Impact of gender and inclusive pedagogies on student participation and learning achievement at secondary school during the pandemic and beyond

Worldwide, inequalities in education are linked to many students’ poor participation and academic achievement at secondary school. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbates these inequalities, especially in low-income countries. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste face several common equity-related challenges linked to gender equality and inclusion that affect student participation and performance, most acutely at the secondary-school level. These countries also face challenges in moving to competency- and skill-based learning from the existing traditional ways of teaching and learning. If the challenges are not addressed urgently, student participation and achievement, especially from a gender-equity and inclusion perspective, may further deteriorate.

Gender and inclusive pedagogies (GIP) offer a set of proven interventions to ensure equal participation and learning achievement by addressing differences in students’ gender, ability, ethnicity, and other factors. The project will introduce an evidence-based, gender- and inclusion-focused teacher professional development package to enhance teacher competency to address equity concerns and improve students’ participation and learning achievement.

This study will use an experimental research design to test the effects of GIP intervention on teachers' attitudes, sense of self-efficacy, and classroom practices, as well as students’ participation and learning achievement. The project will promote scale-up of GIP by developing advocacy frameworks for each participating country and establishing a regional collaboration platform.

This project is funded through the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange call for proposals in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific region entitled “Generating and mobilizing innovative knowledge for regional education challenges”.