Gender discrimination and education in West Africa: strategies for maintaining girls in school

Girls’ enrolment in primary schools has achieved significant increase and parity with male enrolment in many countries in Africa since the 1960s. Some of these countries include Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. However, in most Sub‐Saharan African countries, female enrolment still lags behind male enrolment. This paper examines some of the reasons for the persistent gender gap between females and males in the three African countries of Ghana, Nigeria and Togo within the West Africa sub‐region. It discusses gender relations, cultural practices such as early marriage, child slavery, and child fostering/trafficking, poverty and multiple household duties for girls as some of the contributing factors. It is argued that unless these cultural beliefs and attitudes are changed and mandatory measures such as holding parents accountable and responsible are put in place, gender parity and quality education for all, especially for females, will not be achieved in Africa. A number of additional strategies for improvement in school attendance and retention for females are also discussed.     

关于高校招生改革的辩证思考

本文建议高考应该由各省市命题过渡到由几个高校命题中心命题的轨道。建议以设置高考准入门槛的办法来降低高考成绩在录取环节中的权重,而不宜采用高考加分的办法。要做好高校招生的多元化建设,特别是搞好部分高校的自主招生。不应该增加高考科目。设想了提高作文在选拔中的地位的办法。讨论了高校招生改革的紧迫性和稳妥性的关系。必须打破应试教育的一统天下,但可以容忍它作为一个局部继续存在。     

Gender differences in high-school learning experiences,motivation, self-efficacy,and career aspirations among Taiwanese STEM college students

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to answer the following two questions: (1) Do significant differences exist in high-school learning experience, interests, self-efficacy, and career aspirations between male and female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students? (2) Can high-school learning experiences, interests, and self-efficacy significantly predict career aspirations, and do differences exist between male and female STEM students? This study highlighted the gender gap between male and female university students who had already chosen STEM majors with similar academic ability. A total of 407 first-year students were surveyed at a 4-year research university in Taiwan. For the data analysis, a t-test and multiple regression analysis were used, and the findings indicated that male STEM students had greater family support than their female counterparts. The variable of task value could significantly predict STEM career aspirations for both male and female students, whereas the variable of STEM course self-efficacy could only significantly predict that of male students. In conclusion, the findings highlighted that the motivation of task value was a vital factor for predicting STEM career aspirations, whereas the factor of family support was the main gap between male and female STEM students in terms of their high-school learning experiences.     

计算机专业女大学生“因性施教”浅议

文章针对目前女大学生在计算机专业学习上能力不如男学生的现状，分析了男、女大学生在学习上的各种差异，并从个人、教师、学校、社会等方面提出了根据性别特点，实施个性化教育的一些建议。     

Female Empowerment in Iran: The Voice of Iranian University Students

In line with global trends, the rate of Iranian female students' enrolment in higher education has increased. However, some policy makers have been concerned about this and without considering the female voice, they have implemented strategies to balance the labour market, which has led to a decrease in female students in certain majors. The results of an empirical study showed that going to university is the primary route to empowerment for girls in Iran. The study into the meaning of empowerment adopted a qualitative approach using unstructured in‐depth interviews with 80 Iranian female university students from seven provinces of Iran. The narrative responses were analysed using content analysis and grounded theory. The results of this study led to develop a new theory called ‘Female Empowerment through Higher Education’, which has several key constituents of female empowerment including: social presence, the power to make decision, autonomy, education and building up a new value framework.     

I still wanna be an engineer! Women,education and the engineering profession

Women's low enrolment in post-school engineering degrees continues to be a problem for engineering faculties and the profession generally. A qualitative interview-based study of Australian women engineers across the range of engineering disciplines showed the relevance of success in math and science at school to their enrolling in engineering at university. However, for a significant number of the women the positive self-image connected with school success was not maintained by their workplace experience. Using a mixed methods approach, further investigations of the attitudes and experiences of working engineers at three large firms suggest that engineering workplaces continue to be uneasy environments for professional women. Particular issues for women working as professional engineers are identified in this paper and some educational strategies are suggested in order to better prepare engineers for an inclusive and participatory professional life.     

