents of change in their schools. [1]
Several studies have shown that textbooks reinforce traditional views of masculinity and femininity and encourage children to accept a traditional gender order. For example, a recent study conducted by Kostas (2019) [3] found that female characters in textbooks of primary education portrayed mainly as mothers and housewives whilst male characters were identified as breadwinners. Additionally, teachers often use materials, including texts, images or examples that reinforce stereotyped roles. Typical examples given include, roles of the father (reading the newspaper) and the mother (serving dinner); the doctor (male) and the nurse (female); playing ball (boy) and combing doll's hair (girl). By doing this, teachers are also promoting gender bias which favors girls as well. For instance, bullying and noise-making for boys and politeness and gentleness for girls. Gender bias does not only favor males over females; it can also go the other way around. They are both negative when considering a healthy relationship between the teacher and the learner. [1]
A gender equal curriculum shows the diversity of society when increasing examples that highlight successful female characters in texts as well as in the examples used during classes. Instructional materials, including textbooks, handouts or workbooks, should be studied to determine whether they are gender biased, gender neutral or gender-sensitive/responsive. In Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs), curricula need to include elements that recognize gender equality-related issues in learning materials, and how those issues can be faced by teachers once they take up the profession and start to use these materials in their classes. [1]
Quality curriculum should include gender equality as a result of teaching and learning in TEIs, as well as in schools. Educational systems that adopt gender equality aspects are able to:
It is possible to integrate school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) prevention into the curriculum for children of all school-going ages. Topics include comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), life skills education, civics education and targeted approaches on managing aggression, developing bystander skills, forming healthy relationships and protection from bullying – these elements are often combined. [4]
In 2002, two Dutch NGOs including the World Population Foundation and Butterfly Works, created The World Starts with me. Aimed at students aged 12 – 19 years old, it is a low-tech, online, interactive sex education programme. The programme uses David and Rose, two virtual peer educators who guide students through fourteen lessons around self-esteem, healthy relationships, sexual development, safer sex, gender equality and sexual rights. Each lesson includes an assignment-type lesson, for instance creating a storyboard, an art work or conducting a role play on the topic of that lesson. Evaluation of the programme (with the use of a quasi-experimental design) showed a significant positive effects on non-coercive sex within students in intervention groups. Indeed, they reported having more confidence in their ability to deal with situations where sexual pressure and force would be used. [5] [4]
Named after the Spanish and Portuguese words for men and women (hombres in Sp., homes in Port., mujeres in Sp., mulheres in Port.), the programs H and M used an evidence-based curriculum and included a group of educational activities which were designed to be carried out in same-sex group settings, as well as by same-sex facilitators of the groups, who can eventually be consider as gender-equitable role models. [6] [4]
The manuals used by these programmes include activities on fatherhood/motherhood and caregiving, violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health including HIV/AIDS and other related issues. The activities of the programme included brainstorming role-playing and other exercises which contributed to students reflecting on how boys and girls socialized and the pros and cons of this socialization and to explore the benefits of changing certain behaviours. [4]
The programme was evaluated in several locations through mostly quasi-experimental studies. It showed evidence of positive changes in participants' gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours and showed reduced gender-based violence. [7] [4]
This programme is based on the belief that relationship knowledge and skills can and should be taught in the same way as reading, writing and arithmetic, which gives the program its name. The programme is taught with children of grades 8 - 12. [4]
Thanks to a five-year randomized control trial of the classes with Grade 9 students (aged between 14 and 15), it was found that when comparing, students who received standard health classes students (especially boys) who received the Fourth R used significantly fewer acts of violence towards a dating partner by the end of Grade 11. [8] [4]
This Second Step program teaches skills such as communication, coping and decision-making with the objective to help young people navigate peer pressure, substance abuse and in person and online bullying. The aforementioned programme has been used with more than 8 million students in over 32,000 American schools. [4]
A two-year cluster-randomized clinical trial of Second Step was carried out with over 3,600 students at 36 middle schools in Grades 6 and 7 (aged 11–13 years) in Illinois and Kansas. At the end of the programme, the study found that, students in Illinois intervention schools were 39 per cent less likely to report sexual violence perpetration and 56 per cent less likely to self-report homophobic name-calling victimization than students in control schools. There was, however, no significant difference in the Kansas schools. [9] [4]
The GEMS project used extracurricular activities, role-playing and games. This project began in the sixth grade and worked for two years with boys and girls between the ages of 12–14 in public schools in Goa, Kota and Mumbai. In Goa and Kota, it was layered with ongoing school curriculum. In Mumbai, it was run as an independent pilot project in 45 schools. [4]
An evaluation study was implemented on the pilot which using a quasi-experimental design to assess the results of the programme on the students. Over the course of the programme, the study found that participating students were more supportive of girls pursuing higher education and marrying later in life, and of boys and men contributing to household tasks. However, an important component of GEMS, students' behaviours and attitudes around reducing violence proved mixed results. The GEMS approach will now be carried out in up to 250 schools in Mumbai, following the success of the first pilot programme. It is also being rolled out in 20 schools in Viet Nam. [10] [4]
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexualityeducation or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, and birth control, sexual health, reproductive health, emotional relations and responsibilities, age of consent, and reproductive rights. Sex education that includes all of these issues is known as comprehensive sexuality education, and, especially in more socially conservative countries and parts of the United States, is often opposed to abstinence-only sex education, which only focuses on sexual abstinence. Sex education may be provided as part of school programs, public health campaigns, or by parents or caregivers. In some countries it is known as "Relationships and Sexual Health Education".
