Abstract:
Gender is a social construct that impacts attitudes, roles, responsibilities and
behavior patterns of boys and girls, men and women in all societies. Increasing
attention has been given to the importance of achieving gender equality in
education. To date, however, most efforts have focused on addressing gender
parity - an equal number or proportion of girls and boys accessing educational
opportunities. Although simple gender parity may be easier to measure, gender
equality encompasses a wider concept, of which gender parity is only a part.
Gender equality moves beyond access and requires that girls and boys also
experience the same levels of quality and outcomes of education. One of the
key impediments to achieving gender equality in education is that it cannot be
addressed in a vacuum; rather, educational institutions are products of the
inequalities that exist in larger society. Educational institutions are shaped by
the societal forces that perpetuate genderDbased discrimination; yet, they can
also be essential tools to effect great change throughout a community or social
context. Behaviours and beliefs formed in schools and educational institutions
can have a lasting impact on gender relations in society. Education systems are
both a result of external forces and instrumental to perpetuating or alleviating
gender disparity around the world
