Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) - Volume 22 - Issue 1 - Special Issue 2020 - Towards a radical transformation: Promoting gender equality when children start school

Oct 15, 2026

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The article examines how to promote gender equality in low- and middle-income countries at the moment children begin primary school. It argues that education and gender equality are tightly linked to global goals, yet programs often address girls mainly through access expansion rather than transforming gendered patterns in classrooms and communities. Focusing on early grade learning for Grades 1–2, it highlights structural barriers, classroom practices, and reading outcomes, and proposes gender-transformative strategies to improve effectiveness and learning for both girls and boys.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Towards a radical transformation

Gender equality in early primary education in LMICs

Global goals and education frameworks (EFA, SDGs)

Why gender considerations matter for Grades 1–2

Gender-transformative early grade reading programs and barriers

Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) Volume 22, Issue 1, Special Issue 2020 Towards a radical transformation: Promoting gender equality when children start school MaryFaith Mount-Cors EdIntersect, LLC Jill Gay EdIntersect, LLC; What Works Association Rokhaya Diop Chemonics International; Université Gaston Berger, St. Louis du Sénégal Two of the current United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim for quality education and gender equality, which are inextricably linked. Education efforts in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) have rarely addressed issues of gender equality as children start school, except to expand access for girls. The authors explore how gender equality can be addressed within schools and communities in LMICs at the start of primary school. The authors offer promising strategies to make early grade education efforts more gender transformative and thus more effective. Keywords: gender, gender equality, reading, early grade education, early primary, literacy Two of the current United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim for quality education and gender equality. These goals are inextricably linked. Other than efforts at expanding access for girls, education efforts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have rarely addressed issues of gender equality as children start primary school. Interest in gender equality in education often begins with female adolescents, who may drop out due to child marriage and/or pregnancy (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization – UNESCO, 2017) . However, gender inequality, is manifested in all aspects of the lives of children, their families, and their schools. For example, textbooks may only show women in sexstereotyped roles as caretakers. Teachers may seat boys at the front of the class. The authors explore how gender equality can be addressed within schools and communities in LMICs starting in early primary levels. The authors point to promising strategies and opportunities to make early grade education efforts gender transformative and thus more effective. By way of background on international goals, the Dakar Framework in 2000 adopted Education for All (EFA) and the goal of achieving equality in education by 2015 (UNESCO, 2000) . The SDGs in 2015 then set out seventeen goals, to include SDG4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunity for all and SDG5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (United Nations, 2015) . Movements to address school quality and the lack of student learning, dubbed the global learning crisis, proposed to address not only increasing access to education, but ensuring the learning of basic skills, such as © 2020, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education 22(1), 23-38. Towards a radical transformation literacy. Amidst these global movements to improve access and quality of education, donors and their implementing partners have also addressed the need for education to be gender transformative so as to actively promote gender equality (Save the Children, 2014) . As this issue of the Current Issues in Comparative Education points out,“education for”movements, efforts, and frameworks such as those mentioned above contain an aspirational element that looks toward a future in which change will have occurred and a gender-transformative, universally literate society will be in place in which girls and boys will have equal opportunities and equal reading abilities so as to lead equally prosperous lives in societies that benefit from their improved equality of status and learning. Gender equality and individual, familial, and systems/structural change are needed to achieve education for all, reading for all, and gender-transformative approaches within those movements. Barriers to gender equality must be addr

FAQs

Why do the authors connect education goals with gender equality at school entry?

The article emphasizes that quality education and gender equality are inextricably linked in the SDG agenda. It argues that gender inequality appears across children’s lives, families, and schools, so education efforts must address gendered barriers from the start of primary school.

What problem does the article identify in many LMIC education efforts?

It notes that most efforts focus on expanding access for girls rather than addressing gender equality as children begin primary school. The article highlights that gender inequality is manifested in schooling practices and materials, such as stereotyped textbooks and classroom seating.

Which student group and grade span does the article focus on for early interventions?

The authors focus on building an effective early elementary program, especially students in Grades 1 and 2, generally aged 6 to 8. It discusses how universal access can enable exposure to gender-transformative education during these early years.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