Advertisement

International Review of Education

, Volume 60, Issue 6, pp 753–776 | Cite as

Increasing the number of female primary school teachers in African countries: Effects, barriers and policies

  • Caitlin S. Haugen
  • Steven J. Klees
  • Nelly P. Stromquist
  • Jing Lin
  • Truphena Choti
  • Carol Corneilse
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Girls’ education has been a high development priority for decades. While some progress has been made, girls are often still at a great disadvantage, especially in developing countries, and most especially in African countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of primary school teachers and only a quarter of secondary school teachers are women, and enrolment figures for girls are low. One common policy prescription is to increase the number of women teachers, especially in the many countries where teaching remains a predominantly male profession. This policy prescription needs to be backed by more evidence in order to significantly increase and improve its effective implementation. The available research seems to suggest that girls are more likely to enrol in schools where there are female teachers. Moreover, increasing the number of trained teachers in sub-Saharan Africa depends on more girls completing their school education. To date, however, there has been no comprehensive literature review analysing the effects of being taught by women teachers on girls’ educational experience. This paper aims to make a start on filling this gap by examining the evidence on the effects in primary schools, especially in African countries. It also identifies and examines the barriers women face in becoming and staying teachers, and considers policies to remedy their situation.

Keywords

Girls’ education Women teachers Gender issues Africa 

Résumé

Augmenter le nombre des enseignantes primaires dans les pays africains : conséquences, obstacles et politiques – L’éducation des filles constitue une priorité absolue de développement depuis plusieurs décennies. Même si certains progrès ont été réalisés, les filles sont encore souvent très défavorisées, surtout dans les pays en développement et en particulier africains. En Afrique subsaharienne, les femmes représentent moins de la moitié du corps enseignant primaire et seul un quart des enseignants secondaires, et les taux de scolarisation des filles sont particulièrement bas. Une prescription stratégique commune consiste à accroître le nombre des femmes enseignantes, notamment dans les nombreux pays où l’enseignement demeure un métier typiquement masculin. Mais cette prescription doit être étayée par un corpus plus consistant de données pour en étendre et améliorer sensiblement l’application. Les études existantes semblent constater que les filles sont plus susceptibles d’être inscrites dans les écoles dotées de femmes enseignantes. Par ailleurs, la multiplication d’enseignants qualifiés en Afrique subsaharienne dépend du nombre de filles qui achèvent leur scolarité. Mais il n’existe à ce jour aucune étude exhaustive qui analyse les conséquences sur l’expérience éducative des filles de l’enseignement dispensé par des femmes. Les auteurs de cet article font un premier pas pour combler cette lacune, en explorant les données sur ces conséquences dans les écoles primaires, notamment des pays africains. Ils identifient et examinent en outre les obstacles que rencontrent les femmes pour embrasser et continuer à exercer la profession, et envisagent les politiques qui pourraient remédier à leur situation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

This paper was produced through a Grant from the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) to the University of Maryland. All opinions expressed are those of the authors alone.

