The role of gender-responsive pedagogy inside the classroom in promoting school attendance in Kenya

• In Event: Gender transformative education in practice

Proposal

Background
Teacher gender bias in classrooms has been prevalent in many African countries leading to obstacles in achieving gender equality (FAWE, 2018). Evidence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) indicated that the use of gender-responsive pedagogies by female teachers was associated with increased girls' attendance Gándara and Laesecke (2022). Sustainable Development Goal number 4 (SDG 4) aims to ensure inclusive, equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Particularly, SDG 4.7 aims to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, gender equality (UN, 2015). One of the pillars of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25) relates to gender equity, equality, and sensitivity throughout the education and training systems (African Union, 2015). Strategic policies and subsequent interventions implemented in the past have resulted in improved access to education. Primary school completion rates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) improved from 52 to 61% (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2020). There is still an existing gender disparity in primary and secondary schools in SSA. In 2020 for every 100 males, there were 96 females enrolled in primary, 91 in lower secondary, and 87 in upper secondary. Kenya has recorded improvements in school enrolment for both girls and boys through the adoption of various policies and strategies such as free primary and day secondary education. In 2020, enrolments indicated a gender parity ratio of 0.96 in primary and 1.01 in secondary school level indicating a gender disparity at the primary school level. Despite this, the government continues to put efforts into addressing gender issues in education. The Education and Training Gender Sector Policy which aimed to reduce gender inequalities at all levels of education was launched in (Kenya MoEST, 2015).

Empirical evidence suggests that the evaluation of the implementation of the gender mainstreaming policy focused on the representation of women in various institutions and less on whether and how the mainstreaming is implemented in the classroom settings (Kaimenyi et al., 2013; Republic of Kenya, 2016).

Gender mainstreaming practices in basic education positively influence students' school attendance. In addition, gender mainstreaming is reflected in the gender representativeness of the leadership in the education settings; stakeholders’ competence availability, and implementation of policies, practices, guidelines, and decrees. Curriculum, teaching, and learning practices play a critical role in influencing the learning process. The education sector particularly needs to equip pre-service and in-service teachers with knowledge of the content on pedagogy and gender mainstreaming practices. More so, teachers ought to promote access, equity, and equality through inclusive pedagogical practices, for instance in social interactions with students. This could be through teacher evaluation tools that access classroom quality through teacher-student interactions.

Conceptual Framework
This study is situated within the Gender Integration Continuum (GIC) conceptual framework. We examined how policies and practices treat gender norms and equality in their design and implementation (IGWG, 2017).

Objectives
This paper examines the role of gendered pedagogical practices in the classroom in promoting learners’ school attendance. The specific research is “What is the relationship between learner’s class attendance and gender mainstreaming practices in the classroom.”

Methodology
This study utilizes cross-sectional data collected from 75 public and private primary and secondary mixed-gender schools in 10 counties in Kenya with the highest rates of child poverty - above 60% (KNBS, 2018). The counties include (Busia, Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Tana River, Turkana, Samburu, Wajir, Nairobi, and West Pokot). These Counties were selected because children, girls in particular, encounter some form of marginalization, due to child poverty levels. Schools in each county were randomly selected based on the proportions of school type (public versus public) and performance in the previous year’s national exam (bottom-performing, middle-performing, and top-performing). The data was collected from August to October 2022. Respondents were students, teachers, and headteachers. Data on gender pedagogical practices were collected through classroom observations of mathematics, English, and Science lessons. We examined the relationship between the proportion of Grade 6 and Form 2 students’ school attendance using the generalized linear models with the binomial as the distribution family and logit as the link function. Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were used in determining the variables included in the model for each level of study. The model controlled for other school and classroom factors.
The dependent variable was the learner’s school attendance on the day of data collection and the key independent variables were the gender-responsive practices in the classroom and the gender mainstreaming compliance index computed at the school level.

Results and Policy Implications
The results indicate that holding other factors constant. The odds of primary school attendance are increased by 4.2 times if instances of male-responsive language use are increased by a unit (p-value=0.030), holding other factors constant, however, the frequency of engaging in these gender-responsive language use leads to an 81% decrease in the odds of primary school attendance, meaning that the frequency of using the gender gender-responsive language use should be done in moderation. The odds of primary school attendance were increased by 3.1 times if the teacher utilized a gender-responsive classroom environment (p-value=0.034) which underscores the need to have the teachers practice the use of gender-responsive classroom environment practices which in turn impacts positively the student’s attendance. The odds of secondary school attendance are increased by 3.9 times if gender-equitable interactions are enhanced in teaching (p-value<0.001), after adjusting for the other factors which means that equitable practices in the classroom should be observed at the secondary school level in order to promote the attendance of students. We conclude that the use of gender-responsive language use and gender-responsive classroom environments while teaching in primary schools will boost students’ class attendance. Also, the use of gender-equitable teaching practices will boost secondary school student attendance. We advocate for the adoption and implementation of the Gender Responsive Pedagogy toolkit in order to impact more positively on classroom attendance.

Relevance to the CIES theme
This paper is relevant to the theme of Sub-Theme 4: Pedagogies and Protest.

Authors

• Francis Maina Kiroro, African Population And Health Research Center

• Brenda Aromu Wawire, African Population and Health Research Center

• Moses Ngware, African Population And Health Research Center