The inter-relationship between learning outcomes, SRGBV and the main variables that are known to mediate these outcomes

• In Event: Gender and social transformation

Proposal

School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) is defined as acts or threats of sexual, physical or psychological violence or abuse that is based on gendered stereotypes or that targets students on the basis of their sex, sexuality or gender identities (RTI International, 2016). It includes rape, unwanted sexual touching, unwanted sexual comments, corporal punishment, bullying, and other forms of non-sexual intimidation or abuse, such as verbal harassment or exploitative labor in schools. SRGBV is broadly clustered into three categories: bullying which includes verbal bullying, physical bullying, and stealing or damaging belongings, corporal punishment which includes verbal corporal punishment, physical corporal punishment, and labor corporal punishment, and sexual violence which includes verbal sexual harassment, physical sexual harassment and body exposure. All these forms of gender violence may be perpetrated by teachers, pupils, or community members. Both girls and boys can be victims, as well as perpetrators of SRGBV (RTI, 2016a, 2016b)

Though there is some research on the negative effects of SRGBV, only until recently has there been evidence that the experience of certain forms of SRGBV impact learning outcomes. For example, a key finding from a longitudinal study in Malawi to investigate how violence in school and at home impacts education outcomes (Psaki et al., 2016) was that school-related sexual violence was consistently associated with negative learning outcomes for boys (and, to a lesser extent, for girls), including absenteeism, poorer learning, and earlier dropout. In addition, bullying is associated with a statistically significant decline in students’ academic performance for all grades and disciplines (Kibriya, 2016). This paper will discuss findings from the first set of quantitative data for a 3-year longitudinal study that address two research questions:

i. Do students’ experiences of SGRBV, perceptions of school climate, and students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies impact learning outcomes?
ii. Do students’ perception of school climate, gender attitudes, and students’ SEL competencies mediate student experiences of SRGBV?

The study is supported under the USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity (LARA). Data collection for the baseline or ‘Occasion 1’ took place in August 2018 and involved 1,470 students just finishing Grade 2, selected from 100 schools. We apply logistic regression analyses to understand the inter-relationship between reading outcomes and the experience of SRGBV and three mediators of SRGBV, including school climate, gender attitudes, and students’ SEL competencies.

Findings of the study indicate high prevalence rates of SRGBV in primary schools in Uganda. Overall, 95% to 98% of pupils in the sample schools reported having experienced some form of bullying and 88% to 94% experienced some form of corporal punishment in the school term. More than half of the pupils (52% - 56%) experienced some form of sexual violence and harassment. Violence can have adverse effects on pupil’s well-being and development and their ability to learn well.

Author

• Peter Muyingo, RTI International