In the framework of the UNESCO-Hinan Funds-In-Trust (HFIT) project on “enhancing the quality and relevance of education for adolescent girls in Africa and Asia”, the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) has released publication of Gender Responsive Education Toolkit for teachers, teacher educators, school managers and curriculum developers in Africa.

The development of the GRE toolkit has been originally conceived in accordance with the particular needs of HFIT implementing countries in Africa, namely Ghana and Ethiopia, for supporting institutional capacities of TTIs, schools and MoE in gender mainstreaming. The methodology of the toolkit development, however, has been framed in a wider educational context, and incorporated review of key national documents to precisely scope and align the needs for GRE toolkit with education developments in Africa and international best practices to identify key features for how they could be adapted to the African context and the new toolkit is a value added effort in realization of gender responsive education in Africa.

This output (the GRE toolkit) developed with recognition and understanding of such wider national and international educational contexts, will contribute to the enhancement of institutional capacities in Africa to develop gender responsive curricula, evaluate teaching-learning material, organize/create gender responsive classroom interaction, and eliminate stereotypes in teaching and learning materials.  The toolkit is believed to be a hands on tool for teachers, school managers, teacher educators and curriculum/textbook developers to guide them in day-to-day practices of mainstreaming gender in all their areas of work.

The toolkit is organized in six modules, each of which provide content for users in accordance with their learning needs. The modules in the toolkit present conceptual discussions, practical examples and exercises, and hands on tools for the various users. Content in the modules is preceded with learning outcomes and will help users to gauge their progresses.  The implementation of the toolkit draws lessons from training workshops for teachers, teacher educators and school management and curriculum professionals organized in Ghana and Ethiopia as a pilots, and other similar training workshops organized by UNESCO IICBA, FAWE and UNICEF on a GRP Toolkit they developed together with Creative Action Institute (CAI), in 2018.

UNESCO –IICBA is committed to the overall advancement of UNESCO’s Gender Equality Priority Action Plan II (GEAP II) 2014-2021and UNESCO’s Strategy for Gender Equality in and through Education, and contributes to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 in Africa. This output of IICBA (the GRE toolkit) addresses target SDG 4.5, aiming to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable; 4.C to substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers; and 4.7 to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including through education for gender equality.

Gender-responsive education: Toolkit for Teachers, Teacher Educators, School Managers and Curriculum Developers in Africa