Activating a Gender Transformative approach in Early Childhood Education

• In Event: Achieving equality in and through education: The power of breaking regressive gender norms in low- and middle-income countries

Proposal

The world is grappling with a host of gender-related issues. In India, they manifest in ways ranging from sex-selective abortions to child marriage and violence against girls and women. These issues feed into nationwide trends of a skewed sex ratio, poor retention of girls in high school, a paucity of skilled women in the labor market, gender discrimination, and gender-based violence, among others. Although the solutions to this complex problem will be multifaceted by necessity, the best place to begin this change would be to integrate a gender lens through all early childhood interventions. If we do not begin gender sensitization in the early years for both boys and girls, the gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence that we confront today will not be resolved by the time the next generation comes of age. The roots of the perceived inequality between women and men begin to form early in life. These roots are nourished by life experiences, culture, and the media and are passed from generation to generation. Research indicates that gender identities are formed by the time children are age two and a half years; gender stereotypes about girls’ and boys’ intelligence are formed as early as age six; and such stereotypes can have a lasting influence on girls’ and boys’ beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and learning outcomes. Gender biases at home and in the classroom often reinforce stereotypes that in turn influence expectations and learning outcomes.

In order to build a laboratory where a gender transformative approach could be embedded in the early years, Pratham, a not-for-profit organization, selected about a 100 Government supported, community based preschool centers, called ‘Anganwadis’ and the surrounding communities that they serve in Patna, Bihar. Bihar is one of the most populous states in India and has about 100,000 Anganwadis that reach more than three million children in the three to six years age group. Pratham works in the field of education with children and youth to improve the quality of education. It has been supporting the implementation of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Patna and across the country for many years now. As part of this pilot, the Pratham team analyzed the eco-system in which the Anganwadi child grows up and worked with key people and essential aspects that influence the child in class and within the community. Experiences and lessons learnt from this project would be key to embedding Early Childhood Education programs with a gender lens.

Author

• Samyukta Subramanian, Pratham Education Foundation