In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals. A curriculum may incorporate the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives. Curricula are split into several categories: the explicit, the implicit, the excluded, and the extracurricular.
Sex segregation, sex separation, sex partition,gender segregation,gender separation, or gender partition is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their biological sex at any age. Sex segregation can refer simply to the physical and spatial separation by sex without any connotation of illegal discrimination. In other circumstances, sex segregation can be controversial. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a violation of capabilities and human rights and can create economic inefficiencies; on the other hand, some supporters argue that it is central to certain religious laws and social and cultural histories and traditions.
The system of education in Uganda has a structure of 7 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education, and 3 to 5 years of post-secondary education. Education in Uganda is administered in English. All throughout the levels in the education structure, modules are taught and assessed in English. The government of Uganda recognizes education as a basic human right and continues to strive to provide free primary education to all children in the country. However, issues with funding, teacher training, rural populations, and inadequate facilities continue to hinder the progress of educational development in Uganda. Girls in Uganda are disproportionately discriminated against in terms of education; they face harsher barriers when trying to gain an education and it has left the female population disenfranchised, despite government efforts to close the gap.
Gender Equality Education Act of Taiwan was enacted on June 23, 2004. The General Provisions states the purposes of the act: "to promote substantive gender equality, eliminate gender discrimination, uphold human dignity, and improve and establish education resources and environment of gender equality." In recent years, this act has become controversial because it has implemented anti-discrimination on LGBT rights and LGBT sex education.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is a sex education instruction method based on a curriculum that aims to give students the holistic knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values to make healthy and informed choices in their sexual lives. The intention is that this understanding will help students understand their body and reproductive processes, engage in safer sex by reduce incidents of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV and HPV, reduce unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, as well as lowering rates of domestic and sexual violence.
Adolescent sexuality is a stage of human development in which adolescents experience and explore sexual feelings. Interest in sexuality intensifies during the onset of puberty, and sexuality is often a vital aspect of teenagers' lives. Sexual interest may be expressed in a number of ways, such as flirting, kissing, masturbation, or having sex with a partner. Sexual interest among adolescents, as among adults, can vary greatly, and is influenced by cultural norms and mores, sex education, as well as comprehensive sexuality education provided, sexual orientation, and social controls such as age-of-consent laws.
Sex differences in education are a type of sex discrimination in the education system affecting both men and women during and after their educational experiences. Men are more likely to be literate on a global average, although higher literacy scores for women are prevalent in many countries. Women are more likely to achieve a tertiary education degree compared to men of the same age. Men tended to receive more education than women in the past, but the gender gap in education has reversed in recent decades in most Western countries and many non-Western countries.
Gender inequality in India refers to health, education, economic and political inequalities between men and women in India. Various international gender inequality indices rank India differently on each of these factors, as well as on a composite basis, and these indices are controversial.
In the Dominican Republic, education is free and compulsory at the elementary level, and free but non-mandatory at the secondary level. It is divided into four stages:
LGBT sex education is a sex education program within a school, university, or community center that addresses the sexual health needs of LGBT people.
Educational equity, also known as equity in education, is a measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education. The study of education equity is often linked with the study of excellence and equity.
Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBT individuals come from lack of education around the LGBT community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.
Sex education is controversial subject in India, sometimes viewed as a taboo topic; across the country and within the community, opinions on how or whether to deliver it are divided. The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have banned or refused to implement sex education in schools. The Hindu nationalist government in Madhya Pradesh said sex education had "no place in Indian culture" and plans to introduce yoga in schools instead. On the global level, India has notably fallen behind numerous countries, including underdeveloped and significantly smaller countries such as Sudan and the Congo Republic, where sex education is first taught at the primary level.
Education sector responses to LGBT violence addresses the ways in which education systems work to create safe learning environments for LGBT students. Overall, education sector responses tend to focus on homophobia and violence linked to sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and less on transphobia. Most responses focus in some way on diverse expressions of gender and support students to understand that gender may be expressed in a different way from binary models. Responses vary greatly in their scope ; duration ; and level of support that they enjoy.
School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) can be defined as acts or threats of sexual, physical or psychological violence happening in and around schools. This type of violence is due to gender norms and stereotypes. It can include verbal abuse, bullying, sexual abuse, harassment and other types of violence. SRGBV is widely spread around the world and is common in many societies. Millions of children and families suffer from this type of violence. Incidents related to SRGBV has been reported in all countries and regions of the world.
School-related gender-based violence in Viet Nam refers to physical, sexual, psychosocial and verbal violence that takes place in the Vietnamese education system. Different forms of School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) interact and overlap. Bullying, for instance, occurs when there is an imbalance of power between the “bully” and the “bullied” and can happen through physical contact, verbal attacks, social exclusion, and psychological manipulation. Students are bullied when they are repeatedly and intentionally exposed to harmful and/or aggressive behaviour that results in injury or discomfort.
Female education in STEM refers to child and adult female representation in the educational fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In 2017, 33% of students in STEM fields were women.
School violence prevention through education is the attempt to reduce violence and bullying through comprehensive approaches and interventions within the education sector. It aims to create a safe and non-violent learning environment. Acceptable practices include strong leadership; a safe and inclusive school environment; developing knowledge, attitudes, and skills; effective partnerships; implementing mechanisms for reporting and providing appropriate support and services, and collecting and using evidence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on female education. Female education relates to the unequal social norms and the specific forms of discrimination that girls face. In 2018, 130 million girls worldwide were out of school, and only two out of three girls were enrolled in secondary education. The COVID-19 pandemic may further widen the gaps and threatens to disrupt the education of more than 11 million girls. In addition, girls are less likely to have access to the Internet and online learning.