Role of education in changing gender relations and empowerment of women - Literature review Example

? Role of Education in Changing Gender Relations and Empowerment of Women ROLE OF EDUCATION IN CHANGING GENDER RELATIONS AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN Gender and education as a research subject in the social sciences has been increasingly popular in the last thirty years (Heward, 2009: p33). The roots of this can be traced back to the movement for Women in Education that to this day continues to advocate equality of opportunity for women and men in their access to education. In this case, the education should be neutral in its diffusion, production, and design. However, this position has been challenged because it places on women the burden for change with regards to their values, aspirations, and socialization, rather than dealing with the bigger question about the way in which education and the institutions offering it can be re-organized to accommodate both men and women (Heward, 2009: p33). Alternatively, the education and gender discourse acknowledges the nature of engendered education, as well as the reciprocal relationship between education and gender. Shaping education and gender mutually is referent to the co-dependence and co-production between both constructs. Through an examination of education’s outcomes and impacts, as well as the intent underlying its content, production, and design, this approach contends that society and education are shaped mutually by each other (Heward, 2009: p34). Findings from Wajcman (2013: p29) show that there is a complex relationship between overall education rates of penetration in countries and differences between these rates in men and women. A report on statistical analysis of various developed and developing nations found that relationships between overall literacy divide and gender divide is tenuous and is not supportive of the argument that literacy and gender move together. This shows that there is a need for the disentanglement of social aspects of education access from others that are more related to physical access. Groups with power and privilege normally leverage this combination of social and physical access in different ways, as compared to marginalized and vulnerable groups (Wajcman, 2013: p29). Most experts argue that the ethnocentric western way in which educational empowerment is interpreted does not take into consideration the social and historical contexts within which education is used and accessed. Gender differences in education are variously described as rooted in perceptions and attitudes concerning education. For example, time for women is a vital resource whose supply is short and, therefore, any educational solution that seeks to improve women’s lives and improve their choices and empowerment should be seen as accessible and relevant means to improve efficiency, instead of as an additional load to their already numerous responsibilities (Wajcman, 2013: p29). Beyond the leisure time for women away from productive and reproductive tasks, which is limited, women usually do not have the required mobility to go to school, which may be symptomatic of carious socio-economic factors, safety precautions, and cultural restrictions. Improved education and literacy are linked with correlated improvements in participation in global and local communities, as well as in individual empowerment. According to Kane (2005: p78), women living in developing nations are in the deepest portion of the education divide and are increasingly removed from this experience by their male counterparts who share their poverty. Factors that are engendered, such as language, constraints of time, income, cultural contexts, and education, affect the access by women to employment, education, and to academic institutions. The limited access to education by women comes from illiteracy barriers, time constraints, and preoccupation with their survival in oppressive and egalitarian socio-cultural practices and norms, the predominantly urban nature of the academic facilities, and its high costs (Kane, 2005: p78). Therefore, literacy and education are fundamental issues that lead to differential access to education for men and women, among other factors. Mosedale (2005: p248) found strong correlations between racism and sexism with both teaching relational roles that cause one group to subordinate the other. The two are basically expressed via institutional and privileged arrangements for one group and oppression for the other group. Both can be viewed as forms of violence of a collective and individual nature, as well as of a physical and psychological nature. Minority groups are harmed because of the low expectations placed on them, while being a woman also causes subtle types of tracking by the society, including by fellow women. Mosedale (2005: p249) also argue that, just like race, gender, rather than being a biological aspect, is a social aspect. Gender variances in men’s and women’s social lives are grounded in the biological variants between them. Gender is grounded in the beliefs by society that men and women are naturally opposed and distinct beings. In time, these beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies via socialization according to sex roles. Biological sexes become assigned to unequal and distinct political and work positions, which lead to them becoming distinct genders (Mosedale, 2005: p248). The school situation is one in which the roles of gender are developed within the society; therefore, academic institutions contribute to the assignment of work opportunities and status that are unequal in a global economy that is ever changing (Mcrobbie, 2006: p65). The academic institutions act as a form of gatekeeper for this changing economy by providing opportunity top some and not everyone. Lack of attention to females in the present debate on education is a pointer to the fact that it is thought that boys and girls have the same experience with regards to education in schools. This is simply not true because, from whichever angle one looks at it, curriculum design, staffing patterns, levels of self-esteem, and achievement scores show that gender and sex are a major determinant in the school setting. It is clear that the current system of education falls short of meeting the needs of the female population. Boys and girls join the schools with approximately the same measured ability with girls being ahead of their male counterparts when it comes to some school readiness measures, for example, fine motor control skills (Mcrobbie, 2006: p66). However, after twelve years, it seems that the boys have surpassed the girls in some vital areas like self-esteem measures and higher-level algebra and math. While the schooling experience of girls differs with regards to disability, ethnicity, geographic location, and/or socio-economic status, most educational institutions support and strengthen roles that are gender-stereotyped in society (Malhotra & Mather, 2007: p608). In addition, educational institutions work via individual and group interactions and the manner in which gender is constructed in the classroom setting has a huge impact on the academic environment. Gender role stereotypes, which are reproduced in the school setting, lead to the notion that females are considerate, helpful, quiet, nurturing, and caring. While the achievement of girls academically is put down to hard work, successful male students are taken as gifted naturally. In addition, while society sees male students who underachieve as lazy, female students who underachieve are considered to be incapable (Malhotra & Mather, 2007: p608). Society explains these differences via biological differences sans the consideration of the social environment’s impact on their motivation, achievement, and attitudes. References Heward, C. 2009. Gender, education and development: beyond access to empowerment. London [u.a.], Zed Books Kane, E. 2005. "Education and Beliefs about Gender Inequality." Social Problems 42, no. 1: 74-90. Malhotra, Anju. & Mather, Mark. 2007. "Do Schooling and Work Empower Women in Developing Countries? Gender and Domestic Decisions in Sri Lanka." Sociological Forum 12, no. 4: 599-630. Mcrobbie, A. 2006. Displacement feminism, London, SAGE Mosedale, Sarah. 2005. "Assessing women's empowerment: towards a conceptual framework." Journal of International Development 17, no. 2: 243–257. Wajcman, J. 2013. TechnoFeminism, Hoboken, Wiley Read More