Women and the teaching profession: exploring the ...

Women and the Teaching Profession

Exploring the Feminisation Debate

Women and the Teaching Profession

Exploring the Feminisation Debate

Study prepared by: Fatimah Kelleher Country reports: Francis O. Severin

Matselane B. Khaahloe Meera Samson Anuradha De

Tepora Afamasaga-Wright Upali M. Sedere

? Commonwealth Secretariat and UNESCO 2011

Published by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, UK and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France Edited by Ros Patching Designed by Rob Norridge/ Cover design by Tattersall Hammarling & Silk Printed by Charlesworth Press

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat and do not commit the Organisations.

No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Copies of this publication may be obtained from

Publications Section Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6534 Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081 Email: publications@commonwealth.int Web: publications

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Commonwealth Secretariat ISBN: 978-1-84929-072-2 (paperback) 978-1-84859-126-4 (e-book)

UNESCO ISBN: 978-92-3-104228-7 (paperback)

Foreword

Foreword

The presence of a significant proportion of women teachers - particularly in the early childhood and primary levels - is a long-standing phenomenon that characterises the education systems of many countries: Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom are examples of countries often referred to as having 'feminised' teaching professions, denoting that women represent a significant majority of the teaching workforce. An increased number of females in the teaching profession is often associated with education systems that have achieved or nearly achieved universal basic education. On the other hand, those countries that continue to strive towards Education for All (EFA) and the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are more frequently associated with having a deficit of women teachers.

The debate surrounding women, the teaching profession and feminisation is wideranging. Issues have ranged from the reasons why the teaching profession became gender-imbalanced in favour of women in certain countries in the first place, to what the impact of this might have on learning processes and educational outcomes. There have been multiple explorations around the definition of the term itself - such as whether it refers only to numbers and percentages or to deeper gendered assumptions regarding the nature of teaching. Further analysis that explores the feminisation of teaching as it relates to education provision, the profession itself and women's equality in employment have naturally followed. But until now, this has largely focused on countries in the global North.

Globally, more children are in school than ever before, and gender equity in education continues to be a priority area for policy-makers and education programmers. Despite this, teacher shortages remain a key challenge in both achieving the MDGs and maintaining EFA in the majority of developing countries and particularly in the Commonwealth.

To further explore the issue of feminisation as it relates to the practice of education the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with support from the Commonwealth of Learning, embarked on a study encompassing five countries.

The study presents findings from Dominica, Lesotho, India, Samoa and Sri Lanka. It explores the feminisation debate from a variety of perspectives that have dominated much of the discourse on the role of women teachers within expanding education systems, particularly within primary education provision. Four of the countries Dominica, Lesotho, Samoa and Sri Lanka - have a majority of women teachers in their teaching workforce. In the case of India, the study focuses on the contrasting statelevel experiences of Kerala and Rajasthan; Kerala is known for the high percentage of female teachers in its workforce, whereas, in Rajasthan, female teachers are few and far between. The study analyses issues through a broader lens on gender equity as it pertains not just to education, but also to employment and women's rights and empowerment more generally.

This multi-country analysis explores core similarities and differences among the five countries. In Sri Lanka and the Indian state of Kerala, high female teacher numbers have existed since independence, while in other countries the phenomenon is more recent. Similarly, while all have a relatively large female majority at the primary education level, at the secondary level the experiences start to diverge; countries such as Samoa and Lesotho have relative gender balance within the teaching workforce at secondary level, while in Dominica the proportion of females remain a noticeable majority.

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Women and the Teaching Profession: Exploring the Feminisation Debate

Issues that are investigated include: the targeting of women as teachers for expanding education systems; perceptions of teaching as a gendered profession; remuneration, career progression and the status of teaching; the gender patterns of managerial hierarchies within education; and the issue of boys' underperformance compared with girls in certain countries.

This publication is a result of a joint effort between the Commonwealth Secretariat and UNESCO, with additional technical assistance provided by Commonwealth of Learning.

It is hoped that this study will be a unique addition that provides useful insights on this increasingly global trend.

Dr Sylvia J. Anie Director Social Transformation Programmes Division Commonwealth Secretariat

September 2011

Dr Qian Tang Assistant Director-General for Education UNESCO

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