Conceptualising gender equality in research on education quality

Abstract

This article sets out to re‐conceptualise gender equality in education quality. Four approaches to conceptualising gender equitable education quality are identified in the literature: human capital theory with a focus on parity and sameness for all; a human rights and power perspective, within which gender equality is viewed as transforming unjust structures; postcolonial critiques, which celebrate and recognise difference; and the view of development as social action for empowerment with gender intersecting with other inequalities. The framework is applied to an analysis of a programme of research on education quality, EdQual. The article maintains that for education quality at the level of classrooms to move beyond fairness of distribution of resources, to consider the nature of educational experience for boys and girls, requires a deeper questioning of the gender biased nature of schooling. It also indicates that education quality demands an analysis of gender dynamics in the wider social context of the lives of boys and girls. These findings have strong implications for large research programmes

Learning about gender on campus: an analysis of the hidden curriculum for medical students

“…Following the argument promulgated by Aikman et al . that ‘education quality demands an analysis of gender dynamics in the wider social context of the lives of boys and girls’, the present paper has explored the role of gender dynamics in the context of a hidden curriculum in which heterosexual masculinity and stereotyped sexism are prevalent as norms that reflect mainstream gendered relations in Taiwan during 2000–2010.…”

‘They are not serious like the boys’: gender norms and contradictions for girls in rural Kenya

“…There is an increasing call for the educational and social contexts that maintain gender inequalities to be given greater attention (Aikman, Halai, and Rubagiza 2011). This has the potential to enable more understanding of the multiple vulnerabilities facing girls which make accessing, and fully engaging in, an equitable education difficult.…”

Exploring Classroom Inequalities in a Mathematics Class through a Capabilities-Based Social Justice Framework

“…Similarly, further research on maths learning (Oakes, Joseph, & Muir, 2004;Secada, 1992;Tate, 1997) indicates that inadequate opportunities, resources, teachers and curricula to learn mathematics is not unusual and lack of access to such resources, teachers and opportunities prevent students to develop mathematical capacity to reason and communicate at a higher level (Gutstein, 2006). In addition, research of Rubagiza et al (2011) also stressed that how equal distribution of classroom resources such as teacher time and attention was important for recognition diverse groups of learners but at the same time they argued that it did not necessarily create an optimal participation of girls. In the same vein, our research echoed this finding that fair distribution of teaching time should be accompanied by democratic classroom environment that foster students to express their ideas if participation diverse groups want to be increased.…”

“…A significant aspect of the approach is that it addresses the multiple perspectives of gender (equality) in education such as intersectionality, gender discrimination related to learning, and the impact of curriculum and textbooks on the reproduction of stereotypes about women and men (Aikman et al, 2011;Unterhalter, 2007). In relation to this study, the approach is particularly used for social justice research in education because it looks at how schools reproduce inequalities and social injustices through maldistribution and silencing but also examines how school conditions and learning sites offer resources through which learners can challenge inequalities.…”