Studying parental involvement and university access and choice: An ‘interacting multiple capitals’ model

Capital‐embedded parental involvement in education is essential in enhancing university enrolment and maximising the educational potentials for equality and excellence. Previous studies in this field have mainly utilised Perna's ( 2000 , 2006 ) model, which defines parental involvement as social capital and identifies the additive influences of different types of capital (including social, economic and cultural capital) on university access and choice. Yet, little research to date theorises and disaggregates the interplay among various types of capital as well as the multiplicative capital effects on enrolment. This study addressed this gap. We proposed an ‘interacting multiple capitals’ (IMC) model and hypothesised that parental social capital could moderate the effects of cultural and economic capital on entry to university. To validate the model, a pilot survey was administered to 216 university students of Korean ethnicity in China and investigated the models of involvement adopted by Korean parents in the context of the increasing labour mobility of the Korean adult population. Moderated multiple regression analysis was employed and the results confirmed the hypothesis that capital effects upon university access and choice were multiplicative in nature, with social capital moderating the cultural capital influence on students’ educational aspirations. The study findings show that the interaction of various types of capital variables is sufficiently statistically significant to warrant future research and policy and practical discussion of how to promote parental involvement in university preparation and planning.     

Gender and higher education experience: a case study

This research seeks to contribute to current discussion of gender differences in experience of higher education. Its specific focus is to compare the assessment of various university services by male and female students. The research sample consisted of 9793 students who participated in three University of Western Sydney surveys in 2004 and 2005. The results suggest that, first, female students place higher importance on the majority of the university’s services than do male students; second, as female students advance through their studies, they appear more demanding about the quality of services, while male students remain comparatively tolerant; and third, while all students consider that some areas warrant improvement, this is significantly more so for female than for male students. Specifically, the key areas for improvement from female students’ perspective are the relevance and instructional clarity of the course and efficiency of administration. It is recommended that, considering the current trends in higher education across gender, a sharper focus on these areas for improvement action could help the university ensure equity and better manage competition.     

Girls Helping Girls: Assessing the Influence of College Student Mentors in an Afterschool Engineering Program

Current data suggest fewer females than males continue to be interested in engineering and that this gender gap is first evidenced during middle school years. One might expect that female engineering role models would encourage adolescent girls to pursue future careers in engineering and thereby increase the girls’ interests in and attitudes towards science and mathematics. This study sought to correlate middle school girls’ overall confidence in science and mathematics with a year-long, afterschool mentoring program led by female engineering students from a local university. The results demonstrated that there was a significant correlation between the quality of the mentoring relationship and the girls’ confidence in mathematics. The relationship between female role models and young girls’ attitudes toward science and mathematics is discussed.     

Kenya 1975‐1995: an introductory note on educational expansion

Expanding school enrolment in Kenya was given the highest priority in the leverage of development. The number of pupils has grown from 2.9 to 5.56 million in the 20 years since 1975. There has been a similar expansion at the secondary level. And the expansion at the university level has been even faster, which is more than four times than that in 1984/85. But still the increase in enrolments was not enough to absorb pent‐up demand. The female enrolment has significantly improved, and female teachers constitute 39.5% of the total number of teachers. The imbalance is vast between the educational supply and economic demand (employment). The question is whether the growth can be maintained; whether it is enough.     

Gender and age-appropriate enrolment in Uganda

Secondary school enrolment in Uganda has historically favoured males over females. Recently, however, researchers have reported that the secondary enrolment gender gap has significantly diminished, and perhaps even disappeared in Uganda. Even if gender parity is being achieved for enrolment broadly, there may be a gender gap concerning age-appropriate enrolment. This is an important next step in educational research concerning gender equity in education worldwide. There is little information about what individual, family and regional factors influence age-appropriate enrolment. Therefore, this study investigates a potential age-appropriate enrolment gender gap for secondary-aged youth, and examines the factors that influence gendered enrolment behaviours in Uganda. Implications for policy, practice, and further research are discussed.     

School Enrolment Patterns in Rural Ghana: A comparative study of the impact of location,gender, age and health on children's access to basic schooling

The aim of this article is to discuss the results from three censuses conducted on school age children in rural Ghana which reveal contemporary patterns in enrolment. The data provide a profile of the school age population in basic education and contribute novel quantitative data on children out of school. The article examines the age at first enrolment, the gender disparities between classes, the classes where children drop out, and the proportion of children who never enrol in school. The stark contrast in enrolment between the disadvantaged north and the south of the country is also confirmed. Qualitative data from focus group discussions with parents, teachers and children highlight the major obstacles confronting education-these include a diversity of factors such as child labour, health, location and gender. Suggestions of policy options needed to increase access and attainment to schooling include reducing the over-age entry, increasing female access and participation, adapting culturally sensitive strategies, collecting better statistical data, improving the health of school age children and lessening the gap between the north and south of the country.     

