Teacher education, gender and inclusion: Reflections on sustaining initiatives for equality in Nigeria

Understandings of gender equality and inclusion: Student teachers and sustainable views on EFA in five Nigerian states Sustaining teachers to support ideas about gender equality and inclusion is widely acknowledged to be... [ view full abstract ]

Understandings of gender equality and inclusion: Student teachers and sustainable views on EFA in five Nigerian states

Sustaining teachers to support ideas about gender equality and inclusion is widely acknowledged to be important for EFA. However few studies of work with teachers and teacher educators consider teachers’ views about gender and inclusion, or explore how these might change over the course of their careers. This paper draws on data from a survey of 4500 student teachers in five Nigerian states - Lagos, Rivers, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa- , who were followed up six months after completing their studies. We investigate what students and teacher educators said about what they learned about gender equality and inclusion. The data indicate that, for many student teachers, women’s rights and even the participation of girls and boys in schooling are controversial. However, a distinctive cohort do support many features of gender equality. The paper draws out some demographic features of the student teachers’ views and discusses whether the teacher training curricula contribute to supporting and sustaining values around gender equality. We link this to findings from the follow-up study, which indicated limited employment opportunities for newly qualified teachers. We therefore identify two key issues regarding sustainability and teacher education not much commented on: the importance of PRESET that connects with students’ backgrounds to enhance learning about equality and inclusion; and the need for more understanding of beginning teachers’ socio-economic contexts, to ensure a better articulation between labour market opportunities and strategies to sustain EFA.

Measuring the sustainability of gender equality in education: An index of of student teacher view This paper reports on an investigation regarding how to measure gender equality in education. Dissatisfaction with the limited... [ view full abstract ]

Measuring the sustainability of gender equality in education: An index of of student teacher view

This paper reports on an investigation regarding how to measure gender equality in education. Dissatisfaction with the limited scope of existing measures, such as gender parity prompted work on developing a gender equality index to present student teachers; views, and highlight areas where PRESET and CPD teacher education courses were needed to sustain initiatives for gender equality. 4500 student teachers, surveyed in their last year of teacher education courses reported on their views about gender equality in 3 areas: a) Gender equality in public life; b) Challenging some ‘common sense’ views about masculinity; c) Teachers professional conduct with regard to aspects of school related gender based violence. A north-south division was evident with regard to gender equality in the public sphere, but concerns with non-confrontational and masculinites were much stronger in the views of student teachers from the north compared to the south. This suggests the sustainability of taking gender equality work forward will entail both working with and against the grain of existing student percpetions. These strategies need to be read side-by-side with other data from the survey and the index regarding teachers’ professionalism and school related gender based violence. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the context of teacher education and the background of student teachers for sustaining and monitoring work on gender equality.

Female Teacher Trainee Scholarship Scheme operationalization in Nigeria A major problem in education in northern Nigeria is gender equity. In response to this, UNICEF and the governments of five northern States implemented... [ view full abstract ]

Female Teacher Trainee Scholarship Scheme operationalization in Nigeria

A major problem in education in northern Nigeria is gender equity. In response to this, UNICEF and the governments of five northern States implemented Female Teacher Trainee Scholarship Scheme (FTTSS). By paying women for teacher training, FTTSS was designed to increase the number of qualified female teachers, thereby making schools more accessible and amenable to girls. This paper presents lessons from the way in which the FTTSS was run, drawn from a cross sectional mixed methods approach in two States (Bauchi, Niger).
• Repetition rates were more than 70%, posing a threat to course completion. Inadequate and delayed payments, academic, family and domestic concerns were cited as a cause for non-completion.
• The operation of the FTTSS depends on a network of relationships with multiple stakeholders that are poorly defined, presenting organisational and logistical challenges.
• Trainees that were happy and positive about being in college, but suggesting improved learning resources (books and computers) and the learning environment. 

• Limited evidence of specific community impacts, but respondents appreciated its positive impact on schools and community members, the projected position of women in society, and potential for women to take up higher-level studies, wage labour and public responsibilities.
These findings may be relevant for other education systems that are gender iniquitous. While the FTTSS and its aspirations were appreciated by many stakeholders, unsolved structural (course quality, segmented job market), operational (timely payments) and cultural (choices available to women) problems prevented its success.

Teacher education is a key site for developing the ideas about equality and inclusion that will support and sustain initiatives in Education for All. Yet there is very little current research about how teachers themselves... [ view full abstract ]

Teacher education is a key site for developing the ideas about equality and inclusion that will support and sustain initiatives in Education for All. Yet there is very little current research about how teachers themselves understand inclusion, and what their attitudes on gender are. In addition we know very little concerning how students on education courses interact with the curriculum and pedagogy of PRESET and CPD provision. The three papers in this panel all draw on recent research with teachers in Nigeria. They draw out how students and newly qualified teachers come from a range of different contexts, and how their backgrounds are an important dimension of how trainee teachers respond to facets of the inclusion dynamics of EFA. The findings suggest that there are challenges both to develop engaging PRESET courses that connect students with the EFA project, and that sustaining the dynamic of an orientation to inclusion and gender equality requires in depth resourcing in continuous professional development, as yet only beginning to be considered in plans for teacher development and support.