References

  1. Apple, M. (1986). Teachers and texts: A political economy of class and gender relations in education. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
  2. Asimeng-Boahene, L. (2003). Understanding and preventing burnout among social studies teachers in Africa. Social Studies, 94(2), 58–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Aslam, M., & Kingdon, G. (2007). What can teachers do to raise pupil achievement? Center for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). UK: Oxford.Google Scholar
  4. Bennell, P. (2004). Teacher motivations and incentives in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Brighton: Eldis.Google Scholar
  5. Carrington, B., Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2008). Role models, school improvement and the ‘gender gap’ – Do men bring out the best in boys and women the best in girls? British Educational Research Journal, 34(3), 315–327.Google Scholar
  6. Choti, T. (2009). University going in context: A case of Gusii students of Southwestern Kenya. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland.Google Scholar
  7. Dee, T. S. (2007). Teachers and gender gaps in student achievement. The Journal of Human Resources, 42(3), 528–554.Google Scholar
  8. Diko, N. (2007). Change and continuities: Implementation of gender equality in a South African school. Africa Today, 54(1), 107–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Dunne, M. (2007). Gender, sexuality and schooling: Everyday life in junior secondary schools in Botswana and Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 27(8), 499–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Ehrenberg, R. G., Goldhaber, D. O., & Brewer, D. J. (1995). Do teachers’ race, gender, and ethnicity matter? Evidence from the National Educational Study of 1988. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48(3), 547–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists). (2014). Gender-responsive pedagogy. Accessed 26 October 2014, from http://www.fawe.org/activities/interventions/GRP/index.php.
  12. Glewwe, P., & Jacoby, H. (1993). Student achievement and schooling choice in low-income countries. Journal of Human Resources, 29(3), 843–864.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Govinda, R. & Josephine, Y. (2004). Para teachers in India: A review. IIEP/Prg.YD/04.XX. New Delhi/Paris: National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration/International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). Accessed 13 October 2014 from http://www.unesco.org/iiep/eng/research/basic/PDF/teachers5.pdf.
  14. Handa, S. (1999). Raising primary school enrolment in developing countries: The relative importance of supply and demand. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Accessed 21 January 2011, from http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/divs/fcnd/dp/papers/dp76.pdf.
  15. Harris, K., & Barnes, S. (2009). Male teacher, female teacher: Exploring children’s perspectives of teachers’ roles in kindergartens. Early Child Development and Care, 179(2), 167–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Herz, B., & Sperling, G. B. (2004). What works in girls’ education: Evidence and policies from the developing world. New York, NY: Council on Foreign Relations.Google Scholar
  17. Holmlund, H., & Sund, K. (2008). Is the gender gap in school performance affected by the sex of the teacher? Labour Economics, 15(1), 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Hua, H. (1994). Factors contributing to educational achievement in Botswana: An analysis of educational gains of male and female students. In Advancing Basic Education and Literacy (ABEL) Information Bulletin #40. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.Google Scholar
  19. Huisman, J., & Smits, J. (2009). Effects of household- and district-level factors on primary school enrollment in 30 developing countries. World Development, 37(1), 179–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Jimenez, E., & Lockheed, M. E. (1989). Enhancing girls’ education through single sex-education: Evidence and a policy conundrum. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11(2), 117–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Kim, J., Alderman, H., & Orazem, P. F. (1996). Evaluation of the Balochistan Rural Girls’ Felloship Program: Will rural families pay to send girls’ to school?. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
  22. Klees, S., Samoff, J., & Stromquist, N. P. (Eds.). (2012). The World Bank and education: Critiques and alternatives (Vol. 14)., Comparative and international education: A diversity of voices Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.Google Scholar
  23. Lahelma, E. (2000). Lack of male teachers: A problem for students or teachers? Pedagogy, Cultrure and Society, 8(2), 173–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Lam, Y. H., Tse, S. K., Lam, J. W., & Loh, E. K. (2010). Does the gender of a teacher matter in the teaching of reading literacy? Teacher gender and pupil attainment in reading literacy in Hong Kong. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 754–759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Lancaster, I. M. (2008). Racing, classing, and gendering school-related violence in three Johannesburg secondary schools. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland.Google Scholar
  26. Lee, V. E., & Lockheed, M. E. (1990). The effects of single-sex schooling on achievement and attitudes in Nigeria. Comparative Education Review, 34(2), 209–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Levine, R., & Birdsall, N. (2005). On the road to universal primary education. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.Google Scholar
  28. Lewis, M., & Lockheed, M. (2006). Inexcusable absence: Why 60 million girls still aren’t in school and what to do about it. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
  29. Lloyd, C., Mete, C., & Grant, M. (2007). Rural girls in Pakistan: Constraints of policy and culture. In M. Lewis & M. Lockheed (Eds.), Exclusion, gender and education: Case studies from the developing world (pp. 99–118). Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.Google Scholar
