BackHome
Refresh: OffView Personal Schedule
Session Submission Summary

Putting language of instruction on the girls' education agenda

Tue, February 21, 6:30 to 8:00pm EST (6:30 to 8:00pm EST), Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Constitution Level (3B), Bulfinch

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The aspiration to ensure that girls can access, continue in, and benefit from education is a global priority and part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN 2015). At the same time, though largely separately from the consideration of challenges faced by girls in education, global institutions are increasingly taking a public stance on the importance of language-of-instruction (LoI) policy for inclusive, quality education, asserting that learners should be taught using a language they understand (UNESCO 2016). With evidence from Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Egypt, this panel will demonstrate that these two issues cannot continue to be considered separately. Rather, LoI must be considered a policy priority if we are to enable all girls to access and progress in quality, equitable education.

The panel is not arguing that LoI is an entirely gendered issue. Boys also struggle with learning in a language that they do not understand well. However, issues related to an unfamiliar LoI compound existing challenges and barriers to education, which burden some girls more than others. Moreover, language is a key factor that can either support or hinder attempts to achieve equitable inclusion in education. Prioritisation of issues relating to language-in-education is, thus, vital if we want to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5.

This panel originates from a partnership between the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO), the Girls’ Education Challenge programme and the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath. This partnership aimed to explore the relationship between the language of instruction and learning outcomes. This panel draws from this partnership and combines various perspectives and experiences in addressing the challenges around the language of instruction and the need to address these challenges on multiple levels: at the policy, portfolio and project levels.

At the project level, a non-governmental organisation based in Ethiopia, establishes a clear link through evaluation findings on the relationship between LoI and school attendance, transition and dropout. At a programme level, the Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) continues the discussion widening the evidence base to include findings from 41 projects across 17 countries. The final presentation will discuss work around an extended policy brief authored by a policy research institute which has drawn evidence from myriad contexts and critically explores girls' education in Africa and the effects of learning using an unfamiliar language of instruction, such as English (Author, 2022).

Sub Unit

Chair

Individual Presentations

Discussant