Gender and Growth: Gender Dynamics in Foundational Learning from the My Village Project

• In Event: Exploring gender dynamics in educational projects and settings

Proposal

“Educate a girl; Educate a nation!” This popular adage underscores the transformative impact of educating girls, highlighting how their education creates a ripple effect that benefits entire communities and nations. Educated girls are more likely to contribute positively to society’s economic and social outcomes, fostering a cycle of development that can uplift future generations. Despite the well-documented benefits of girls’ education, evidence from the People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network indicates a significant learning crisis: schooling does not always equate to learning. Many children, especially in the Global South, complete their formal education without acquiring essential foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills.
In response to this challenge, the PAL Network initiated the “My Village” project, a multi-country initiative to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills among primary school-aged children in 304 villages across Kenya, Tanzania, and Nepal. This project recognizes the importance of addressing the gender-specific dynamics that influence learning outcomes, particularly in contexts where girls’ education is often deprioritized due to socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This presentation aims to explore gender differences in the impact of the My Village project on children’s learning outcomes. By applying a gender lens, it examines how various household elements, such as parents’ employment status and their engagement in their children’s education, correlate with foundational learning skills. Additionally, the presentation will investigate the role of digital devices in the household and the influence of educational technology on children’s learning levels.
The study utilizes a robust quantitative approach to examine the impact of the My Village project on children’s learning outcomes through a gender lens. We collected comprehensive data from participating households, including detailed information on parents’ socio-economic status, employment, and engagement in their children’s education. Alongside household data, baseline and endline assessments were conducted to measure the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of children involved in the My Village intervention. To analyze the collected data, we employed regression analysis techniques to identify correlations and causal relationships between household factors, such as parents’ employment status and access to digital devices, and children’s learning outcomes. This methodological approach allows us to rigorously explore gender-specific differences and the broader impact of household dynamics on foundational learning skills.
The findings of the study reveal important gender-related factors impacting children’s learning. For instance, in Tanzania and Kenya, girls initially demonstrated higher levels of foundational learning at the baseline. The My Village project effectively narrowed the gender gap in these countries, with boys showing more significant improvement in learning outcomes than girls. In comparison, the data from Nepal indicated no significant gender gap in foundational learning skills, suggesting a different gender dynamic in this context.
The analysis also highlighted the importance of parental roles in influencing children’s learning outcomes. For example, mothers serving as a source of income were positively correlated with their children’s foundational learning skills, underscoring the economic empowerment of women as a critical factor in educational success. Additionally, when fathers actively engaged in their children’s education, a larger positive impact on learning outcomes was observed.
These insights call for gender-sensitive policies and community-driven strategies that address socio-economic and cultural barriers to education, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and effective educational landscape in the Global South. This study provides a nuanced understanding of how gender dynamics and household factors shape educational outcomes, offering insights into strategies that can better support equitable learning opportunities for all children.

Authors

• Maryanne Kimani, People's Action for Learning Network

• Najme Kishani Kishani, Meeting with Dr. Najme Kishani

• Winny C Ngeno, PAL Network