Oomandra Nath Varma February 2010 Id: 9603163 Supervisor: Dr
Prof Sheila Bunwaree Gender Identity Construction in Primary
Schools
Slide 2
Introduction Background to the study Justification Global
Gender Gap Index Mauritius 85 th among 128 countries (covering 90%
of the worlds population) WTF, 2007. Challenging gender inequality
is equivalent to challenging one of the most deeply entrenched of
all human attitudes.
Slide 3
Gender inequality The facts Scores based on the analysis of 128
countries, constituting 90 percent of the total worlds population
Source: The Global Gender Gap Report, 2007, p.118
Slide 4
Long term consequences of gender inequality Countries that do
not capitalize on the full potential of one half of their societies
are misallocating their human resources and undermining their
competitive potential Even in light of heightened international
awareness of gender issues, it is a disturbing reality that no
country has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap (Lopez-Claros
& Zahidi, WEF, 2005, p1; WEF, 2007, p. 19-20).
Slide 5
The problem worldwide even in developed countries whose
dependence on knowledge industries and knowledge workers is large
and growing, there are still significant gaps in the job
opportunities for women and in the wages paid to women compared to
their male counterparts and these gaps are even larger in most
developing countries. (WEF, pg. 20)
Slide 6
Lack of commitment to equality Awareness of the fact that women
account for half of the worlds population and half of its talent
and that the costs of not developing and using this talent are huge
does not seem to provide enough argument to warrant a translation
of the commitment to equality into reality in key spheres such as
political empowerment and economic participation (pg. 20).
Slide 7
Why gender? This research is based on the contention that we
need to probe further for understanding gender dimensions of
inequality in society, and thereby assess the consequences that
gender has in determining the life chances of any individual. The
school as one of the main agencies of reproduction is primarily
responsible for the perpetuation of the status-quo
Slide 8
School as a perpetrator of inequality School as strategic
agencies Gendered outcome of schooling Children developing a
multiple sense of self Successful negotiation of position of
dominance Social actions reinforce dominant patriarchal structures
(Giddens) Effects of older cultural practices on current social
routines (Bourdieu) Positive evaluation of masculine practices
Slide 9
Theoretical background Some theoretical basis Schools as arenas
of oppression - Freire School as state ideological apparatuses
(Althusser) School as instrument of structures of inequality
(Bourdieu) Secondary effects of stratification (Boudon) The
situation Equality of access v/s parity- but parity is not equal to
equality UNESCO target 2015 seems unattainable Some questions
Should we therefore go beyond the mere consideration of access to
schools We seem to be playing the game of safe Patriarchy- that is,
failure to raise the real question; and play it safe by raising
questions that does not question the basis of inequality. Ability
of some agents to get their way through without raising
consciousness of the crowd
Slide 10
Focus of the study Main focus Gender identity construction
Primary schools Analysing the hidden processes Hidden mechanisms
and processes within schools Understanding the power of the
informal organisation and how it is present among children, i.e.
how childrens construction of the informal structure of authority
and power. Discovering the child as agent Children as thinking and
acting individuals Active agent in development of gendered power
structure- the dominant v/s the compliant Existing conflicts
between egalitarianism and inequality. Failure of schools to be
sites of change and emancipation
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The child as an active agent Social actors inhabit a universe
of social meanings and that social occurrences must be explained
primarily as the outcome of actors meanings, that is, beliefs,
motives, purposes, reasons, etc that lead to actions. Child as an
agent that help to develop, maintain and perpetuate the process
Context and perception of the teaching profession and teaching as
accomplice to maintaining inequality.
Slide 12
Key objectives and questions Key objectives To understand the
context of Mauritian primary schooling and how children interacting
in such contexts develop gendered identities that go unacknowledged
or yet not understood despite a semblance of understanding. Key
questions How are gendered differences created and maintained
within the school? What are the happenings and events in schools
that are significant determinants of gender identity, yet not
researched in primary schools? How can events and happenings in
schools that amplify discriminatory gender practices in primary
schooling be understood? Key assumption It is assumed that a number
of events and happenings that have significant influences in the
lives of the child are ignored by adults due to a power
relationship between adults and children, and the inability of the
latter to engage in a reflective relation with the child.
