Publications
Displaying 42 publications matching your filters.
Published in 2011
Characteristics of Grade 6 Pupils, their Homes and Learning Environments
Published Thursday, November 24, 2011
In this paper, the author examines the characteristics of Grade 6 pupils, their homes and learning
environments in 15 African schools systems (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar
and Zimbabwe). The data for this study were collected in 2000 and 2007 as part of the major
SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III Projects, respectively. The SACMEQ projects sought to examine
the quality of education offered in primary schools in these countries. (SACMEQ is an acronym for
the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality.)
The results revealed large variations in characteristics of Grade 6 pupils among these school
systems in terms of their personal characteristics (age, days absent, grade repetition, and preschool
attendance), home environment (socioeconomic background, parents alive, and speaking the
language of instruction at home) and learning environment (possession of textbooks and basic
learning materials, such as exercise books, pencils and erasers).
Characteristics of School Heads and their Schools
Published Thursday, November 24, 2011
In this paper, the author examines the characteristics of school heads and their schools in 15 African schools systems (Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe). The data for this study were collected in 2007 as part of a major project known as the SACMEQ III Project that sought to examine the quality of education offered in primary schools in these school systems as well as the conditions of schooling in these systems. (SACMEQ is an acronym for Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality).
The results revealed large variations in characteristics of school heads among these school
systems in terms of their personal characteristics (age and gender), academic education, pre-service training, and special training on school management. Most SACMEQ school systems had large gender imbalances in school head positions in favour of males.
In addition, the results revealed considerable variations among these school systems in terms of conditions of school buildings, provision of teachers, provisions toilets, and pupils’ and teachers’ behavioural problems. The most common pupils’ and teachers’ behavioural problems in these school systems were lateness to school, absenteeism, and skipping of classes. School systems with high levels of teachers’ problems tended to have higher levels of pupils’ problems, and vice versa.
Primary School Performance in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa
Published Tuesday, October 18, 2011
PROGRESS IN GENDER EQUALITY IN UGANDA PRIMARY EDUCATION
Published Monday, October 3, 2011
This document, not published by IIEP, has been presented on the occasion of the IIEP Policy Forum
on Gender Equality in Education held on the 3-4 October, 2011 in Paris, France.
The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO or IIEP. The designations employed and the presentation of material
throughout this review do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of
UNESCO or IIEP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries
TRENDS IN GENDER EQUALITY IN LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AFRICA: EXPLORATION OF CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND CURRICULUM AREAS
Published Monday, October 3, 2011
The purpose of this paper is to study the gender differences in learning achievement by exploring in Southern and Eastern African countries the educational environment and curriculum contents. The study is based on the data archive of a large-scale assessment administered by a consortium known as Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) during 2000 and 2007.
The examination of the progress in gender equality in various educational dimensions revealed that many countries have improved the gender balance in school participation while the quality issue tended to remain unchanged between 2000 and 2007.
However, by comparing the characteristics of groups of schools within two countries, it was suggested that gender differences in achievement may not always be related to the availability of school resources and/or the wealth of the pupils.
By examining different domains of reading and mathematics subjects, it seemed that boys tended to do better in the ‘documents’ domain of reading and the ‘measurement’ domain of mathematics while girls tended to do better in the ‘expository’ domain of reading and the ‘number’ domain of mathematics.
IS THERE GENDER EQUITY IN SCHOOL MANAGERIAL POSITIONS? NJORA
Published Monday, October 3, 2011
In a hypothetical school system that had perfect levels of “gender equity” (with respect to staffing and promotion policies) it would be expected that about 50 percent of the school heads and about 50 percent of the teachers would be female. However, some educationists might argue that this form of equal representation may be undesirable in primary schools. For example, Zhang et al (2008) contend that one would expect more female teachers at the primary school level because in many countries female teachers (perhaps because of their motherly connection with young children) are often reported to produce better pupil educational outcomes.
ARE THERE ANY DISPARITIES BETWEEN GIRLS AND BOYS IN THE RESPONSE OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR OF HIV AND AIDS?
Published Monday, October 3, 2011
The gender-balance issue ranks high in most educational HIV and AIDS prevention programmes in the countries of Southern and East Africa which is the region hardest hit by HIV and AIDS. Indeed, such programmes aim at “young people” – which is a group at risk, as it represents 45% of new HIV infections. Moreover, it has been observed that young women in Sub-Saharan Africa are more vulnerable as they are 8 times more exposed to HIV than are young men (UNESCO, 2011). The main reasons invoked for this are gender inequalities and an unequal sharing of power between men and women (UNAIDS IATT, 2009).
Progress in Gender Equality in Education: Malawi
Published Sunday, October 2, 2011
Policy Brief Number 6
This policy brief deals with progress in ‘gender equality’ in primary education for the six divisions in
Malawi by seeking answers to the following specific questions
Achievement Namibia
Published Thursday, September 1, 2011
In 1995, the Namibian Ministry of Education participated in SACMEQ’s foundation research programme, the SACMEQ I Project, so as to establish post-independence benchmarks for the conditions of schooling and the quality of education in primary schools.
Progress in Gender Equality in Education: Namibia
Published Thursday, September 1, 2011
Policy Brief Number 6.
This policy brief deals with progress in ‘gender equality’ in primary education for the thirteen regions in Namibia by seeking answers to the following specific questions