International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

Gender Equality and Equity in Education. The Case for Gender Responsiveness at Selected Secondary Schools in Manicaland Province: Zimbabwe
Nyevero Maruzani

Abstract
The right to education is an imperative in the sustainable development and social transformation discourse. While Zimbabwe is party to a number of conventions, declarations and protocols that promote equal educational opportunities, the contribution of schools in promoting gender equality is not well researched. This study interrogates school environments (social, physical and academic) on how they impact on learners in respect of gender equality in education. Using the mixed method research approach, in depth interviews and semi structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The interview was administered to purposively selected participants (four school heads and two education officers). At each school 20 boys and 20 girls were randomly selected for participating in the study. Convenient sampling was used to select three schools (a mixed boarding school, a peri urban day school and a private school). The Human Rights Approach framework was the theoretical underpinning for the study. Findings indicated that most school environments are not yet gender responsiveness. The study recommends more vigorous gender analysis of school environments, the gendering of all educational budgets and improved political will for gender equality in education.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v10n2a6