This article in Gender and Education 27.3 was born out of a commitment to contribute to the United Nations Millennium Goals related to gender equality. The commitment was not only mine as author, but also that of the organisations which sponsored and supported the research. The South African President of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance in Johannesburg, the international network, Women Leading Education, and the University of Southampton all offered support. The number and range of organisations that helped evidences a fund of willingness to try to improve gender equality. I led the team from South Africa and the UK which undertook research in South Africa into how women became headteachers and how they lead their schools when appointed. The aim was to pilot a method of comparative research into women headteachers’ experience that could be used in other locations across the world. Continue reading “Gender representation and social justice: Ideology, methodology and smoke-screens”
Gender in Education: Launch of New Resources for Use in Schools
A number of new initiatives have recently been launched by the government’s equality group. These campaigns have also resulted in the development of a number of new resources that can be used in schools to generate discussion surrounding issues of gender and education. The two campaigns that have been publicised most widely in the Equality Group’s newsletter relate to teenage relationship abuse and body image. Continue reading “Gender in Education: Launch of New Resources for Use in Schools”
Feminism: Much More Than Women’s Rights
Growing up as a young woman in today’s society, I have always been aware of the issues that women, teenage girls, and even young girls face. When I learned about the feminism course offered by Ileana Jiménez, who teaches in the English department at my high school, I realized that I would have the chance to discuss topics to which I could relate. But little did I know how much of an impact the class would have on me. Continue reading “Feminism: Much More Than Women’s Rights”
Missing men: back to school- same old story?
On Thursday 1 September, Michael Gove made a speech about how students behave in schools. One of his ideas for getting students to stop misbehaving in class included a plea for more men to take up the job of teaching. In his speech the Education Secretary said:
“We need more male teachers – especially in primary schools – to provide children who often lack male role models at home – with male authority figures who can display both strength and sensitivity.”
Well, I agree with the Education Secretary but I suspect for different reasons. Continue reading “Missing men: back to school- same old story?”
A ‘Worrying’ Trend or a Cause for Celebration? Girls’ Exam Success at 16
Once more the gap between girls’ and boys’ GCSE results (taken at 16) has been in the UK news (the results in Scotland were announced earlier in the year and did not attract the same kind of attention). Although it cannot be said that this has been the usual slow news Summer – we have had so far the Norwegian killings, riots and their aftermath in England, uprisings in Libya and Syria, stock market turbulence etc. etc. – this is generally the time of the year when journalists are looking for a story and try to make one up with the publication of the GCSE results. It is also the time of year when straw dogs are set up to be knocked down. In my last post I noted how lone mothers and women teachers were being blamed for the riots. Well they are also being blamed for boys’ relative lower performance compared with girls, although other factors mentioned include over-use of course-work and grade inflation. Continue reading “A ‘Worrying’ Trend or a Cause for Celebration? Girls’ Exam Success at 16”
Straight A and Okay? Researching Academically Successful Girls in the Wake of Post-Feminism
We began studying academically successful girls in 2007. Some researchers and the popular media had already been asking “What about the boys?” for over a decade, but the discourse was becoming a runaway train in the new millennium. Everywhere we looked, magazine covers and newspaper headlines anxiously suggested that girls were now the “new dominant sex,” and that their success had come as a result of a “feminized” education system and at boys’ expense. So ingrained was this panic that whenever we discussed our interest in girls’ academic success, someone would invariably ask, “Why are you studying girls? I thought boys were the ones who needed to be studied now.” Continue reading “Straight A and Okay? Researching Academically Successful Girls in the Wake of Post-Feminism”
Blaming the women and education again
Is anyone else as sick to death as I am about the reportage of the recent disturbances in London and other English cities? Continue reading “Blaming the women and education again”
Learner identity, space and Black, working class young women
“It’s almost like she’s two different people; one in English Literature class and another in song-writing club. I’d like to think the second one is the true her” (English teacher, inner London post-16 college)
This comment refers to a student who appeared to inhabit very different learner identities within two distinct contexts in her college: her academic English Literature class and an extra-curricular song-writing group. Within her English Literature class she had a reputation among her teachers for being disengaged, unproductive and sometimes disruptive; she was at risk of being removed from the course and frequently expressed her own desire to “drop out”. Within her song-writing club, she impressed staff members with her commitment, patience and creativity; she expressed positive feelings about this learning experience and the work she was producing. Continue reading “Learner identity, space and Black, working class young women”
“You cannot be the doctor if you are the disease”: Tackling Violence against Women and Girls in Schools in the UK
Do a quick search on the internet on violence against women and girls and school-based projects and you’ll find: specific websites; a good number of excellent, innovative packs; lesson ideas; and reports on pilot studies. However, go into most schools or young people’s projects and this work is simply not evident. Young people are lucky if they get any information on this, despite the fact that we know the huge scale of woman and girl abuse in our society. It is sad, but this issue is generally not on our list of priorities, despite the potentially enormous impact it could have by being so. Continue reading ““You cannot be the doctor if you are the disease”: Tackling Violence against Women and Girls in Schools in the UK”
“I’m just a girl who just says no”: Guides to Keeping Your Legs crossed- Abstinence Only Sex Education for Girls
Whilst I am always happy to see critical discussion on the role of sex and relationship education in schools and youth centres, worryingly, this week saw a new amendment narrowly passed in the UK Commons. Continue reading ““I’m just a girl who just says no”: Guides to Keeping Your Legs crossed- Abstinence Only Sex Education for Girls”