Lifting barriers: Educated boys for gender equality

 

Despite mounting evidence indicating that in certain national contexts, boys face a higher risk than girls of repeating grades, failing to complete various educational levels and achieving poorer learning outcomes, there is an absence of research aimed at comprehensively understanding effective strategies to tackle boys’ disengagement from education. This project will examine which interventions focusing on masculine norms can make a difference in education in Malawi, Lesotho and Cambodia.
 
The project explores how addressing harmful masculine gender norms can keep boys engaged, in school and learning while advancing gender equality. Additionally, it seeks to identify the conditions that facilitate successful implementation and broad-scale adoption of such initiatives.

The project aims to develop a globally applicable intervention, substantiated with locally required adaptations based on locally identified disadvantages for boys at school, their relationship with detrimental norms and their underlying factors. At the same time, it aims to scale the model through direct work with ministries of education by building capacity of staff and supporting the development of gender-transformative teaching and learning materials with a particular view to addressing harmful masculine gender norms.

This initiative is supported under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavour between the GPE and IDRC to connect expertise, innovation and knowledge to help low- and middle-income countries build stronger education systems and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal on education.