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Tentative explanation of the process The need to understand how
the context, both physical and social, official and informal, in
which children are schooled, are instrumental in the perpetuation
of certain dysfunctional consequences. This is due to lack of
gender consciousness on the part of significant adults in the
school. (dysfunctional: Any social activity seen as making a
negative contribution to the maintenance or effective working of a
functioning social system. This definition is derived essentially
from the functionalist perspective. However, the concept is used in
this research to refer to the negative consequences of certain
institutional arrangements that may be adverse to the functioning
of the system as well as to the actors within the system). This
issue becomes more pressing in the light of serious concerns
expressed by writers in the African context. Role of the strong
patriarchal ideology and feminization of poverty that prevail in
the African continent, including Mauritius,
Slide 14
Why this research? Leach (2003, p.8,9) states that we need to
engage in gender analysis of all aspects of educational provision,
whether these are policies, institutions, curricula, teaching
approaches, or forms of assessment. We need to become more fully
aware of the ways in which our society creates, nurtures and
amplifies gender identities and along with it inequalities that are
taken for granted and viewed as normal. There has been a great deal
of educational research in the developed world around gender issues
in schools, and the role of the school in socializing girls and
boys to accept adult roles and patterns of behaviour that comply
with dominant social norms, including expectations of appropriate
female and male occupations.Research in schools in developing
countries is very limited (Leach, 2003, p. 8)
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Specificity of the research Pro-feminist activism This research
seeks to fill an important gap by making the cause of gender
equality a concern of men as well. Against the comfortable
bandwagon situate the need to clearly identify the problem rather
than going with the bandwagon that seems to be the case with a
number of discussions on the issue of gender and education today.
Uncovering the blinded non- awareness To uncover, what I would call
the blinded non awareness of avenues of discriminatory gender
identity construction in primary schooling.
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Approach to the research Questioning mainstream research Has
research in the conventional manner, that is, research of
mainstream happenings of schooling been responsible for neglect of
important aspects of gender identity construction in primary
schools.? Methodological choices: sampling Illustrates the
importance of sampling the right settings, event, processes and
actors The case study- justification Though epistemological
opportunity seems small on representational ground, he argues it is
better to learn a lot from an atypical case than a little from a
seemingly typical case (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 446).
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Justification of the methodology Case Study Powerful tool for
refuting an overgeneralisation Even if our sample is not
necessarily representative of the Mauritian school altogether, the
exceptional case can still be valuable for action as it will lead
to effectively questioning of overgeneralizations. Advantages
allows maximum possibility to infiltrate the context and to uncover
the day to day happenings as a first hand occurring case study also
allows a multi-perspectival analysis gives a voice to the powerless
and voiceless (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991) Further
justifications empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary
phenomena within its real life context, especially when the
boundaries between phenomena and context are not clearly evident
(Yin, 1994, p. 13). It allows immersion in a context and the
production of thick description as well as a breadth of coverage of
a single case that also has heuristic value.
Slide 18
The sample The case Merriam (1998) defines the case. The case
is one simple entity around which there are boundaries.The case
could be a person such as a student, a teacher, a principal, a
program, a group such as a class, a school, a community, a specific
policy and soon (p.27). Our main sample The main setting: One
school with an adequate mix of high, average and low achieving
students. The school chosen has a fairly well representative
profile of pupils, ranging from low to high achievers. Though the
case is singular, there is also within-case sampling (of hidden
events, processes). Validating sample Three other schools were
chosen: one high achieving school, one at the upper end of the high
achieving group and one school of the same nature and
characteristic as the main school chosen for this research.
However, these other settings did not break the boundary of the
case school, but rather helped to reinforce the strength of the
case to reveal the reality of the system, and not to be just a case
apart.
Slide 19
Analysis The outcome of case study must also be emphasized at
the start. Rather than a search for cause, more emphasis will be
placed on coincidence of events, situational and interrelated
events, contingencies rather than causes, thus a descriptive
presentation of diverse aspects of the case. This way of proceeding
and analysing is also advocated by Kendall & Wickham (2000) who
advocate a search for contingencies instead of causes in their
explanation of Foucaults methods. It seeks to establish how events
can be complex relations between other events Presenting findings
as story Organised around issues it will seek to draw the complex
relationship around the research questions asked. For this approach
to be successful, it will be appropriate to use what is called the
storytelling approach. This will bring me closer to the main aim of
the study: to attempt an interpretive study which highlights
meanings held by key actors in the field of the research. The
stories will seek to be emphatic and respectful of each persons
realities with the researcher deciding what will be the stories
that will be included in the report. Triangulation To reduce
likelihood of misinterpretation, various procedures will be
employed. This procedure is commonly called triangulation.
Triangulation offers a process for multiple perceptions to clarify
meaning, verifying the repeatability of an observation or
interpretation
Slide 20
The evidences: the power of the hidden elements shaping
gendered identity Teachers as active agents perpetuating
inequality, through blinded awareness. Semi-structured interviews-
non participant observation Role of textbooks as active instruments
of inequality- Content Analysis Discovering the Children world
through their drawing> : Art based methods The time outside
classroom: recess time as arena for laying the basis for
patriarchy: on participant observation- semi-structured interviews
Shaping the world of Gender inequality
Slide 21
How does gendered identity construction become an inevitable
power struggle as childhood politics develops as a foundation for
an unequal world? The context The age of inevitability Boys are
boys Girls are what boys want to be! Hidden notions of normality
and the now as inevitable Adults blinded awareness Actors pursuing
their own agenda