开放教育招生宣传与学校品牌形象塑造的思考

开放教育招生宣传是有计划地通过各种宣传媒介向招生目标群传递有关学校开设的专业、招生数量、规格要求、办学特色等信息,让社会大众广泛参与开放教育学习的一种宣传活动。目前,招生宣传存在注重规模忽视品牌形象创建的问题,缺乏长远意识。开放教育招生宣传与学校品牌形象塑造是相辅相成的互补关系,招生宣传的科学策划,既要有利于学校品牌形象的塑造,又要促进学校的质量内涵建设,只有双轨并进,才能实现双赢。     

高等教育大众化对性别公平的效应研究

本文通过中国高等教育大众化进程中高等教育入学机会性别公平的实证研究,得出如下结论:高等教育大众化促进了性别公平.在总量上男女两性高等教育入学机会已经达到公平.本科层次的两性入学机会差异在逐步缩小,专科层次已达到公平.在研究生层次上男女性入学机会的非公平仍然存在,但在高等教育大众化进程中呈倒U字形曲线,在高等教育大众化初期男女性机会差异不断扩大,随着高等教育大众化的深入又转向逐渐缩小的趋势.在学科层次方面,人文经管类女性高等教育入学机会远远超过男性,理工类男女两性高等教育不公平仍然比较突出,所以发展文科有利于促进高等教育机会的性别公平.     

大众化阶段:国外大学招生制度的变革及其启示

从美国、英国、日本为代表的国外大学的招考制度,大众化阶段大学入学招考制度具有几个共同特征:入学标准的多样化,招考制度的公平与民主性得到加强,综合评价机制的确立,高等学校享有较大的自主权。采探讨当前我国招考改革应注意处理好以下几种关系,即招考制度与社会大系统、借鉴与有中国特色、发展与稳定以及统一与多样的关系。     

关于我国高校招生自主权的思考

以招生自主权为对象,从招生自主权的内涵入手,对自主权、高校自主权、招生权和招生自主权进行概念界定,并分析招生自主权的类型,说明我国高校现阶段只适合拥有统招指导下的招生自主权。     

当代女大学生性别心理调查及社会工作干预

文章采用问卷调查、观察和访谈等方法研究了当代女大学生的性别心理发展状况，发现女大学生在对职业成功女性的认同、人际交往、职业前景、爱情和性心理等方面存在困惑。这些问题不仅是心理性的，也是社会性的，社会工作干预方法能帮助女大学生有效解决这些困惑。     

农村初中男女生学习物理差异研究

通过对农村初中不同范围的两次物理成绩的统计分析,发现在初中阶段男生的物理成绩要好于女生,并且随着物理学习的继续和深入,成绩的差距有增大的趋势。通过对学生较大范围的问卷调查和个案分析,发现男女生学习成绩产生差异的主要原因在于学习目的、学习兴趣、学习自信心、实验态度的不同。缩小男女生物理学习差异,实现学生的全面发展和均衡发展的教学策略有情境教学策略、前概念为基点教学策略、发散思维训练策略、男女生合作学习策略。     

The Social Space of Educational Strategies: Exploring Patterns of Enrolment,Efficiency and Completion among Swedish Students in Undergraduate Programmes with Professional Qualifications

The aim of the study was to analyse enrolment patterns, and study efficiency and completion among students in programmes with professional qualifications, using microdata from Statistics Sweden. The programmes were Architecture, Medicine, Nursing, Law, Social work, Psychology, andEngineering (year 2001–2002,n?=?15,918). Using the concepts from Bourdieu’s sociology, data was analysed with Specific Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Different patterns emerged and were constructed as different dimensions of the social space of educational strategies in higher education, patterns of enrolment, efficiency, and completion. The students’ relative positions in the social structure were analysed by the type and amount of their cultural capital. The most important factors for differences between coherent intensive and scattered extensive enrolment patterns were programmes, gender, mother’s socioeconomic index, parents’ education, and type of university. Regarding efficiency, the most important factors were programme and type of university. The factors most important for graduation were gender and type of university.     

大学生就业期望:基于性别比较的实证分析

理论假设大学生的就业期望存在性别差异,而城镇或农村、父母文化程度、是否独生子女是影响大学生就业期望性别差异的因素,运用t-检验和方差分析方法验证假定命题的真假。研究结果表明,男女大学生的就业期望存在差异,男大学生的就业期望总体上高于女大学生;大学生就业期望的性别差异与生源地以及是否独生子女显著相关。