  30. Lloyd, C. B., Tawila, S. E., Clark, W. H., & Mensch, B. S. (2003). The impact of educational quality on school exit in Egypt. Comparative Education Review, 47(4), 444–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Molyneaux, K. J. (2011). Uganda’s universal secondary education policy and its effect on “empowered” women: How reduced income and moonlighting activities differentially impact male and female teachers. Research in Comparative and International Education, 6(1), 62–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Mozambique Department of Education. (2000). Mozambique country report. EFA 2000 Assessment Country Report. Paris: UNESCO. Accessed 28 January 2010, from http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/mozambique/contents.html.
  33. Mulkeen, A. (2010). Teachers in Anglophone Africa: Issues in teacher supply, training, and management. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
  34. Murphy, E. & Carr, D. (2007). Powerful partners: Girls’ education and delayed childbearing. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Accessed 7 April 2009, from http://prb.org/pdf07/PowerfulPartners.pdf.
  35. Mwamwenda, T. S., & Mwamwenda, B. B. (1989). Teacher characteristics and pupils’ academic achievement in Botswana primary education. International Journal of Educaitonal Development, 9(1), 31–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Nilsson, P. (2003). Education for All: Teacher demand and supply in Africa. Brussels: Education International.Google Scholar
  37. Nsubuga, N. F. (2006). Experiences in creating a conducive environment for girls in schools: FAWE Centre of Excellence. Nairobi: Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Accessed 17 February 2011, from http://www.fawe.org/Files/fawe_best_practices_-_centres_of_excellence.pdf.
  38. Nwaobi, G. C. (2007). Educational [work] performance in African countries: Problems, policies, and prospects. Aba: Nigerian Quantitative Economic Research Bureau (QUANTERB). Accessed 17 February 2011, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=960279.
  39. Nye, B., Konstantopoulos, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). How large are teacher effects? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26(3), 237–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Padavic, I., & Reskin, B. (2002). Women and men at work (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.Google Scholar
  41. Rihani, M. A. (2006). Keeping the promise: Five benefits of girls’ secondary education. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development (AED).Google Scholar
  42. Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Roby, J. L., Lambert, M. J., & Lambert, J. (2009). Barriers to girls’ education in Mozambique at household and community levels: An exploratory study. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(4), 342–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Rowden, R. (2009). The deadly idea of neoliberalism: How the IMF has undermined public health and the fight against AIDS. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
  45. Rugh, A. (2000). Starting now: Strategies for helping girls complete primary. Strategies for Advancing Girls’ Education Project. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.Google Scholar
  46. Sachs, W. (2010). The development dictionary: A guide to knowledge as power (2nd ed.). New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
  47. Sadasivam, B. (1997). The impact of structural adjustment on women. Human Rights Quarterly, 19(3), 630–665.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Shriberg, J. (2007). Teaching well? Educational reconstruction efforts and support to teachers in postwar Liberia. Washington, DC: The International Rescue Committee.Google Scholar
  49. Shriberg, J. (2008). Fractured help: Social justice and teacher well-being in postwar Liberia. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Columbia University.Google Scholar
  50. Sinyolo, D. (2007). Teacher supply, recuitment, and retention in six Anglophone sub-Saharan African countries. Brussels: Education International.Google Scholar
  51. Stromquist, N. P., Lin, J., Corneilse, C., Klees, S. J., Choti, T., & Haugen, C. S. (2013). Women teachers in Liberia: Social and institutional forces accounting for their underrepresentation. International Journal for Educational Development, 33(5), 521–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. UIS (UNESCO Institute for Statistics). (2010). Global education digest 2010: Comparing education statistics across the world. Montreal: UIS.Google Scholar
  53. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2009). Universal primary education in Africa: The teacher challenge. UNESCO, BREDA. Drakar, Senegal: UNESCO.Google Scholar
  54. UNESCO. (2011). The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011. UNESCO. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
  55. UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). (n.d.). Linking population and development. Poverty Reduction Strategies: Frameworks for development. Accessed 13 October 2014, from http://www.unfpa.org/pds/poverty_reduction.html.
  56. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). (2004). Girls, HIV/AIDS and education. New York: UNICEF.Google Scholar
  57. Vargas, E., Loeb, S., Romaguera, P., Paglayan, A. & Goldstein. (2010). Teacher policies around the world: Objectives, rationale, methodological approach, and products. The World Bank Education Team. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
  58. Warwick, D. P., & Jatoi, H. (1994). Teacher gender and student achievement in Pakistan. Comparative Education Review, 38(3), 377–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. World Bank. (2001). Engendering development. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Caitlin S. Haugen
    • 1
  • Steven J. Klees
    • 2
  • Nelly P. Stromquist
    • 3
  • Jing Lin
    • 3
  • Truphena Choti
    • 4
  • Carol Corneilse
    • 5
  1. 1.Global Teacher EducationWashingtonUSA
  2. 2.UMCPCollege ParkUSA
  3. 3.University of Maryland, College ParkCollege ParkUSA
  4. 4.University Research Co., LLC (URC)BethesdaUSA
  5. 5.HyattsvilleUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options