introduction
Under the new Equality Act (2006) and the Gender Equality Duty which arises from it, schools are required to show that they are eliminating unlawful discrimination and harassment and promoting equality between women and men. This toolkit has been produced to help education staff to reflect on and develop that process throughout all aspects of their work in schools.
In recent years the focus of much work on gender within education has been on addressing concerns regarding achievement - particularly in relation to boys. There has also been some attention paid to boys' and girls' choice of subjects at examination level. Whilst raising attainment of all pupils across all areas of the curriculum remains an important matter, there are further concerns related to gender and inequality, which need attention. Research evidence suggests that young people are continuing to choose stereotyped career paths upon leaving school (Careers Scotland, 2004); violence against women continues with 42% of young people (16-20) claiming to know girls whose boyfriends have hit them (End Violence Against Women, 2006) and although girls are in general attaining well at school, many go on to face a pay gap of 12% within full time employment and 38% within part-time employment (Scottish Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland, 2006). Some of these issues have been downplayed in the past decade or so in many schools across Scotland and elsewhere, perhaps because teachers and educationalists considered them to have already been addressed.
In 2006, the Scottish Executive undertook a review of Strategies to Address Gender Inequalities in Scottish Schools, which concluded that:
- There are significant gender-related inequalities in Scottish schools. For example, nationally available statistics indicate that girls, at all levels, are out-performing boys.
- Local authority policies relating to gender equality in Scottish schools are, in the main, couched within a broader approach to social justice and social inclusion. However, there is a danger that gender becomes lost or fudged within the broader inclusion agenda. Schools and authorities should check that, where necessary, specific attention is given to issues of gender in relation to learning and teaching.
- It was rare to find schools with written policies on gender equality. Schools should discuss this situation and move towards development of policies to address gender-sensitive matters.
- There were examples of very successful initiatives in pre-5 and primary schools. This good practice could be more widely shared, and the implications worked into primary practice in general.
- Where development of a gender-related initiative was shared between schools, there was a greater chance of progression and continuity occurring. Primary and secondary schools should be encouraged to cooperate in the development of strategies to address gender inequalities with, ideally, national and local authority support through policy and staff development.
- The most successful practice engaged all stakeholders, particularly parents/carers. Schools should discuss with their communities how parents/carers and other stakeholders might be involved in the planning, development and implementation of strategies to address gender inequalities in Scottish schools.
- Where staff development was most effective, it was in situations where the staff had a degree of ownership and were supported by practical guidance and advice. Schools and authorities should encourage and facilitate staff development activities related to gender issues, and providers of staff development, such as authorities and universities, should be encouraged to enable this development to happen.
As the Review suggests, inequalities and injustices related to gender have yet to be thoroughly and successfully addressed in all Scottish schools.
This, however, should not lead to schools simply categorising boys in one way and girls in another and developing initiatives, which are either more "boy-friendly" or more "girl-friendly". Each boy and each girl comes to school with their own particular life experiences which affect them, their ways of thinking, their behaviours and so on. The discourse on gender cannot be separated from debates around social class, culture, religion, different notions of masculinity and femininity, and other aspects of social justice and identity. To move towards effective practice in promoting equity and addressing discrimination it will be necessary in schools to consider the links between different aspects of inequality. For example, although the Gender Duty does not cover sexual orientation, this toolkit is based on an understanding that it is necessary to address homophobia alongside sexism in order to work effectively for gender equality.
It is not the purpose or intent of this toolkit to address all the above concerns or to provide a shortcut for staff wishing to come to a deeper understanding of gender. It is hoped, however, that the toolkit will provide a starting point, which staff can use, individually and collaboratively, to consider a wide range of practical steps that can be taken to promote gender equality in Scottish schools.
To fully and successfully implement the legislative requirements and make the required changes to the cultures and structures within schools and broader educational thinking, it will be necessary for staff to engage with the ideas at a deeper level than can be covered here. A suggested reading list for staff development is provided at the end of the toolkit ( Appendix D) to assist teachers and other staff in this process.
The format of the toolkit has been taken from the Race Equality Audit for Schools: A Self-evaluation Resource already in use by many schools across the country. It is structured around the quality indicators of How good is our school? (2007) and is designed so that primary and secondary schools can look at the whole pack or only one section at a time. It is expected that most schools will already be implementing some or many of the suggestions and can therefore look for ways to improve the impact of strategies already in place or investigate some new ideas. The eventual aim would be for every school to be able to evidence good practice at level 5 or 6 across each of the key areas.
Quality Indicators 1- 4 are generally aspirational and have been addressed as such, with Quality Indicator 1.2 recognised as the key driver of the document.
The main business of a school, delivery of education, is detailed in Quality Indicator 5 and this may be where classroom teachers starting out on this journey towards gender equality wish to begin, with reference also to Appendix A, which contains practical examples of introducing gender equality into the curriculum. Reference is also made throughout Quality Indicator 5.1 to the Checklist for Mainstreaming Equality into Curriculum for Excellence ( Appendix B). Further support, information, teaching and learning suggestions and resources are available on-line and the authors have produced a list of recommended sites to visit, related to many key areas of the toolkit ( Appendix C).
For school managers, the starting point might be Quality Indicator 9. As with so many other aspects of school life, leadership is crucial, as both the driver for change and the enabler of initiative and good practice amongst staff throughout the school. A supportive and committed leadership within a school ensures that gender equality is taken seriously and acted upon. It is also the responsibility of managers within the school, to make all staff aware of their legal duties and to develop mechanisms whereby good practice is disseminated, embedded and progressed in all aspects of the school's work and amongst all its stakeholders. In Quality Indicators 5.9 and 6 - 8, suggestions are made as to how management and all staff can develop the whole school ethos through policy, training and co-ordination.
This toolkit has been written as Curriculum for Excellence becomes the key focus for developments in Scottish schools. Gender equality, positive attitudes towards both girls and boys, and teaching about gender issues, are essential if all pupils are to become confident individuals, successful learners, responsible citizens and effective contributors. As schools move forward with Curriculum for Excellence they have the opportunity to systematically integrate action for gender equality and other forms of social justice into the process. This toolkit was produced by the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland and funded by the Scottish Executive. The authors were Judith Mackinlay and Laura Mitchell.
The authors wish to acknowledge the good work already evident in this field and to thank everyone who has read and commented on drafts of this document. Special thanks are given to Judith Mackinlay and Laura Mitchell for their work on the toolkit. The many ideas and suggestions we received have been very helpful and we have tried to incorporate these wherever possible. We hope staff will find this toolkit useful as they work to develop gender equality in their schools.