THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN ENSURING GENDER EQUALITY AND ITS EFFECT IN THE SOCIETY
ABSTRACT
The study’s main focus was on the role of education in ensuring gender equality and its impact on society. Specifically, the study sought to determine how education has changed values and promoted gender equality, as well as how sex segregation in education poses a risk to society.
To guide the study, five research questions and five hypotheses were developed. The relevant literature was examined. The study used a descriptive survey design, and the population included all Lagos State civil servants. To select 165 participants, simple and stratified random sampling techniques were used.
The main data collection instrument was a questionnaire. Some of the major findings were that there is a significant difference between the mean responses of male and female respondents on how education can change values and promote gender equality, but no difference between the mean responses of male and female respondents on sex segregation in education and its risk to society.
The study concluded by recommending, among other things, that the government consider the interests, needs, and priorities of both boys and girls children when providing education for society, and that more equal opportunities be provided to girls in terms of equal access to education and educational facilities.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Historical Context
The concept of gender equality is a relatively new phenomenon. Until the end of the nineteenth century, women were considered the inferior sex and were barred from participating in public life, particularly in politics, education, and certain professions.
Resistance to the idea of gender equality was fueled by Stoic and Platonic misogyny, which was reinforced and justified by various intellectual movements ranging from early Christianity to the Enlightenment. The history of the gender equality movement is thus an intellectual, political, social, and economic history of the changing relationship between men and women, rather than how it is frequently distorted as a ‘pro-woman’ movement (James Bundage, 1991).
Despite the dominance of these misogynist traditions, some people in the Middle Ages and early modern period challenged the status quo and advocated for greater gender equality.
Christine de Pisan (d. 1430), a successful Italian-born female writer of the French royal court, was dubbed “the first proto-modern woman” for her treatise panegyrizing women’s contributions to civilization in her famous work, The Book of Cities of Ladies. Gender inequality, according to Christine, was not caused by innate differences between men and women. Instead, she identified education and opportunities as the primary causes:
“If it were customary to send little girls to school and teach them a variety of subjects, as one does with little boys, they would grasp and learn the difficulties of all the arts and sciences just as easily as the boys.”
Christine comprehensively critiques the misogynistic tradition that underpins literary, religious, and philosophical discourses, while also reconstructing a ‘new’ canon of literature and history that includes and celebrates the contributions of women.
Many have argued that she embodied and espoused one of the earliest formulations of gender equality through her life example (self-educated, supporting herself and her family through her writing, publicly engaging in contemporary debates) and her arguments for greater appreciation, better treatment, and equal access to education for women.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX and the Women’s Educational Equity Act (1972 and 1975), Title X (1970, health and family planning), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and landmark Supreme Court cases overturning anti-abortion legislation were all significant events in the fight for gender equality in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ( Roe v Wade , 1973).
To achieve the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG3), “promote gender equality and empower women,” education has been chosen as the primary goal. “Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and at all levels of education by 2015,” is the goal.
The rationale for a gender equality perspective in education entails both a rights and a development perspective. According to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to an education.” Education must be free, at least in the primary and secondary levels.
Elementary education will be mandated. Technical and professional education must be made widely available, and higher education must be made available to all on a merit-based basis.” (2000) (United Nations)
Goal 3 of the UN Millennium Development Goals identifies education as essential for the ability to exercise rights and, as a result, for women’s empowerment. Education allows girls and boys, men and women, to participate in social, economic, and political life, and it serves as the foundation for the development of a democratic society.
The social and economic benefits of education have long been recognized, as have the benefits of education that girls and women can benefit from. Interventions in development cooperation are increasingly focusing on the linked approach of access to and quality of education, both of which are related to gender equality.
Gender inequalities also have an impact on the structure and management of the education system, as well as the practices and attitudes of teachers, learning materials, and curriculum content. Interventions in the education sector cannot solve societal problems of gender inequality, but education can have a significant impact on the lives of girls and boys, men and women. Education can play a critical role in changing attitudes toward gender equality as a fundamental social value. (2000) (United Nations)
Improving gender equity may be a worthwhile goal in and of itself. However, a growing body of research suggests that gender equity and other development goals, such as health, education, social and economic rights fulfillment, and even growth, are inextricably linked. (Terra Lawson, 2012)
Higher levels of female education and literacy, for example, have been shown to reduce child mortality and improve educational outcomes for the next generation. The presence of women in political leadership positions appears to increase girls’ attendance at school.
