Innovations through Child Friendly Schools in Oman's Education System: Monitoring Equity through Gender Responsiveness

• In Event: Gender and Education Committee Highlighted Session: Gender equality and education in the post-2015 agenda part 2: Donor perspectives and programmatic considerations

Abstract

Since 2010, the Ministry of Education of the Sultanate of Oman with support from UNICEF Oman and Miske Witt & Associates has piloted a rights-based approach to education system change through Child Friendly Schools (CFS). Grounded in the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Oman's CFS approach includes six dimensions, one of which is Gender Responsiveness. Oman's CFS Standards and Indicators, which were vetted with and approved by representatives from four ministries and Sultan Qaboos University, currently are being implemented by stakeholders at the school level (i.e., students, teachers, parents, administrators) with support from the district (Governorate) and national levels. This presentation examines innovations introduced through CFS, includes lessons learned and the data for formative evaluation. reviews Oman's CFS Standards and Indicators for Gender Responsiveness together with the data from a Formative Evaluation and an equity study, examining what current indicators and measures enable stakeholders to learn about a gender-responsive school environment and exploring the ways in which the Muscat Agreement may influence indicators of this dimension post-2015.

Authors

• Shununa Salim AlHabsi, UNICEF Oman & Ministry of Education Oman

• Shirley Miske, Miske Witt & Associates Inc.