Giving Compass' Take:

• Hawah Nabbuye explains how a gender-sensitive pedagogy will help the girls of Uganda access a quality education. However, he also points out the assumptions in Uganda regarding gender, girls, and education that are holding them back. 

• Teachers play a role in the quality of education that girls in Uganda receive. How can organizations that want to advance girls' education initiatives start by encouraging the teachers to have those same goals?

• For a more in-depth look at girls' education, read the gender equality guide.

Uganda has made significant progress in promoting girls’ education in recent years. Policies improving access and enrollment have been reformed, primary enrollment rates have increased dramatically, and more girls than ever are completing school at all levels.

Gender-sensitive pedagogy—which seeks to ensure that all learners have equal opportunities to learn—has also been included in Uganda’s new national teacher policy, a significant step towards gender equality in education and beyond.

Below are a few gender assumptions that derail girls' progress in employment.

Gender is synonymous with girls. Some teachers have defined gender-sensitive pedagogy as using teaching methods that focus on only girls. However, it is important to include boys because fathers, brothers and husbands, play an equally critical role in the educational and professional success of girls.

Girls’ issues are only a senior woman’s responsibility. The role of a senior woman—a female teacher who is responsible for mentoring all girls in a school—is imperative and its benefits cannot be undervalued. However, all teachers whether they are senior women or not have a role to play in gender-sensitive pedagogy.

Gender-sensitive pedagogy is time-consuming. Teachers think that gender-sensitive pedagogy is time-consuming and would rather spend time completing the syllabus. Teachers are typically rewarded for the amount of content covered and the number of students that pass exams.

Teachers are the only ones who struggle with gender-sensitive pedagogy. Teachers have noted that students are resistant to this type of teaching and struggle with convincing their students to try something new and different.  Teachers have to learn how to introduce the pedagogies and acclimate their students to the changes in the classroom, which can take a lot of patience.

Read the full article about gender assumptions in Uganda by Hawah Nabbuye at Brookings.