Women’s bargaining power at home has an impact on children’s health. Lower fertility rates, which are also associated with higher educational attainment for women, can boost growth, whereas gender inequality in education stifles growth. Terra Lawson (2012) defines formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized
1.2 Formulation of the Problem
Nigeria has a National Gender Policy that focuses on women’s empowerment while also committing to eliminating harmful discriminatory practices against women. JICA is a Japanese International Cooperation Agency (2011) In Nigeria, however, significant gender gaps in education, economic empowerment, and political participation persist.
[2] While there has been progress toward parity in primary school education, there is still a significant wage and labor force participation gender gap ( World Economic Forum, 2011).
[3] Discriminatory legislation and practices, violence against women, and gender stereotypes all impede progress toward gender equality. Nigeria has a particularly high maternal mortality rate, and women’s access to quality health care is limited, particularly in rural areas, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2008a).
Sections 15(2) and 42 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, but customary and religious laws continue to limit women’s rights. Because Nigeria is a federal republic, each state is free to create its own legislation.
Any law that is in conflict with Federal Law or the Constitution, on the other hand, can be challenged in Federal Court. The combination of federation and a tripartite system of civil, customary, and religious law makes harmonising legislation and eliminating discriminatory measures extremely difficult.
Furthermore, certain northern states follow Islamic (Sharia) law, though not exclusively and only when Muslims use Islamic courts ( US Department of State 2012). Adherence to Islamic and customary law reinforces unfavorable practices toward women, such as those concerning freedom of movement, marriage, and inheritance.
Although a ‘Abolition of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in Nigeria and Other Related Matters Bill’ was considered in the mid-2000s, neither it nor a related national bill prohibiting violence against women were passed by the National Assembly.
In 1985, Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and in 2004, it ratified the Optional Protocol. In 2005, the country ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Women’s Rights in Africa. (2010, African Union)
The researcher was attempting to determine the extent to which education can improve gender equity in society.
1.3 Purpose of the Research
The primary goal of this research is to look into the role of education in ensuring gender equality and its impact on Nigerian society.
1.4 Goal of the Research
This research was carried out with the following goals in mind:
a) Investigate how education can influence values and promote gender equality.
b) Determine how sex segregation in education poses a risk to society.
c) Determine the extent to which society has embraced gender equality.
d) To learn about the advantages of gender equality in society.
e)Determine the role of education in enabling/enlightening people to understand and exercise their human rights.
1.5 Questions for Further Research
The following research questions were addressed by this study:
a) How can education play a role in changing learning experiences to promote gender equity in desired outcomes?
b) How can education help to change attitudes and promote gender equality?
c) How does sex segregation in education endanger society?
d) To what extent has society accepted gender equality?
e) What benefits/effects has gender equality had on areas where it is widely accepted?
1.6.1 Hypotheses
1. There is no statistically significant difference between male and female respondents’ mean responses on how education can change values and promote gender equality.
2. There is no statistically significant difference in the mean responses of male and female respondents to sex segregation in education and its societal risk.
3. There is no statistically significant difference between male and female respondents’ mean responses on the extent to which society has embraced gender equality.
4. There is no statistically significant difference in the mean responses of male and female respondents to the benefits of gender equality in society.
5. There is no statistically significant difference in the mean responses of male and female respondents to the role education has played in educating people to know and exercise their rights in society.
1.7 Definitions of Terms
Gender parity
Gender equity is the process of allocating resources, programs, and decision-making to both males and females fairly and without discrimination based on gender, as well as addressing any disparities in the benefits available to males and females.
Gender parity
Gender equality is the belief that all genders, including men and women, should be treated equally and should not face discrimination based on their gender.
Gender disparities
Gender differences are socially defined distinctions between men and women.
Society
A society is a group of people who interact with one another on a regular basis, or a large social grouping that shares the same geographical or social territory and is typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
Education
The process of facilitating learning is referred to as education. A group’s knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits are passed on to others through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, or research.
Social standing
In a social hierarchy based on honor or prestige, social status is the relative rank that an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle.
Place of employment
The physical location where someone works is referred to as the workplace.
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